Ag exempt drive radius and Time?

Yes! However being able to use it depends on the defined planting and harvesting period for the state you are loading in. If within the period then you are exempt from hos from the time you load until you leave the 150 air mile radius, at which time you just drop to the drive line.

 

I have talked to, or attempted to talk to 4 level 1 inspectors at weigh stations. The last person I asked. He said he just got 6 pages of revisions/exemptions for the HOS enforcement 2 days prior.

I said. IF a gas tanker can run unlimited hours during a storm, but limited to HOS on dry roads, its not about safety. He said with a smile. Just follow the money.

None of the inspectors would or could explain the 150 mile exemption. All 4 said they did not have to deal with ag deliveries and to ask someone else.
PS. They said they didn't want to give me the wrong information.

 

It's worse than that. I just asked the FMCSA inspector that did our audit last summer a few very pointed questions abut this via email, and his answers were simply wrong.

It's a mess. My best advise is to copy the relevant regulations, and present them to the inspector if the subject comes up, presenting complete confidence in your position. Inspectors don't like being wrong.

 

We run on ELD, and have the driver log into an account labeled HOS EXEMPT (agriculture) within the 150 mile radius. Then he stops, logs in, logs a pretrip, and goes on his merry way.

I started a thread in the ELD section about this a while back that has good info in it, too.

Remember, too, that the dead-head to the pickup and loading are all HOS exempt.

We also carry the proposed new guidance in the truck for any inspector:

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmc...g-transportation-agricultural-commodities.pdf

 

Another bit if weirdness with this new rule. Don't have to log pre trip at the start of the logging, just go non-exempt and drive... The pre trip is not non-exempt (well, the "satisfied" wording to imply a pre trip anyway), but the time doing it is. So start the day, pre trip, load, drive 150 miles exempt. Stop, log as non-exempt, and one has the full 8/11/14 available.

Now another fyi, in case you didn't know. The way you are logging is not legal per the mandate. The mandate states one eld account = one driver. Cannot have any shared accounts, or even multiple accounts per driver.
Which is insane, imo. It seems FMCSA wants to driver to have to call the office every time and get switched from exempt/non exempt status. Here is the faq and regs:
Maybe some ELD's will get smart and cater to the ag crown and create an exempt status the driver can choose....

Can a motor carrier set up a driver account as an “exempt driver” and have another account for the same driver as a regular driver account?
No. The ELD rule prohibits multiple driver accounts for one driver. The motor carrier must proactively change the driver’s status to and from exempt and non-exempt.

How many electronic logging device (ELD) accounts can be established by a motor carrier for one of its ELD drivers?
A motor carrier must assign only one ELD driver account for each of its drivers required to use an ELD. An ELD must not allow the creation of more than one driver account associated with a driver’s license for a given motor carrier. The motor carrier is also responsible for establishing requirements for unique user identifications and passwords.

And for the actual regs from eCFR — Code of Federal Regulations
(2) A motor carrier must:
(i) Manage ELD accounts, including creating, deactivating, and updating accounts, and ensure that properly authenticated individuals have ELD accounts with appropriate rights;
(ii) Assign a unique ELD username to each user account with the required user identification data;
(iii) Ensure that a driver's license used in the creation of an ELD driver account is valid and corresponds to the driver using the ELD account; and
(iv) Ensure that information entered to create a new account is accurate.
(c) Driver identification data. (1) The ELD user account assigned by the motor carrier to a driver requires the following data elements:
(i) A driver's first and last name, as reflected on the driver's license;
(ii) A unique ELD username selected by the motor carrier;
(iii) The driver's valid driver's license number; and
(iv) The State or jurisdiction that issued the driver's license.

 

Off duty.
Really you don't need to log at all, there can be a hole in the logs for all the requirements state. It's just easier to put off duty and in the notes state ag 150 mile exemption to make life at the scales easier.

The actual regs are: (from 395.1 scope of logging)

(k) Agricultural operations. The provisions of this part shall not apply during planting and harvesting periods, as determined by each State, to drivers transporting

 

Oh, goody, what could possibly go wrong... ? Thanks for the heads up, we'll just have the driver log out. Canada is going to go apes#it if they every look at the logs closely.....