A federal court should order the U.S. Department of Transportation to issue truck safety rules that are years overdue and critical to making highways safer, four groups said in a petition filed Nov. 27 with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington.

The groups are Public Citizen, Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH), Parents Against Tired Truckers (P.A.T.T.) and Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU).

"Precious lives are being lost every day on our nation's highways because the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMSCA), a division of the DOT, has refused to take action about the unsafe conditions on our highways," Daphne Izer, founder of P.A.T.T., said. "It is far past time for FMCSA to take real action to protect the American people -- the drivers, passengers and truckdrivers themselves -- who use our roads."

The rules relate to hazardous materials, background checks for drivers, inspection staffing levels at borders and hours-of-service regulations.

On each, Congress ordered the DOT to issue rules to address the safety problem by a certain date, but those deadlines have long since passed, the suit says. Several of the rules are more than nine years overdue, including rules to address who is authorized to transport hazardous materials, minimum training standards and background checks for commercial truckdrivers.

Some of these safety issues have security implications that have taken on added importance since last year's terrorist attacks. By ignoring its legal duty to issue these rules as Congress required, DOT is breaking the law, the groups charge in their suit.

Ken Paff, national organizer for TDU, a Teamster reform movement whose members include commercial truckdrivers, said, "The issuance of these rules is critical for safety, particularly for truckdrivers, who risk their lives on the road day in and day out. It is shameful, given the key role played by truckdrivers in the economy of our nation, that DOT has been allowed to flout the will of Congress. We aim to change that."

The rules DOT has failed to issue involve, according to the suit:

• Minimum training requirements for drivers of longer-combination vehicles. Congress set a Dec. 18, 1993, deadline for a final rule. This rule is nine years overdue.
• Minimum training standards for entry-level drivers of commercial motor vehicles. Congress required DOT to report on the effectiveness of private-sector training by Dec. 18, 1992, and to issue a final rule by Dec. 18, 1993. DOT submitted the report in February 1996 but never issued the rule, which is now nine years late.
• Truckdriver fatigue and required rest periods, hours-of-service and other fatigue-related issues. Congress directed DOT to issue a final rule by March 1, 1999. These rules are more than three and a half years overdue.
• Requirements for authorization to transport hazardous materials. DOT was required to issue this important security- and safety-related rule by Nov. 16, 1991, but has done nothing. This rule is more than 11 years overdue.
• Background checks for new commercial drivers, including what information prospective employers are required to obtain and what information prior employers are required to provide. Congress ordered DOT to issue a rule first by Jan. 26, 1996, and then by Jan. 31, 1999, but DOT has taken no steps to issue this rule. This rule is almost four years late.
• Requirements for more truck safety inspectors at international borders. DOT was ordered to issue this rule by Dec. 9, 2000. This rule is now almost two years overdue.

A copy of the suit is available at http://www.citizen.org/documents/Petition%20Final.pdf.