FMCSA – EMERGENCY DECLARATION – HOS AND COVID-19

On March 13, 2020 the White House declared that “…an emergency exists that warrants an exemption from Parts 390 and 399…of Title 49…of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations…”* The complete text of Emergency Declaration No. 2020-002 is available as a pdf at the end of this blog.  Here is what you need to know.

• The exemption applies to Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations.
• To be exempt you must provide “direct assistance in support of emergency relief efforts related to COVID-19 outbreaks.”
• Relief efforts include transporting
  • “(1) medical supplies and equipment related to the testing, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19;
  • (2) supplies and equipment necessary for community safety, sanitation and prevention of community transmission of COVID-19 such as
    • Face masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, soap and disinfectants:
  • (3) food for emergency restocking of stores;
  • (4) equipment, supplies and persons necessary to establish and manage temporary housing, quarantine, and isolation facilities related to COVID-19:
  • (5) persons designated by Federal, State or local authorities for medical, isolation, or quarantine purposes; and
  • (6) persons necessary to provide other medical or emergency services, the supply of which may be affected by the COVID-19 response.”*

DIRECT ASSISTANCE DEFINED AND WHEN IT ENDS

Please be aware that “DIRECT ASSISTANCE” is strictly defined and limited.  The following bullet points are MUST KNOW:

• Direct assistance ends when a driver or commercial motor vehicle is used in interstate commerce to:
  • “Transport cargo or provide services that are not in support of emergency relief efforts related to the COVID-19 outbreaks or
  • When the motor carrier dispatches a driver or commercial motor vehicle to another location to begin operations in commerce.
  • Upon termination of direct assistance to emergency relief efforts…the motor carrier and driver are subject to the requirements of 49 CFR Parts 390 through 399, except that
  • A driver may return empty to the motor carrier’s terminal or the driver’s normal work reporting location without complying with Parts 390 and 399.”*

EMERGENCY DECLARATION APPLIES ONLY TO HOS

More MUST KNOW information:

• “Nothing contained in this Emergency Declaration shall be construed as an exemption from:
  • Controlled substances or alcohol use and testing requirements,
  • Commercial driver’s license requirements,
  • Financial responsibility (insurance) requirements,
  • Hazardous material regulations,
  • Applicable size and weight requirements, or
  • Any other portion of the regulations not specifically exempted under Title 49 CFR 390.23”*

WHO IS NOT ELIGIBLE – DURATION OF EMERGENCY

“Motor carriers or drivers currently subject to an out-of-service order are not eligible…”*

“…This declaration is effective immediately and shall remain in effect until the termination of the emergency…or until 11:59 P.M. (ET) on April 12, 2020, whichever occurs sooner.”*

TO SUM UP

1. Be sure you are involved in “direct assistance” in emergency efforts related to COVID-19.  It is not enough to have a skid of rubber gloves as part of a mixed load.
2. Are you or any of your drivers currently under an out-of-service order?  If so, you cannot claim exemption even if you are providing direct assistance.
3. Remember:  the emergency order does NOT provide exemption from any regulation but HOS.
4. Keep checking the FMCSA website at https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/ for updates on the fast-developing COVID-19 crisis.
5.  For the full text of the emergency declaration, see FMCSA Emergency Declaration 3.13.20.pdf

(*Quoted from Emergency Declaration Under 49 CFR 390.23 No. 2020-002)