FMCSA denies trucker’s hour of service, ELD exemption request

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has denied an exemption request from Ronnie Brown III, stating it would not achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be achieved absent such exemption.

Brown, a driver for Waterloo, Iowa-based Gray Transportation, submitted the five-year exemption request from five provisions of the federal hours-of-service regulations and electronic logging device regulations in August 2022.

In the request, Brown said the hours-of-service regulations create safety concerns as they don’t always coincide with his natural sleep patterns, and are a one size fits all set of rules.

“I can safely drive and know when I am tired and do not push beyond the limits of safety, regardless of the amount of sleep or the length of the drive time,” Brown wrote.

Public comment

FMCSA received 1,223 comments, nearly all filed by individual drivers and owner-operators, the agency said. Of those comments, nearly 600 were in support of Brown’s request while only 119 opposed it. The remaining comments (515) were neutral and general remarks regarding hours of service and ELD regulations, according to FMCSA.

Notable opposition came in a joint comment from the Truck Safety Coalition, Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways and Parents Against Tired Truckers.

“We strongly request this inadequately justified exemption to HOS and ELD requirements be denied in full,” the Truck Safety Coalition wrote. “Large truck crash fatalities continue to increase at an alarming pace, and it is incumbent on the Department of Transportation and FMCSA to take every measure possible to reverse this trend and affirm life safety as its top priority by denying the request.”

Other opposed comments touched on the following:

• There is no data provided for an equivalent level of safety.
• Hours-of-service rules do save lives and are there for everyone’s safety.
• This request cannot be granted for individuals.
• If the agency granted this exemption for one individual, then FMCSA must grant it for everyone.
• Drivers can utilize the provision in 49 CFR 392.3 if they feel ill or fatigued.

The agency’s ruling said it agreed with commenters and, “If it exempts one individual from HOS regulations, it could open the door for a huge number of similar exemption requests.”

Granting the exemption would also be inconsistent with the primary goal of the hours-of-service regulations, said FMCSA. LL

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