90-Day Waiver to Expire End of June, 2018
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)has granted a limited 90-day waiver from the Federal hours-of-service (HOS) regulations pertaining to electronic logging devices (ELDs) for the transportation of agricultural commodities as defined in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). The Agency has determined that the Waiver is in the public interest and will likely achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than the level that would be achieved absent such exemption, based on the terms and conditions imposed.
The waiver provides the Agency additional time to complete its analysis of (1) the public responses to its December 20, 2017, notice of proposed regulatory guidance to clarify the applicability of the "Agricultrural commodity" exception to the hours-of-service regulations and issue final guidance which in turn, would have an impact on which drivers transporting agricultural commodities are required to use ELDs, and (2) the public responses to its Octuber 31, 2017, notice announcing the receipt of the NPPC's application for an exemption from the ELD requirements and to issue a decision whether to grant the National Pork Producers Council's (NPPC's) request for longer-term relief from the ELD rule.
The Agency has determined through its preliminary analysis of the public comments submitted to the public dockets that the issues raised by transporters of agricultural commodities are more complex than those raised by other segments of the industry seeking relief from the ELD requirements and that it is appropriate to take additional time to bring these matters to closure.
In order to comply with the waiver, truck drivers must carry a copy of the waiver, which can be found here. If you have any questions, please call government affaris specialist, James Green at (805) 543-3654 or jgreen@slofarmbureau.org.
