OOIDA’s take on the FMCSA rule regarding emergency relief

Jay Grimes - Federal Affairs Director - OOIDA - Washington, DC

1. A new announcement from FMCSA, more information below.

2. A quick update on the U.S. House speaker process that has been going on this week.

FMCSA has released the Final Rule clarifying applicability to Regional Emergency Exemptions. Presidential/federal declarations of emergency will continue to trigger a 30-day exemption from all FMCSRs in parts 390 through 399.

The initial proposal reduced the regional emergency exemption window from 30-days to 5-days, but the final rule is 14-days. Additionally, for those emergencies that do not require an extended response period, the regulation provides that the exemption

period triggered by a Governor-issued emergency declaration will end upon cessation of

the emergency declaration or 14 days, whichever is sooner.

The final rule also narrows to scope of emergency relief to cover HOS regulations rather than all parts 390-399.

Finally, this rule simplifies the language in § 390.25, allowing FMCSA to extend and modify the automatic regulatory relief outlined in § 390.23, either on its own volition

or upon request. All requests for modifications and extensions must be made via email.

FMCSA will still establish a time limit for the extended or modified emergency exemption, and the Agency may place any restrictions upon the emergency relief. This

final rule adds, specifically, that FMCSA may include reporting requirements as one of

these restrictions.

The final rule takes effect 60-days after whenever this gets officially published in the Federal Register.

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