The emergency declaration from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that was put in place to get much-needed COVID-19 relief supplies to Americans has been renewed. But in the renewal, many supplies which were exempted from Hours of Service (HOS) regulations will no longer qualify.
FMCSA’s expanded emergency declaration has been extended twice already. Once through May 15th, and then through June 14th. This most recent notice will extend HOS exemptions until July 14th, 2020. But the only categories that will qualify for exemption are as follows:
- Livestock and livestock feed
- 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.
According to the FMCSA extension notice, the “other categories of supplies, equipment, and persons” covered by previous exemptions are no longer needed for emergency relief.
Even loads which would otherwise be exempted can be disqualified if they are part of “routine commercial deliveries” or if the load only includes “a nominal quantity of qualifying emergency relief added to obtain the benefits of this emergency declaration.”
Source: FMCSA, truckinginfo, fleetowner, overdrive, ttnews, freightwaves
No longer needed
The stores are still empty and with them talking about another turn of the virus they should keep it going till the end of the year.
I am not sure where you are seeing ’empty’ stores. Stock levels of some grocery items are below normal, but stores are by no means ’empty’.
They don’t need us anymore!!
We are the dumb ones for running like a bunch of idiots, because the country needed us. Not anymore!!
We should of went on strike when we had a chance!
I have been parked for 7 weeks now, because these rates are only paying for the fuel and not all the time. Somebody is making money, but not the drivers!
Interesting how they don’t care about HOS rules when it fits their agenda!
“Safety” is just a code word for “liability”, which is just another line on the expense spreadsheet – usually labelled “insurance”. Hours of Service were implemented to mitigate that expense, and DoT enforces them, so that the expense which replaces the subtraction from “insurance”, is borne by the drivers instead of the carriers.
Carriers and DoT only care about “safety” insofar as it represents an expense or a loss of revenue. When the cost of “safety” is outweighed by sufficiently lucrative opportunity, or sufficient risk of sufficient loss, “safety” ceases to be the higher priority.
There isn’t seriously anyone among us who didn’t know that, is there?
I’m kind of curious how much these exemptions affected safety? If the accidents and such didn’t increase with these hours it only proves what we all know that HOS is about getting violation revenue And nothing to do with highway safety.
Excellent point…
Rates cut 30%– sometimes more. That means no profit —
Does this include groceries drivers?
The HOS are revenue generating and funny how so called safety can always be accomplished my MONEY