Class C's with Hazmat - Illegal Hours?

Ok here it goes.... I just started delivering oxygen for a local company around where i live and i seen something that just didn't look right. Mind you, the vehicles are Class C's and you are required to have Hazmat. So i notice a driver their who does liquid oxygen, he starts at 8:00 am like us all and has been getting off at 12:00am. Now as far as i have read he is techincally breaking the law but this is not necessarily his fault, the company seems to not notice or are completely oblivious to what's actually going on. I seem to be the only one to notice and don't know if i should bother telling the company or just pulling the driver aside and letting him know. I'm about 95% sure he doesn't know the laws concerning driver hours and i feel the company is taking advantage of him.

PS: He's also the on-call liquid guy as he is the only approved liquid driver.

aswell, we don't carry driver logs but time sheet's for our delivery stops. These are industrial vans but for someone reason their Class C rated by either the company or the DOT.

 

Judging by the wording of your post, I believe that you have a handle on the regulations and probably already know the answers to your questions. But since you asked...
1. If the vehicle is carrying an amount of hazardous materials that requires placarding the driver is subject to the federal Hours of Service regulations (even if operating in intrastate commerce).
2. Since the company is using time sheets, as opposed to log books, my assumption is that they are utilizing the 100 air-mile exemption contained in 49CFR395.1(e). One of the prerequisites to being entitled to this exemption is that the driver "returns to the work reporting location and is released from work within 12 consecutive hours".
3. As for telling the driver and/or the company, that is a call that you will have to make. The driver may or may not know that what he is doing is illegal. The company may or may not know!

 

Did you know you can quit your job and collect unemployment if your
employer is coercing and/or forcing you to do something illegal??
That includes truck drivers violating HOS regulations.
Just make sure you keep logs to show the labor office (not DOT).

 

I am not sure I understand what you are trying to say. If he starts at 0800 and gets "off" at noon, what is the problem?

If he is a "local" driver, and is called back in to work some more, he just has to pay attention to his hours limits when he goes back On-duty or Driving.

 

Apparently you missed the point.

8 am one day and getting off at midnight of the day that he started to work.

Then taking 8 hours off and doing it again.

 

Yup, missed the 12:00am. My mistake.

Yes, even when taking advantage of the local driving exception, he still has to stay within his hours limits. (11, 14/16, 60/70)

Make sure the driver is aware of the rules, and that the company is also.

 

To be considered a CMV and fall under the rules of 49CFR395 he has to be operating a vehicle greater than 10,000 lbs GVWR. If he is hauling 1000 lbs or less of non-flammable 2.2, it is not a reportable quantity and is exempt from placarding even though the company is. If those conditions are met, he is legal running local.

If not, I would talk with the driver and let him decide to talk with the company. You would be preventing trouble down the line.

I might be wrong, but that's my understanding.

 

In many states, including mine, if his vehicle has a GVWR exceeding 10,000# and he has ANY amount of a Hazardous Material, even in Intra-State commerce, he is subject to the Federal Regulations.

 

I believe even if the GVWR exceeds 10,001 lbs the regs nail him without regard to hazmat.

 

If he's working them hours, I'm sure he has more anyways and is in violation. There's companies out there that are clueless to the regs.