CGA Regulatory Alert (RA-218): U.S. DOT FMCSA – Hours of Service of Drivers

August 30, 2019

Please be advised that the Compressed Gas Association has issued CGA Regulatory Alert (RA-218) regarding the August 22, 2019 notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

CGA Regulatory Alert (RA-218)

49 CFR Part 395

(FMCSA–2018–0248)

 Hours of Service of Drivers

We recommend that all CGA members review this notice to determine its applicability to their company. Individuals who work for CGA member companies may access and download a copy of CGA RA-218 from the Association’s member portal (login required).

Summary

In this rulemaking, FMCSA is proposing amendments to its hours-of-service (HOS) requirements to provide greater flexibility for drivers subject to the HOS rules, without adversely affecting safety.

This would be accomplished by:

  • altering the short-haul exception to the record of duty status requirement available to certain commercial motor vehicle drivers
  • modifying the adverse driving conditions exception
  • increasing flexibility for the 30-minute break rule by requiring a break after 8 hours of driving time (instead of on-duty time) and allowing on-duty/not driving periods as qualifying breaks from driving
  • modifying the sleeper berth exception to allow a driver to spend a minimum of 7 hours in the berth combined with a minimum 2-hour off-duty period, provided the combined periods total 10 hours (rather than the current 8/2 split)
  • allowing one off-duty break that would pause a truck driver’s 14-hour driving window

DATES: Comments must be received by October 7, 2019.

Copies of this notice can be found in the Federal Register Volume 84, Issue 163 (August 22, 2019), on pages 44190-44222.