Source: https://frostbrowntodd.com/dot-suspends-safety-rules-for-coronavirus-relief-efforts/
Timestamp: 2020-03-30 16:56:49
Document Index: 518835798

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 390', 'arts 390', '§ 502', '§ 217', '§ 502', '§ 217']

DOT Suspends Safety Rules for Coronavirus Relief Efforts - Frost Brown Todd | Full-Service Law Firm
DOT Suspends Safety Rules for Coronavirus Relief Efforts
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On March 13, 2020, the Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a historic Emergency Declaration that suspends the enforcement of most Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) for coronavirus (COVID-19) supply and passenger transportation. The emergency declaration will remain in effect until the termination of the emergency (as defined in 49 CFR § 390.5) or until 11:59 P.M. (ET) on April 12, 2020, whichever occurs sooner.
Under the declaration, motor carriers and drivers providing “direct assistance” anywhere in the United States are not required to comply with Parts 390 through 399 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). It also includes rules for hours of service and driver qualification, among others.
The exemption applies only to carriers and drivers who are performing transportation or other relief services related to the immediate restoration of essential services or supplies. It aims to allow transportation to meet immediate needs for:
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.
Equipment, supplies, and people necessary to establish and manage temporary housing, quarantine, and isolation facilities related to COVID-19.
Eligible drivers are exempt from the hours-of-service rules while providing direct assistance, including the need to comply with any driving limits, rest requirements, or logging rules. Driving while ill or fatigued is never advised, however. Getting into compliance after the emergency-relief work is done could be a little tricky to manage.
After a driver has returned to his or her normal work-reporting location and is no longer providing direct assistance, drivers operating a property-carrying vehicle must have at least ten hours off duty. Those operating a passenger-carrying vehicle must have eight hours off duty.
After that, you’ll need to determine where drivers stand on compliance with the 60- or 70-hour rule. For a truck driver getting 34 hours off is the easiest solution. If that’s not an option, you’ll need to add up the hours worked in the past seven or eight days to see where each driver stands.
Notably, this includes all hours spent on emergency relief efforts. That’s why tracking that time is still necessary. Drivers using electronic logging devices (ELDs) can use the “personal use” setting on their ELD to track their time. However, they should annotate the record to indicate that the time was spent providing emergency relief. Using “personal use” requires drivers to log in to their ELDs, avoiding the creation of unassigned driving records that would need to be managed later.
Compliance with many regulations still required
Drivers and motor carriers operating under the exemption must continue to comply with safety rules, including those for:
Some states are implementing additional measures
Michigan: The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will exempt motor carriers and drivers providing direct assistance in support of relief efforts related to the COVID-19 outbreaks from seasonal weight restrictions. Direct assistance, according to MDOT, means transportation and other relief services provided by a motor carrier or its driver to the immediate restoration of essential services, such as medical care, or essential supplies such as food, related to COVID-19 outbreaks during the emergency.
Missouri: The Missouri Department of Transportation announced an allowance for heavier-than-normal truckloads of supplies and equipment to travel on Missouri highways in the direct effort to prevent, contain, mitigate and treat the effects of the COVID-19 virus. The waiver allows private and for-hire motor carriers to haul up to 10% more than their licensed weight on Missouri highways and remains in effect through April 30.
Ohio: Hours of service rules have been suspended for motor carriers providing intrastate transportation of relief supplies. Those rules include consumer goods and medical supplies as part of the COVID-19 response. “Unless otherwise directed, drivers must keep a written or electronic copy of this notice in each vehicle affected by this grant of regulatory relief. This regulatory relief will not apply to vehicles that do not have a copy of this notice.”
Texas: In Texas, three sets of statutes are suspended, subject to federal law and DMV safety limitations:
The International Registration Plan (IRP) vehicle registration under Transportation Code § 502.091 and 43 Tex. Admin. Code § 217.56, as long as the vehicle is registered in one of the 48 contiguous states of the U.S.: and
The 72-hour and 144-hour temporary registration permits under Transportation Code § 502.094 and 43 Tex. Admin. Code § 217.40(b)(3), if the vehicle is registered in one of the states of the United States.
To read FMCSA’s national emergency declaration, visit here.