FMCSA EXTENDS NATIONAL DRIVER HOS WAIVER THROUGH MAY 15, 2020 |
PMAA CONTACT: Mark S. Morgan:
mmorgan@pmaa.org
ISSUE: Today, the FMCSA issued an updated
national emergency declaration to provide an extension of
the hours of service (HOS) waiver for commercial drivers
transporting fuel and other emergency relief in response
to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The FMCSA waiver
was slated to expire on April 12, 2020 but has now been
expanded to May 15, 2020.
WAIVER PERIOD
The emergency HOS waiver is effective March 26 through May
15, 2020
FMCSA WAIVER DECLARATION
The updated FMCSA HOS waiver declaration can be found
here. The waiver includes all FMCSA regulations included
in Parts 390 to 399 of the Federal Motor Carriers Safety
Regulations. Those regulations can be found in the list
here. The FMCSA waiver does not apply to drug and alcohol
testing requirements. See waiver for more information.
DIRECT ASSISTANCE IN SUPPORT OF CORONAVIRUS
EMERGENCY REQUIRED Motor carriers and drivers
providing direct assistance in support of relief efforts
related to the COVID-19 outbreaks are granted emergency
relief from hours of service (HOS) requirements. Direct
assistance means transportation and other relief services
provided by a motor carrier or its driver(s) incident to
the immediate restoration of essential services including
delivery of petroleum transportation and heating fuel
supplies related to COVID-19 emergency response.
APPLICABLE EMERGENCY INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES
The HOS extension declaration provides regulatory relief
for commercial motor vehicle operations providing direct
assistance in support of emergency relief efforts related
to the COVID-19 outbreaks, including transportation to
meet immediate needs for:
- Medical supplies and equipment related to the
testing, diagnosis and treatment of 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;
- Fuel;
- Equipment, supplies and persons necessary to
establish and manage temporary housing, quarantine,
and isolation facilities related to COVID-19;
- Entities or persons designated by Federal, State
or local authorities for medical, isolation, or
quarantine purposes; and
- Entities or persons necessary to provide other
medical or emergency services, the supply of which may
be affected by the COVID-19 response.
IMPORTANT! This is not a blanket HOS waiver. The
waiver only applies to drivers delivering fuel for
restoration of emergency response infrastructure, services
related to the coronavirus response effort.
Direct assistance does not include:
routine commercial deliveries, including mixed loads with
a nominal quantity of qualifying emergency relief added to
obtain the benefits of the HOS emergency declaration.
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