With another extension of the emergency hours-of-service waiver looming, federal regulators want the trucking industry to let them know to what extent carriers and drivers are actually taking advantage of the exemption.
The first-of-its-kind, 50-state exemption was originally issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The order gives drivers and carriers more time to make deliveries without violating federal work-hour requirements. It has been modified, expanded and extended several times as the types of products given priority during the pandemic evolved from food and fuel to face masks and vaccines.
But after 17 months of the exemption being in effect, the FMCSA will attempt to find out how useful it is in order to help inform future extensions.
“FMCSA does not know how many motor carriers or drivers are relying on the emergency declaration.”
FMCSA
“Neither the emergency declaration nor the regulations covering [it] require that motor carriers or drivers operating under the emergency declaration report their operation to FMCSA,” the agency stated in a Federal Register notice to be published on Friday. “As a result, FMCSA does not know how many motor carriers or drivers are relying on the emergency declaration.”
Given the “unprecedented period” since the waiver was first issued, FMCSA plans to conduct a monthly survey for six months of an estimated 1.2 million drivers and carriers to get more information on whether and how the waiver is being used. The agency estimates the survey will take 15 minutes to fill out.
As FMCSA seeks Office of Management and Budget approval of the survey, anyone who wants to comment on it, including whether it is necessary or ways to improve it, has until Monday.
Meanwhile, the most recent extension of the waiver — issued on May 26 and set to expire on Tuesday – is slated for another multi-month extension, according to a U.S. Department of Transportation official.
“We’re a team player on the field alongside our other federal agency teammates that are issuing exemptions as part of the Biden administration’s holistic response to the ongoing emergency,” a DOT spokesperson told FreightWaves.
The current version of the waiver exempts drivers and carriers from Parts 390 to 399 of federal regulations — which includes driver hours of service — for those “providing direct assistance in support of emergency relief efforts” related to COVID-19. It is limited those hauling:
- Livestock and livestock feed.
- Medical supplies and equipment related to the testing, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19.
- Vaccines, constituent products, and medical supplies and equipment, including ancillary supplies/kits for the administration of vaccines, related to preventing COVID-19.
- Supplies and equipment necessary for community safety, sanitation and prevention of community transmission of COVID-19 such as masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, soap and disinfectants.
- Food, paper products and other groceries for emergency restocking of distribution centers or stores.
While the commodities are specified in the waiver, the exemption could be causing confusion in the industry as to what is covered, as previously reported by FreightWaves. In addition, truck safety advocates have cautioned that safety should be a priority in expanding and extending the waiver.
Mike Kirrane
My company uses the covid declaration app the time and have been for a year but this shows your rules don’t work
They don’t work for you and they don’t work for drivers
Logbooks aren’t for saftey they are for revenue limiting and a reason for dot to write tickets and hand out fines
Because safety should never be compromised but the government does this all the time not just for covid 19 not when fuel runs low or whatever they need
If safety was a big factor you’d redo these stupid rules and make it possible for us to do our jobs without declarations
Mark Smith
I use the exemption every week for livestock feed and food products. It helps tremendously. The best part is the freedom. You get tired, take a nap. No clock counting your life down. Everyone is different. I’ve been trucking since 1987 and it’s going downhill fast with ELD and the poor quality of help. Along with parking, restaurants closed etc. It used to be a great business. Not so much anymore.
Denise M. Wright
You see how this works!! When the powers that be need their “stuff” it’s OK for you to work more hours. But if you need more money for the mortgage or you need to get home during “normal” times then it’s not OK. Always what benefits the bureaucrats but not what benefits you. And the they have the audacity to wonder why there’s a driver shortage.
Brad Holloway
I know opinions differ all across the industry but from my standpoint, pulling a non-hazmat dry van, the exemption has served its porpose well but is running out if its usefulness. As the country is getting closer to business as usual there is very minimal need for it at this point. In the beginning, I would haul water, food and livestock feed and supplies and I couldnt get there fast enough. Shippers and recievers would work longer hours and weekends just to keep customers stocked, not so much these days.
Two phrases stood out to me while reading the exception guidelines.
1. “For the emergency restocking of stores and distribution centers.”
2. “Does not apply to routine commercial deliveries.”
I haul loads of bottled water every week. The product itself qualifies under the exemption guidelines but I have not delivered what would be considered an emergency restocking load in over 8 months, therefor it is nothing more than a routine commercial delivery and does not qualify as covid exempt.
My biggest complaint is companies taking advatage and using the exemption for their own financial gain at the drivers expense. I’m the captain of my ship and nobody else decides when it is safe to operate it except me. So when we as company drivers are dispatched a load when dispatch knows fully well that we don’t have the legal hours and the ONLY way to get the load there on time is by using the exemption, that’s BS! It cannot be assumed that we can do this safely and ensure an on time delivery, yet if we dont, we are scrutinized.
I have also seen situations where we are asked to drive 11+ hours on covid exemption, make the delivery, use the covid exemption for the next load (11+ hours) and then take a 10 hour break. By the time we are finished with the 10 hour break the ELD thinks we have been off duty or SB for over 34 hours thus have completed a reset although we know that’s not the case.
Robert Amos
I use this on average of 3 loads a week to help with the re stocking of grocery distribution centers. Helps tremendously….
Luis E Escobar
We need the execption 395.1 Specially when coolers keep us loading nor unloading
Cindy
We have used it at my company, many times. It worked great. It allowed me to run as hard as I needed to move product, it allowed me to stop and shower and sit and eat a real meal, and most importantly take a good power nap without worrying that the 14 hour rule was closing in on me. So I actually was better off physically and mentally and could run a comfy 750 miles a day.
The problem we encountered, was the endless sticking points being altered with the FMCA, and we are not looking to put ourselves in violation.
Also at the beginning qualifying loads would be stamped by the shipper as qualifying…then as things kept morphing, shippers refused to acknowledge the load as essential. The government makes it tough on everyone. No one sets out to make mistakes, but friendless back and forth sets everyone up and there is no mercy. Scale houses have become heavy handed. I have been driving 25 years. I am leaving the industry in another year. I have other skills that pay well. Trucking use to be a business where I could develop my own business model. The American Trucking Association, which is corporate trucking, ie: Swift, Werner, etc. So badly want to dominate the market that their endless lobbying has swung trucking around to where it is not my business, but someone else’s. Brokers were ripping off the lion’s share of the rates during the pandemic. Businesses will not let us use indoor plumbing, forcing us into germ infested porta-pots…These large companies are pushing for self driving trucks. Their goal is not safety or they would train the drivers a lot more completely…Things like proper signal use, courtesy, and safety…it is never safe when a vehicle is slower than moving traffic to hop out of your lane into traffic, as one example.
So this goes off topic a bit but to bring it around, the industry is not being guided to be safe or efficient…it is being guided to eliminate and promote.
And during a real life situation you see how inadequate of a model they have sold you.
Self driving trucks they want. Never sleep, never distracted they say…reality if you are not paying a billion dollars in salaries, and there is a malfunction that kills 20 people, if you payout 200 million in claims you are still up 800 million and human life lost is nothing more than collateral damages…so in my mind none of these rules are about safety. It is not putting pressure on companies not training drivers to think outside the box. In other words it is not just you on the road, it is all of us.
So my final call is quit making stupid rules against the drivers. Make rules for the company’s putting the drivers on the road. Start with basic driving skills everyone should have learned with their first driver’s manual.
Also the General public is out of control…on the phone, driving in blind spots, failing to yield when they see our signals. Cops who only see trucks and give cars a free pass.
No one listens, no one cares.
Lack of parking and facilities leads to driver fatigue and no one does nothing…so it is not about safety, it is about shutting trucks down.
No healthy food any more. Fast food junk, marked up prices on it. Pay to park…the list goes on. All while we risk our lives to serve the public and officials who actually hate us.We had a driver get Covid and die in the truck. Only Kansas is at the travel plazas offering free Covid shots to the truck drivers. One of these days you will call, we won’t answer you.
Bruce L Mora
We need to make sure that in review of the demand has been across the board doesn’t hurt the pockets of ANY driver of ANY part of this industry!!! We need to remember that all aspects of transportation of any goods to the American people is vital!!! We also have to take into consideration the efforts of all of our drivers out here that are affected if hours are taken away!!! The trucks need to move and yet we understand that drivers need to rest as well. If you really want to keep America moving then expand on parking for truckers and stop putting more limits on us!!! We like to come home to our families as much as the next person who works 8 to 5!!! So before you take away hours…how about asking the man or woman who brings you your goods whether it’s directly or indirectly for you or yours!!!