FMCSA Finalizes Narrower Emergency Exemptions

In October 2023, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a final rule narrowing the automatic regulatory relief that truckers get when an emergency is declared. The rule, published on October 13, 2023, was set to take effect on December 12, 2023. It finalized a proposal FMCSA had published in December 2022.

The old rule

Under 49 CFR 390.23, a declaration of emergency by the President, a governor or FMCSA automatically exempted motor carriers and drivers giving direct assistance to the relief effort from all of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations in parts 390 through 399, for up to 30 days.

FMCSA said most emergencies justified temporary relief from the normal hours of service limits, so drivers could get critical supplies to affected communities quickly. But it said many other rules, such as driver qualification, vehicle inspection, required parts and accessories, and the ban on driving while ill or fatigued, often had no direct bearing on a carrier's ability to help. The agency acknowledged it had no detailed data showing that past exemptions had harmed road safety, but said it also had no information showing that blanket relief was necessary.

What changed

The final rule kept some declarations the same and tightened others:

• Presidential declarations continued to trigger a 30-day exemption, or the period of assistance if shorter, from all of parts 390 through 399.
• Regional declarations by a governor, a governor's authorized representative or FMCSA triggered relief only from the basic hours of service limits in §§ 395.3 and 395.5, for 14 days or the period of direct assistance, whichever was less.
• Residential heating fuel shortages declared by a governor kept relief from all of parts 390 through 399, as required by statute, and the governor could extend the declaration for up to two more 30-day periods.
• Local emergencies kept their 5-day limit, but relief was narrowed to the hours of service limits.
• Tow trucks responding to emergencies kept their special provision, narrowed to § 395.3 and lasting no more than 24 hours.

A longer window than proposed

The December 2022 proposal would have limited automatic relief after a regional declaration to 5 days. Commenters said that was too short both for relief work and for FMCSA to decide whether a longer exemption was needed. FMCSA agreed and moved to 14 days, noting that while most declarations expired within 5 days, climate change had affected the number and severity of the storms that often lead to regional declarations.

Extensions and definitions

FMCSA could still extend or modify relief on its own, or at the request of any interested party, not only drivers and carriers, that explained the need through the agency's emergency declarations email address. FMCSA could also issue initial relief lasting more than 14 days if it judged that necessary. The rule said extensions could include reporting requirements.

The definition of "emergency" was revised to say that relief generally did not apply to economic conditions caused by market forces, such as shortages of raw materials, labor strikes, driver shortages, inflation, or swings in freight or brokerage rates, unless they caused an immediate threat to human life and led to an emergency declaration.

Comments came from carriers, industry groups, safety advocates and others, and the docket also included a letter signed by 27 Members of Congress. Petitions for reconsideration were due by November 13, 2023.

Archive: this article describes rules and events as of October 2023. Regulations may have changed since, so check the current rule before relying on it.