The FMCSA, last week, granted a temporary HOS exemption to drivers hauling livestock.
The exemption will allow livestock haulers to forgo the 30-minute break requirement during the first eight hours of a shift. The exemption is effective for one year.
“This requirement is part of the current Hours-of-Service (HoS) rules for truck drivers to prevent fatigued-related crashes, although drivers transporting agricultural commodities, including livestock, within a 150-air mile radius of the source of those commodities are already exempt from the HoS rules and are not affected by this action,” the FMCSA states.
In 2013, the FMCSA granted a 90-day exemption for livestock haulers during the hot summer months, and the FMCSA said there were no “adverse effect to safety” as a result of the exemption.
The notice, which has been sent to the Federal Register, can be viewed at: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/FRN_NationalPorkProducers.pdf. Contact Marissa Padilla: (202) 366-9999.