FMCSA issues hours-of-service exemption for DOE

Washington – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on May 31 issued an hours-of-service regulation exemption for the Department of Energy.

The exemption will allow certain DOE-contracted drivers to use 30 minutes or more of attendance time to meet HOS break period requirements, as long as no other work is performed during that time. The exemption aligns DOE drivers who are transporting security-sensitive radioactive materials with non-DOE drivers who are shipping explosive materials and are exempt.

FMCSA’s latest HOS regulations, which at press time were being challenged in court, require drivers to take a break for at least 30 minutes following eight hours of continuous on-duty driving.

The DOE exemption is scheduled to go into effect July 1 and run through June 30, 2015.