45 minute safety rule

There is always a lot of confusion on this discussion. I have been through FMCSR many times and have yet to see any provision allowing an OTR driver to extend the 14.

But, if you believe it's there, go on ahead and use it. When DieselBear or ScaleMaster checks your log page, be sure and tell us how it worked out for ya.

In nearly five years of driving, I have never had to use the adverse provision. I have been caught up in some doozies. It's less complicated to just reschedule the delivery.

 

I see the point Tazz is trying to say, but

an emergency constitutes what exactly?

I doubt ANY of us is hauling the kind of freight that will hold up to this definition unless it's FEMA or other government related freight. In which case there are other exemptions given anyways.

 

No confusion, the EMERGENCY CONDITIONS exception as posted has no time limit, unlike the ADVERSE CONDITIONS exception which specifically states the driver may not exceed their 14-hour clock.

Just because you have never used a particular exception does not invalidate such exception. Given that the FMCSA has specifically noted the exceptions, I am sure they expect them to be used if and when necessary.

 

The type of freight is irrelevant to the exception. Also, the defenition you posted is a correct and valid definition of "emergency", although not provided by the FMCSA. I expect that the FMCSA chose to not provide any definition of emergency specifically to allow interpretation by associated parties and enforcement. Regulations are as important for what they don't say, as for what they do say.

 

In other words, you can define it one way, LEO another and a judge still another. Your codriver might have an anaphylactic reaction to something and require immediate medical attention. So you call an ambulance and have to go pick him up from the hospital. Your load was easily completed during your shift until his emergency. Now, he is out of service because of the medications he was given.

Emergency? Yes. For him. But a LEO might write up the log violation despite proof of what happened, then a judge might toss out your defense because in his opinion, your codriver should have known he was allergic to shellfish. He ate that big plate of shrimp and should have foreseen the result.

As I said earlier. It's just simpler to reschedule the delivery time.

 

Even though you may drive 2 extra hours under this exception, you must not drive after the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty.

 

You forgot another: " I have 15 minutes to catch up my log book."

 

Alright all highlighting and bolding aside, you two are looking for an extension of your 14 hours. Read the subpart carefully.

It clearly states exempt from the rules of this part. I won't question your intelligence yet by highlighting it and bolding it, nor putting it all in caps. Just read the #### line.It isn't rocket science.

Now it does not give you an exemption on a fourteen hour clock because if you are exempt from that part there is no clock. However it had better be by definition an emergency. Appointment schedules do not qualify so yeah Injun is right you'll get a ticket trying to use it for that. I doubt you could even try it if delivering a set of donor organs to a childrens hospital.

Lonewolf posted back aways that a driver could be in a catch 22 where not moving placed a driver and others in danger, but had no exemption to the 14. B(2) is the exemption, and like I said it states complete run but that probably was not intended to mean delivery. I would only use it(and have though never looked over by officer I think) to clear the situation like the example I gave. Or say the truck next to you starts on fire, a nearby water way starts to flood. I do not think your partner being driven to the hospital would be allowed as ambulances fill that role, and once he was under treatment the emergency no longer exists.

It is not posted in part 395.1 to help a driver make a delivery, drive right up until it is time to stop and look for parking, or allow for movement when left on a dock tooo long. None of those constitute an emergency by anyones definition.

I'm sure they left it vague because emergency definitions and examples might get a little hard to define. So again I will say if your gonna claim it you had better be pretty #### sure a reasonable person will agree with the emergency conditions.

 

There is not time alotment but you are allowed to catch it up as long as a driver is in possession of the prvious seven right? I understand you can still be ticketed or cited for log book not current but can avoid the OOS correct?