FMCSA says no to relaxed Hours-of-Service rules for propane haulers during winter months

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will deny a request for regulatory relief from the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA).

The FMCSA will deny the NPGA’s application for exemption from various hours-of-service (HOS) requirements between December 15 and March 15 each year, the agency announced in a Notice to be published in the Federal Register on December 2, 2025.

The NPGA asked federal authorities for a five year exemption that would allow propane haulers the following regulatory relief measures:

• Drivers allowed up to 15 hours of on-duty time daily
• Drivers may use up to 12 hours of driving time daily
• Any period of six consecutive days during the exemption “window” may end with the beginning of an off-duty period of 24 or more consecutive hours, as opposed to the current option of 34 or more consecutive hours off duty to reset the “weekly” HOS limits
• Remove the restriction on drivers who have been on duty for 60 hours over seven consecutive days, or 70 hours over eight consecutive days

The NPGA asked for the relaxed HOS rules partly in response to the harsh winter of 2024 — 2025, which the group called “the most disruptive in eleven years.”

While 22 of the 31 public comments received were in favor of granting the request, FMCSA ultimately opted to deny the request, noting that there is “an existing process to issue emergency declarations and HOS waivers in response to, and even in advance of, severe weather scenarios and other emergencies.”

“Given the hazardous nature of the material being transported and breadth of the exemption requested, FMCSA cannot determine that the exemption would likely achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be achieved absent such exemption. For the above reasons, NPGA’s exemption application is denied,” officials said.