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FMCSA Announces Hours-of-Service Exemption for Emergency Relief and Direct Assistance Transport
The Declaration mandates that in order to meet criteria for direct assistance, the shipment must consist of the following:
Shipments of all other items, including mixed loads that may contain some of the items listed above, are NOT exempt from the granting of regulatory relief. This Declaration applies to drivers while they are delivering shipments described above, as well as the time they are returning empty from a delivery of the items described above, to their normal terminal or work reporting location.
Motor carriers should be aware that this notice does not absolve them of their duty to monitor their drivers. In addition, this granting of relief is not an exemption from driver’s CDL requirements; controlled substance and alcohol use and testing requirements, hazmat, size, and weight requirements; or financial responsibility (insurance) requirements.
This Declaration and emergency granting of relief is in effect until 11:59pm, Sunday, April 12,2020. Inquiries to the FMCSA regarding this Declaration can be made to this toll-free number: (877) 831-2250.
With regard to the HOS impact on our applications, Omnitracs-hosted and mobile units will continue tracking HOS and any associated potential violations. No code changes or updates will be needed. If a driver is carrying a load that meets requirements, violation warnings, countdowns, and flags will still be in place. We highly recommend back-office teams document the drivers falling under the exemption to ensure operational efficiency.
We ask that you continue to monitor the FMCSA’s list of emergency declarations, waivers, exemptions, and permits to ensure continued compliance and cooperation with the federal government and consumer needs. Please feel free to reach out to our experts at ITI (safety@itihq.com) should you have any questions or concerns.
For our clients with other ELD applications, please contact your provider as to how to document using the exemption on your system.