FMCSA approves regulatory benefit for truckers: Whom does it apply to

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) extended the waiver again, offering truckers a time off responding to the crisis.

The FMCSA has extended declaration on the emergency till November 30, 2021 to provide an exemption from the obligatory working hours for some truck drivers.

The waiver applies to truckers carrying the following cargoes straightly supporting the aid contribution of COVID-19:

1. Livestock and fodder;

2. Medical supplies and equipment related to testing, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19;

3. Vaccines, their constituent products, medical supplies and equipment, including auxiliary materials / vaccine administration kits, related to the prevention of COVID-19;

4. Supplies and equipment necessary for public safety, sanitation and prevention of public transmission of COVID-19, such as masks, medical gloves, hand sanitizers, soap and disinfectants;

5. Food, paper products and other items for emergency restocking at distribution centers or stores;

6. Gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel and ethyl alcohol;

7. Supplies to help people affected by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic (for example, building materials for people who were displaced or otherwise affected by the emergency).

The previous FMCSA waiver extension was issued on May 26, 2021, and will expire on August 31, 2021. The waiver`s list of goods that were eligible for the exemption didn`t include fuel or supplies to help people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The FMCSA also confirmed that dropping the HOS doesn`t give carriers the right to force tired drivers to work. Any driver who informs the carrier about the need to rest must be given 10 hours of his personal time.

Drivers operating under the HOS waiver must continue to comply with controlled substance and alcohol use and testing requirements, commercial driver’s license requirements, hazardous materials safety permits requirements, financial liability (insurance) requirements, hazardous materials regulations as well as the size and length of the vehicle, width and weight restrictions, and route designations.

The original FMCSA emergency waiver was issued in March 2020 under the Trump administration and has since been extended and expanded several times as the pandemic continued.