Plummeting temperatures and driving winds prompted “life threatening” weather alerts in areas of Wyoming during mid-December. Gov. Mark Gordon took proactive measures by signing an executive order to set aside the hours of service restriction on propane delivery drivers.
The move allows truckers to operate beyond normal daylight hours in an effort to keep residents flush with heating fuel during the recently declared state emergency.
“While under this order, propane transportation or delivery companies shall not require or allow any fatigued driver to operate a propane delivery vehicle. A driver who informs a carrier that they need immediate rest shall be given adequate rest before the driver is required to return to service,” according to a statement from the governor’s office.
All other trucking industry requirements remain in place during the crisis. The executive order runs through midnight, on January 14, 2023.
FMCSA Sets Aside CDL Learner’s Rules
The Federal Motor Carriers Safety Association (FMCSA) extended a waiver regarding regulations for learner’s permit holders who are seeking to take a skills test for a commercial driver’s license. At the urging of American Trucking Associations, the FMCSA granted relief from regulations that slow walk trained people from acquiring a CDL. These include the following, according to the FMCSA.
- Waives the restriction under 49 CFR § 383.79(a) that limits a State to administering a driving skills test, in accordance with subparts F, G, and H of 49 CFR part 383, to an out of State CDL applicant who has taken driver training in that State. Under the terms, conditions, and restrictions of this waiver, a State may elect to administer a driving skills test to any out of State CDL applicant, regardless of where the applicant received driver training.
- Waives the requirement under 49 CFR § 383.25(e) that CLP holders are not eligible to take the CDL skills test in the first 14 days after initial issuance of the CLP. Under the terms, conditions, and restrictions of this waiver, States may, at their discretion, allow CLP holders to take the CDL skills test without waiting 14 days after initial issuance of the CLP, provided the CLP holder has completed applicable entry-level driver training requirements under 49 CFR Part 380, Subpart F.
“FMCSA finds that the granting of this waiver is in the public interest, given the critical need for CMV drivers in support of the U.S. supply chain and economy,” the waiver states. “FMCSA has determined that the waivers will not create any increased safety risk that could adversely affect the public interest.”
The FMCSA has repeatedly issued similar waivers since November 2020 to onboard truckers. The country struggles with a driver shortage of approximately 80,000. The recent waiver extension runs through February 28, 2023.
Sources: sweetwaternow.com, fmcsa.dot.gov
Leave a Comment