FMCSA to Issue 90-Day ELD Waiver to Ag Haulers
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced on Nov. 20 that it will be issuing to haulers of agricultural commodities a 90-day temporary waiver of the new electronic logging device mandate— which takes effect just four weeks from now— so that the agency can better address their concerns about operating under the new rules.
In addition, FMCSA said it will be issuing “formal guidance” on the existing hours-of-service exemption for the agricultural industry and on the “personal conveyance” provision for all truckers (which, simply put, refers to when movement of a truck by a driver is not subject to hours-of-service regs) as well as on how enforcement procedures should be carried out once the rule legally kicks in on Dec. 18.
The agency also said it will provide guidance on the existing 150 air miles hours-of-service exemption “to provide clarity to enforcement and industry. The guidance is designed to allow industry to maximize the use of this statutory exemption.”
FMCSA noted that formal publication of the guidance in the Federal Register is to be “expected within the next two weeks” and will include a public comment process. The agency added that it will consider comments received from stakeholders before publishing final guidance.
During a telephone briefing with reporters on Nov. 20, agency officials emphasized that FMCSA and its enforcement partners within the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance are “fully prepared” for the ELD rule’s Dec. 18 implementation date. In their view, the upcoming guidance “represents the agency’s desire to implement the ELD rule in a manner that improves safety without impeding commerce.”
Back in August, FMCSA and CVSA announced a phased-in approach to the ELD mandate that would delay implementing out-of-service criteria related to ELDs until April 1 and that indicated each jurisdiction would have discretion on whether or not to issue citations …Read the rest of this story
