FMCSA loosens HOS rules for truckers during emergencies, citing climate change

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued a final rulemaking regarding clarification to the applicability of emergency exemptions for motor carriers during emergencies.

In doing so, FMCSA noted that weather-related emergencies apparently related to climate change has lengthened some national emergencies, and adjusted its rules for motor carriers accordingly.   

 This revises the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to:

•  Allow automatic relief of Hours of Service (HOS) regulations during an emergency;
• Shortening the duration and scope of exemption, except in the case of a presidential declaration of federal emergency;
•  Allow for additional reporting requirements when issuing extended/modified exemptions;
•  Establish a dedicated email inbox for extensions/modifications requests; and
•  Eliminate the provision that provided automatic regulatory relief for other elements such as medical certification of drivers, vehicle inspection requirements, parts and accessories and hazardous materials transport. 

Additionally, the final rule eliminates the provision that provided automatic regulatory relief for other elements of 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) parts 390–399. That includes such issues as medical certification of drivers, vehicle inspection requirements, parts and accessories and transportation of hazardous materials. 

FMCSA said its decision came after what it called a “thorough assessment” of relevant data. It received much public input from citizens and related groups that the agency called “a critical part of the decision-making process.”

FMCSA issued a noticed of proposed rulemaking on the topic last December. After reviewing comments, the agency issued a few technical changes.

It modifies the definition for emergency to clarify that emergency regulatory relief under generally does not apply to economic conditions that are caused by market forces, including shortages of raw materials or supplies, labor strikes, driver shortages, inflation, or fluctuations in freight shipment or brokerage rates, unless such conditions or events cause an immediate threat to human life and result in a declaration of an emergency.

This rule also removes the definition of emergency relief as that term is no longer used and amends the definition of direct assistance to incorporate the essential components of the emergency relief definition.

And the rule also revises the regulations in several ways. Presidential declarations of emergency will continue to trigger a 30-day exemption from all FMCSRs in parts 390 through 399.

The rule limits the duration and scope of the automatic regulatory relief that takes effect upon a regional declaration of emergency by a Governor, a Governor’s authorized representative, or FMCSA.

Automatic regulatory relief applies for 14 days, as opposed to 30 days. It exempts commercial truck drivers only from the HOS regulations in §§ 395.3 and 395.5, as opposed to all regulations in parts 390 through 399.

“This change both shortens the time the automatic regulatory relief is in place and limits the scope of the relief provided, ensuring any impact on safety continues to be minimized during the period of the automatic regulatory relief,” FMCSA said.

FMCSA revised this provision from the proposed rule at the suggestion of commenters who expressed concern that the proposed 5-day emergency exemption period would be too short to provide emergency relief, and also too little time for FMCSA to receive and evaluate information on whether a longer FMCSA-issued emergency exemption was warranted.

FMCSA believes that most emergency declarations expire within 5 days. But it said it is aware that climate change has impacted both the number and severity of storms that often give rise to regional declarations of emergency.

“Providing for 14 days of automatic relief will allow emergency relief efforts in these severe weather scenarios to continue unabated,” FMCSA said. “(It does so) without fear that there will be a lapse between the automatic regulatory relief and any FMCSA action to extend or reinstate the regulatory relief.”

Additionally, for those emergencies that do not require an extended response period, the regulation provides that the exemption period triggered by a Governor-issued emergency declaration will end upon cessation of the emergency declaration or 14 days, whichever is sooner.

Section 390.23 maintains the statutory requirement from the Reliable Home Heating that when a Governor declares a state of emergency due to a shortage of residential heating fuel, the automatic regulatory relief lasts for a period of 30 days. It exempts any motor carrier or driver operating a CMV to provide residential heating fuel in the geographic area so designated as under a state of emergency from all regulations in parts 390 through 399.

Consistent with the statute, the initial automatic exemption may be extended two times by the Governor, for a total of 90 days, if the Governor determines that the emergency shortage has not ended.

Third, for local emergencies under section 390.23(c), the automatic regulatory relief is limited by this rule to the HOS regulations in §§ 395.3 and 395.5. This regulatory relief is already limited to 5 days, thus no change to the length of the automatic relief is needed. This change ensures that any impact on safety continues to be minimized during the period of the automatic regulatory relief, FMCSA added.