Pipeline Contractors Association requests HOS exemption

July 22, 2020

Land Line Staff

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The Pipeline Contractors Association has submitted an exemption request with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from certain hours-of-service regulations.

FMCSA published the notice of application for exemption in the Federal Register on Wednesday, July 22.

PLCA seeks an exemption from:

The requirement of the short-haul exception that drivers return to the work reporting location from which they started the day.

The requirement that drivers use electronic logging devices if they must complete a record-of-duty status on more than eight days in any 30-day period.

The prohibition on driving after having been on duty for 70 hours in eight consecutive days.

The group also asked that drivers of commercial motor vehicles used exclusively in the construction and servicing of pipelines be allowed the same hours-of-service exceptions available to oilfield operations.

“PLCA believes that the current hours-of-service regulations are ill-suited to address the needs and safety concerns of pipeline industry drivers,” the application notice stated. “Pipeline contractors are skilled tradesmen, and driving is ancillary to their primary role as construction workers, as they typically spend only a few hours a day operating commercial motor vehicles on public roads.”

According to the group, the exemptions would not negatively affect safety because the drivers working for PLCA member companies are not engaged in continuous driving.

“Because of the different jobs they normally perform and minimal driving they do, they are less susceptible to fatigue,” the notice stated.

FMCSA will accept comments on the exemption request until Aug. 21. Comments can be made at the Regulations.gov website by using Docket No. FMCSA-2020-0157.

Werner exemption

On July 7, FMCSA announced it accepted an hours-of-service exemption request from Werner Enterprises, allowing the company’s drivers to leave certain data fields blank during the transition to a new electronic logging device provider.

More about Werner’s exemption can be found here.