Mark Schremmer
More than 200 motor carriers will be allowed to operate under an hours-of-service exemption requested by railroad associations.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced that it was granting an exemption request from the Association of American Railroads and the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association to allow its members to exceed hours-of-service limits so that they can respond to unplanned events.
Federal regulations prohibit drivers from operating after the 14th hour from the beginning of a work shift and from accumulating more than 60 hours of on-duty time in seven consecutive days or more than 70 hours in eight consecutive days.
The five-year exemption will allow covered drivers to respond to unplanned events that occur outside of, or extend beyond, their normal work hours. Eligible “unplanned events” are limited to incidents affecting the main track.
“The agency has analyzed the exemption renewal application and believes there is a public interest in ensuring that railroads clear blocked tracks and rights-of-way and restore service as quickly as possible,” FMCSA wrote in the notice. “The agency does not believe the requested relief would compromise safety when used occasionally to respond to unplanned events.”
When operating under the exemption, drivers:
- May extend the 14-hour rule to no more than 17 hours
- May not exceed 11 hours of driving time, following 10 consecutive hours off-duty
- May extend the 60-hour/70-hour rule by no more than six hours
- May not travel more than 300 air miles from the normal work-reporting location or terminal
The exemption is restricted to individuals employed by 231 member railroads. The 231 carriers are listed in the appendix of FMCSA’s notice.
Motor carriers must maintain a record of when the exemption is used, along with the driver’s records of duty status, supporting documents and a description of the unplanned event that prompted use of this exemption. Those records must be provided upon FMCSA’s request.
Additionally, FMCSA must be notified within five business days of any crash involving a motor carrier that was operating under the exemption.
