WASHINGTON — Extreme cold weather across the U.S. has prompted federal regulators to issue an emergency hours-of-service exemption for truckers hauling heating fuel in 48 states and the District of Columbia.
The exemption to motor carrier work rules in 49 CFR § 395.3, issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Friday, is the most geographically expansive HOS exemption since a 50-state emergency waiver was issued at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
The current exemption “is in response to severe winter storms, extreme low temperatures and fuel high demand resulting in difficulty in distribution of necessary heating fuel, including propane, natural gas, and heating oil,” according to FMCSA.
“This declaration addresses the emergency conditions creating a need for immediate transportation of heating fuel, including propane, natural gas, and heating oil, and provides necessary relief.”
The declaration exempts drivers hauling heating fuel – as part of providing direct assistance in support of emergency relief efforts – from both the 14-hour driving window and 11-hour driving limit. (Drivers are allowed a period of 14 consecutive hours in which to drive up to 11 hours after being off duty for 10 or more consecutive hours.)
Drivers are also exempt from FMCSA’s 60-hour/seven-consecutive-day and 70-hour/eight-consecutive-day limits.
Direct assistance, in the context of the exemption, “means transportation and other relief services provided by a motor carrier or its driver(s) incident to the immediate restoration of essential supplies or essential services,” the order stipulates.
“Direct assistance does not include transportation related to long-term rehabilitation of damaged physical infrastructure after the initial threat to life and property has passed, nor does it include routine commercial deliveries, including mixed loads with a nominal quantity of qualifying emergency relief added to obtain the benefits of this emergency declaration.”
Direct assistance ends, according to FMCSA, when a driver or truck starts hauling cargo that is not supporting emergency relief efforts, or when the carrier dispatches a driver or truck to another location for non-emergency services.
Carriers or drivers currently subject to an out-of-service order are not eligible for the exemption until the order has been rescinded in writing.
FMCSA said it may modify the declaration, including the type of commodities covered, or terminate or extend it as conditions warrant. The current declaration expires on Jan. 31 unless the emergency is canceled earlier.
