The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) yesterday released a proposal that recognizes the difficulties inherent in moving farm commodities and livestock.

FMCSA is seeking public comment on revising four specific areas of current hours of service regulations, which limit the operating hours of commercial truck drivers.

“We are grateful for this first step to consider options for flexibility in hours-of-service rules. Farm Bureau will continue to work with our partners in industry, FMCSA and Congress to find long-term solutions that address the unique needs of transporting agricultural products, the hauling of live animals in particular,” Andrew Walmsley, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) director of Congressional Relations, said. It is imperative that we seek solutions that account not just for motorist safety, but the health and welfare of animals being transported, as well.”

The four main areas under consideration for revision are:

  • Expanding the current 100 air-mile “short-haul” exemption from 12 hours on-duty to 14 hours on-duty to bring consistency to the rules for long-haul truck drivers;
  • Extending the current 14-hour on-duty limitation by up to two hours when a truck driver encounters adverse driving conditions;
  • Revising the current mandatory 30-minute break for truck drivers after 8 hours of continuous driving; and
  • Reinstating the option for splitting up the required 10-hour off-duty rest break for drivers operating trucks that are equipped with a sleeper-berth compartment.

The upcoming Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking will be published in the Federal Register.

Earlier this year, the congressionally mandated electronic logging device (ELD) rule, which required most FMCSA-regulated motor carriers to convert their records from paper to an electronic format, became effective.

Information on current hours of service regulations is available here.

Information on electronic logging devices (ELDs) carried on-board long-haul trucks and used by commercial vehicle enforcement officers to check compliance with HOS regulations is available here.