Truckers Aiding Tennessee Relief Gain Drive-Time Rules Reprieve

Requirements on truckers’ service hours were temporarily suspended for those helping with relief efforts in Tennessee areas hit by tornadoes and storms, including Nashville, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said March 3.

An emergency declaration (No. 2020-01), which is to remain in effect until April 2 or until the end of the emergency, suspended hours-of-service rules for motor carriers and drivers providing storm-related help. The assistance includes transporting supplies, goods, equipment, and fuel to Tennessee; transporting people to and from the affected areas; and providing other emergency services.

Disaster areas were declared in Davidson, Putnam, and Wilson counties that were hit by tornadoes and storms March 3.

Direct assistance ends when a driver or truck is used in interstate commerce to transport cargo or provide services not directly related to the emergency or when a driver is dispatched to another location to be used for commerce, the declaration said.

Drivers requesting immediate rest must be granted at least 10 consecutive hours off duty before returning to their terminal or usual reporting location. After drivers return, they must be relieved of all duties and responsibilities and given at least 10 hours of off-duty time if they haul property, or eight hours off duty if they transport passengers, the administration said.

Last fall, hours-of- service requirements were temporarily waived by the motor carrier agency for truckers assisting with relief efforts related to Hurricane Dorian in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.