Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is asking for feedback as it considers extending hours-of-service exemption periods for truckers during regional emergency declarations.
Under a proposal published Jan. 9, FMCSA would exempt drivers and motor carriers from HOS regulations for 30 days. That’s up from the 14 days allotted in a final rule that went into effect in December 2023. The proposal was issued in response to petitions for reconsideration of the rule.
The exemption was good for 30 days before the 2023 rule was effective and covered all regulations in 49 CFR Parts 390-399.
In the proposal, FMCSA cites “uncertainty” related to the length of emergency exemptions and points to multiple recent events in which relief extended beyond 14 days, including wildfires in the western United States and successive hurricanes in North Carolina in fall 2024.
“In some scenarios, emergency responders are forced to justify an extension request before they know how much additional time will be required to respond to an emergency situation,” the agency says. “In these cases, responders may need to delay their direct assistance in order to ensure the extension is completed, and CMV drivers engaged in direct assistance may delay operations, if their operation would extend past the 14 days, until they know an extension has been issued.”
FMCSA is seeking input on questions directed at state governments but eligible to all stakeholders:
- How frequently have emergency declarations issued by your state required extensions beyond 14 days?
- To what extent would the proposed rule reduce the number of extension requests that your state needs to submit annually?
- What are the estimated administrative costs incurred by your state in preparing and submitting requests for extensions of emergency declarations?
- Would the proposed rule lead to any changes in your state’s resource allocation or staffing needs as it relates to emergency management and regulatory compliance?
The deadline to comment on the proposal is March 10.
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Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication