The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) proposed rule to its Hours of Service (HOS) requirements were announced in the Federal Register. The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) supports these changes that would address the industry’s concerns regarding use of Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) and cover the issues included in NWRA’s pending HOS-ELD industrywide exemption request to FMCSA.
The proposed rule alter the short-haul exception to the record of duty status (RODS) requirement by extending the maximum duty period allowed under the exception from 12 hours to 14 hours; extends the air-mile radius for the maximum distance from the work-reporting location from 100 to 150 miles; and modifies the exception for adverse driving conditions by allowing such conditions to extend the maximum driving window by up to two hours. Drivers would still be limited to 11 hours driving time under normal circumstances or 13 hours under adverse conditions.
“FMCSA’s proposal to overhaul the Hours of Service requirements takes into consideration the points that NWRA has been making in comments to and during in-person meetings with the administration since this process started a year ago,” NWRA President and CEO Darrell Smith said. “We are extremely pleased that FMCSA has incorporated our views on behalf of the waste and recycling industry into these amendments.”
Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted for 45 days beginning Aug. 22 at www.regulations.gov using Docket Number FMCSA-2018-0248. It is predicted that the rulemaking process may take up to a year before any changes would go into effect. In the meantime, a decision by FMCSA on NWRA’s industrywide HOS-ELD exemption request is expected soon. If the request is granted, the exemption immediately would go into effect for the waste and recycling industry, bridging the gap until rule changes occur, and not sunset for five years. Should the amendments be enacted, NWRA would not have to request an exemption renewal every five years.