ENDING: HOS COVID-emergency waiver through mid-October

HOS COVID waiver ending

While HOS waiver ended, FMCSA did issued a three-month waiver extension for commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders seeking to take a skills test for a commercial driver’s license (CDL) and for states administering CDL skills tests until Feb 28, 2023.

FMCSA is ending the COVID-emergency hours-of-service (HOS) exemption and associated regulatory relief in accordance with 49 CFR § 390.25 on October 15, 2022.

This may be the last COVID emergency extension as some categories have seen the usage decrease by almost 50 percent between October 2021 and July 2022. These categories include: medical supplies and equipment related to the testing, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19; and supplies and equipment necessary for community safety, sanitation, and prevention of community transmission of COVID-19.

The primary categories of commodities transported under the declaration are: food, paper products and other groceries for emergency restocking of distributions centers or stores; and livestock and livestock feed.

The continuing national emergency warrants extension of the modified Emergency Declaration No. 2020-002.

This extension and amendment of the modified Emergency Declaration addresses national emergency conditions that create a need for immediate transportation of essential supplies and provides necessary relief from the FMCSRs for motor carriers and drivers.

Motor carriers and drivers providing direct assistance in support of relief efforts related to the COVID-19 public health emergency are granted emergency relief from 49 CFR § 395.3, maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles, except as restricted herein.

Direct assistance means transportation and other relief services provided by a motor carrier or its driver(s) incident to the immediate restoration of essential services (such as medical care) or essential supplies related to COVID-19 during the emergency.

Commodities included for emergency relief

  1. livestock and livestock feed
  2. medical supplies and equipment related to the testing, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19
  3. vaccines, constituent products, and medical supplies and equipment including ancillary supplies/kits for the administration of vaccines, related to the prevention of COVID-19
  4. supplies and equipment necessary for community safety, sanitation, and prevention of community transmission of COVID-19 such as masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, soap, and disinfectants
  5. food, paper products, and other groceries for emergency restocking of distribution centers or stores; and
  6. gasoline, diesel, diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), jet fuel, ethyl alcohol, and heating fuel including propane, natural gas, and heating oil. 

The waiver no longer applies to vehicles, building materials and other commodities that had been specifically mentioned by the FMCSA in previous extensions. 

Direct assistance does not include non-emergency transportation of qualifying commodities or routine commercial deliveries, including mixed loads with a nominal quantity of qualifying emergency relief added to obtain the benefits of this emergency declaration. 

To be eligible for the exemption, the transportation must be both (i) of qualifying commodities and (ii) incident to the immediate restoration of those essential supplies.

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