ATA Seeks HOS Change for Hazmat Truckers

This story appears in the July 29 print edition of Transport Topics.

American Trucking Associations has asked the federal government to allow truck drivers hauling hazardous materials to watch their vehicles during the 30-minute break they are now required to take under the new hours-of-service rule.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration should interpret the HOS changes, which took effect July 1, to allow hazmat drivers to watch their trucks during their required breaks in order to fulfill the “constant attendance” practice hazmat carriers usually employ, ATA said in its July 17 letter.

“The safety benefits of constant attendance exceed the risks,” ATA said. “A driver exercising constant attendance over a vehicle, but otherwise at liberty to pursue activities of his/her own choosing, should not be considered on duty.”

During the rest break, the driver must be completely off duty and cannot be responsible for his or her truck or doing any other work, such as paperwork or loading, according to the HOS rules.

However, citing existing attendance regulations, FMCSA exempted drivers hauling certain explosives, saying they can watch their loads but cannot do any other work during the rest-break period. The agency later added drivers carrying radioactive material for the Department of Energy to that same exemption.

“While there is no specific federal rule that our drivers attend to the truck, most companies do that from a best-practice standpoint, or have it in their security plans,” said Dan Furth, president of National Tank Truck Carriers, which also supports the rest-break exemption.

Federal rules state that hazmat carriers must keep security plans that detail how they will keep their loads secure, said Boyd Stephenson, ATA’s director of hazmat policy. Stephenson wrote the letter requesting the new regulatory interpretation.

“Following your security plan is a legal requirement,” he said.

The issue of attendance had been on the industry’s radar for a while, Stephenson said. But it came to the forefront when FMCSA issued new regulatory guidance on the rest break, saying carriers no longer have to give drivers instructions in writing.

“A lot of folks turned to the guidance, because they were looking to find out how they could comply,” Stephenson said. But the guidance said nothing about attendance, spurring ATA to write the letter to request more guidance.

Furth and Stephenson said they also are concerned about how the rest break would affect carriers hauling high-value cargo because carriers generally promise those shippers they will constantly watch the load.

Since the rule took effect, carriers have had to make a call on a case-by-case basis as to whether they follow the rule or ask drivers to watch the loads.

“Compliance is difficult there, and my members err on the side of safety here,” Furth said.

“There’s no way to do both,” Stephenson said.

Stephenson said he had not gotten a response from FMCSA on his request as of last week. A spokesman confirmed that the agency received the  petition, and it is under review.

Earlier in July, FMCSA granted haulers of animals a temporary waiver from the rest-break requirement, citing the harm to the animals if a trailer had to sit in hot weather during the summer months. That waiver expires in September.

The agency also has received requests to exempt truckers carrying U.S. Army cargo, armored cars and ready-mixed concrete drivers from the rest break. All permanent exemptions must be published in the Federal Register, and the public must be given a chance to comment before FMCSA can grant them.

It has not taken action on any of those petitions.