FMCSA's COVID-19 Hours-of-Service Emergency Declaration Expires

In October 2022, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) nationwide COVID-19 hours-of-service emergency declaration came to an end. The last extension of Emergency Declaration No. 2020-002 ran until 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on October 15, 2022, and FMCSA did not extend it again. The relief had been in place in some form since March 2020.

What the final extension covered

FMCSA issued its last extension on August 31, 2022. It took effect at 12:00 a.m. on September 1 and covered the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The agency said it was continuing the relief because the presidentially declared emergency remained in place, issues arising from COVID-19 were still affecting supply chains and nationwide reporting showed substantial ongoing use of the declaration.

By that point, the relief was narrow. It exempted carriers and drivers giving direct assistance to COVID-19 relief efforts only from 49 CFR 395.3, the maximum driving time limits for property-carrying vehicles. It applied to six categories of cargo:

• livestock and livestock feed;
• medical supplies and equipment for testing, diagnosing and treating COVID-19;
• vaccines and related supplies for administering them;
• supplies such as masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, soap and disinfectants;
• food, paper products and other groceries for emergency restocking of distribution centers or stores; and
• gasoline, diesel, diesel exhaust fluid, jet fuel, ethyl alcohol and heating fuels including propane, natural gas and heating oil.

Routine deliveries and mixed loads carrying only a nominal amount of qualifying cargo did not count. Carriers using the declaration had to report their reliance on it within five days after the end of each month through the FMCSA portal.

FMCSA asks whether it was still needed

On September 7, 2022, FMCSA published a request for comments on how much carriers still relied on the declaration and whether it had affected safety. Comments were due September 21, 2022.

The notice said carriers' self-reported data, collected since September 2021, showed the main commodities moved under the declaration were groceries for emergency restocking and livestock and livestock feed. Use for two categories, COVID-19 medical supplies and community safety and sanitation supplies, fell by almost 50% between October 2021 and July 2022. FMCSA asked for comment on whether the usage fit the intended purpose of the limited relief and on its safety and supply chain effects.

After October 15

The declaration expired at midnight on October 15, 2022, as reported by NATSO, the association representing truck stops and travel centers. NATSO noted that fuel deliveries once again had to follow the federal hours-of-service rules unless covered by one of FMCSA's state or regional declarations, such as those issued for Hurricane Ian, and that FMCSA had not indicated any new COVID-19 exemptions.

NATSO said it had urged FMCSA in September to fully consider market conditions when deciding whether to extend the waiver, and that the hours-of-service rule should be waived only when direct emergency assistance was needed to support supply chains.

Archive: this article describes rules and events as of October 2022. Regulations may have changed since, so check the current rule before relying on it.