FMCSA exempts short-haul drivers from HOS break requirement

Washington – Effective immediately, all short-haul truck drivers are exempt from a 30-minute rest break requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s hours-of-service regulations.

The exemption follows an Aug. 2 court decision that vacated an HOS regulation mandate for short-haul drivers to take a 30-minute rest break after driving for eight continuous hours. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that FMCSA did not provide substantial reasoning for including short-haul drivers in the requirements, which went into full effect July 1. The requirement remains in effect for long-haul drivers.

Now exempt from the 30-minute rest break requirement are:

• Truck drivers with or without a commercial driver’s license operating within 100 miles of their work location
• Truck drivers without a commercial driver’s license that operate 150 miles of their work location, such as those employed by a farm operation

FMCSA stated in an Aug. 7 notice that it will publish a new HOS final rule to reflect the short-haul driver exemptions.