FMCSA Cuts HOS Waivers for Some Oil, Gas Drivers

Federal regulatory “guidance” issued last week restricted the number of oil and gas well truck drivers who can extend their workdays beyond the 14-hour federal limit under the oil-field operations exemption to hours-of-service rules.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said that the provision that allows drivers who are waiting at oil or gas well sites to count that time as off-duty applies only to trucks that are “specially constructed for use at oil and gas sites” and whose operators require “extensive” training for the use of equipment.

For drivers who don’t meet those qualifications, time spent waiting at well sites will be counted toward the 14 hours that truck drivers may work each day before taking a 10-hour break.

In the guidance, published June 5 in the Federal Register, FMCSA seeks to differentiate the specialty oil and gas vehicles from other trucks that work in well operations.

“If you run a hydraulic fracturing unit, your main job is operating a hydraulic fracturing unit,” said Boyd Stephenson, director of hazardous materials policy at American Trucking Associations. “It just so happens the only way to get the hydraulic fracturing unit from point A to point B is because it’s mounted on a commercial motor vehicle.”

In Stephenson’s example, the driver of the hydraulic fracturing unit would be eligible for the waiting time exemption.

But truckers simply hauling supplies to or from oil or gas sites are not eligible, the agency said.

“Operators of [commercial motor vehicles] that are used to transport supplies, equipment and materials such as sand and water to and from the well sites do not qualify for the ‘waiting time exemption,’ ” FMCSA wrote.

An FMCSA spokeswoman stressed that the guidance does not change the agency’s policies. It was meant only to clarify current regulations, she said.

FMCSA published its notice as a response to “a significant increase in oil and gas drilling operations in many states,” it said.

Historically, truckers in different states may have been subject to different interpretations of the oilfield exemptions from enforcement officials, Stephenson said. FMCSA aimed to clear up those different interpretations through this guidance.

In addition, some carriers were confused about the fact that there are two separate provisions within the oil-field exemption, the agency said. A 24-hour restart, which allows a driver to reset his weekly clock by resting for 24 hours, is available to all truck drivers working in oil or gas well operations, including those hauling sand or gravel in normal vehicles.

But the waiting time provision, while closely related to the 24-hour restart, is available only to the smaller pool of drivers who operate specialized machinery and are specially trained to do so, FMCSA said.

Examples of vehicles that are likely to qualify for the waiting time provision are “heavy-coil vehicles, missile trailers, nitrogen pumps, wire-line trucks, sand storage trailers, cement pumps, ‘frac’ pumps, blenders, hydration pumps and separators,” the FMCSA notice said.

Henry Jasny, general counsel for Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, agreed with FMCSA’s guidance concerning the waiting-time exemption, but said the agency should frequently review exemptions to the hours-of-service rule to see if they are safe.

“While we might want them to review it to see if it should be changed, we’re all for making it clear to the operators out there who can use the exemption and who can’t,” he said. “We don’t want just every driver using the exemption because they drive near an oil field.”

The oil-field exemption specifically should be reviewed, Jasny said, citing the recent spike in oil and natural gas exploration using hydraulic fracturing techniques. The exemption, paired with the spike in activity, might bring a new influx of truck drivers who can skirt the hours rules, he said.