Status quo on HOS.(new law on hours of service of truck drivers)

BYLINE: BY ARI NATTER

Users and providers of trucking service don't have to reset their clocks. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said last week it is keeping truckers' 11-hour daily driving limit and other work rules that a federal appeals court struck down last July.

The action isn't likely to be the final episode in the bitter debate over hours-of-service rules, although the FMCSA said it is "committed" to issuing a final rule in 2008. The interim rules that the agency reaffirmed are sure to be challenged by the consumer groups and unions that tried to scuttle two earlier versions of HOS rules.

The interim rules prohibit truckers from driving more than 11 hours in a row, working longer than 14 hours in a shift, and driving more than 60 hours over a seven-day period or 70 hours over an eight-day period. Previously, truckers could drive no more than 10 consecutive hours. In addition, the new rule requires …