May 13, 2020
from PMAA
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 May 15, 2020, but has now been expanded to June 14, 2020.
WAIVER PERIOD
The emergency HOS waiver is effective through June 14, 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 CORONAVIRIS 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.
For more information, please contact:
Scott Fisher, Sr. Vice President of Policy & Public Affairs, at 512.617.4308 / sfisher@tffa.com
|
|
