Trucking news and briefs for Monday, May 18, 2020:
FMCSA denies waiver request for team drivers to split sleeper berth time
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has denied a waiver request from Department of Defense hauler PTS Worldwide that would have allowed its team drivers to split their 10-hour off-duty time into segments of either 4/6, 5/5 or 6/4 hours.
The agency says the petition did not include an analysis of the safety impacts the exemption would cause. FMCSA notes that research shows that the longer sleeper berth period needs to be at least seven hours.
FMCSA’s hours of service final rule set to be published in the coming days allows a split of 7/3 hours in addition to the currently allowed 8/2 hour split.
Fireworks hauler gets 14-hour rule reprieve
Extreme Logistics, a company that hauls fireworks during the Independence Day holiday period from June 28 to July 8 each year, has received a waiver from FMCSA allowing its drivers to exclude off-duty and sleeper berth time from the 14-hour clock during that time period. The waiver is effective for five years.
FMCSA says pyrotechnicians rarely drive the full 11 hours allowed by regulations, but are required to be on-duty longer than 14 hours and drive at the end of their day. Without the waiver, fireworks company would likely be required to hire a second driver, increasing their operating costs.
