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March Topic for Awareness - Adverse Driving Conditions
Hours of Service Exemptions:
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/2020-02/FMCSA-HOS-395.1-Q05.VSB_.docx
395.1 Scope of the rules in this part.
The adverse driving condition exception allows the driver to add up to two hours to their shift and driving time – extending their shift to a maximum 16 hours and the drive time to a maximum of 13 – to “complete the run or to reach a place offering safety” according to the FMCSA Oct 27. 2022
The FMCSA defines adverse driving conditions as: “snow, sleet, fog, other adverse weather conditions, a highway covered with snow or ice, or usual road and traffic conditions. None of which appeared based on the information known to the person dispatching the run at the time it was begun.
Guidance Q&AQuestion: How may a driver utilize the adverse driving conditions exception, or the emergency conditions exception as found in §395.1(b), to preclude an hours-of-service violation?
Guidance: An absolute prerequisite for any such claim must be that the trip involved is one which could normally and reasonably have been completed without a violation and that the unforeseen event occurred after the driver began the trip.
Drivers who are dispatched after the motor carrier has been notified or should have known of adverse driving conditions are not eligible for the two hours additional driving time provided for under §395.1(b), adverse driving conditions. The term “in any emergency” shall not be construed as encompassing such situations as a driver’s desire to get home, shippers’ demands, market declines, shortage of drivers, or mechanical failures.
Are drivers required to annotate an adverse driving condition they encountered on their electronic logging device (ELD)?
FMCSA-HOS-2020-395-FAQ15.pdf (8.23 KB)
Question: Are drivers required to annotate an adverse driving condition they encountered on their electronic logging device (ELD)?
Guidance: Yes. A driver is required to annotate the use of the adverse driving conditions exception on the electronic logging device under 49 CFR Section 395.28(c). If the roadside officer can prove there was no adverse driving condition, the driver should be cited for the applicable violation of 49 CFR 395.3 or 395.5.
Bottom line: If your run could have been completed within HOS under normal conditions and you or your dispatcher had no prior knowledge of potential adverse driving conditions, you can apply the exception.
Hours of Service Exemptions:
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/2020-02/FMCSA-HOS-395.1-Q05.VSB_.docx
395.1 Scope of the rules in this part.
The adverse driving condition exception allows the driver to add up to two hours to their shift and driving time – extending their shift to a maximum 16 hours and the drive time to a maximum of 13 – to “complete the run or to reach a place offering safety” according to the FMCSA Oct 27. 2022
The FMCSA defines adverse driving conditions as: “snow, sleet, fog, other adverse weather conditions, a highway covered with snow or ice, or usual road and traffic conditions. None of which appeared based on the information known to the person dispatching the run at the time it was begun.
Guidance Q&AQuestion: How may a driver utilize the adverse driving conditions exception, or the emergency conditions exception as found in §395.1(b), to preclude an hours-of-service violation?
Guidance: An absolute prerequisite for any such claim must be that the trip involved is one which could normally and reasonably have been completed without a violation and that the unforeseen event occurred after the driver began the trip.
Drivers who are dispatched after the motor carrier has been notified or should have known of adverse driving conditions are not eligible for the two hours additional driving time provided for under §395.1(b), adverse driving conditions. The term “in any emergency” shall not be construed as encompassing such situations as a driver’s desire to get home, shippers’ demands, market declines, shortage of drivers, or mechanical failures.
Are drivers required to annotate an adverse driving condition they encountered on their electronic logging device (ELD)?
FMCSA-HOS-2020-395-FAQ15.pdf (8.23 KB)
Question: Are drivers required to annotate an adverse driving condition they encountered on their electronic logging device (ELD)?
Guidance: Yes. A driver is required to annotate the use of the adverse driving conditions exception on the electronic logging device under 49 CFR Section 395.28(c). If the roadside officer can prove there was no adverse driving condition, the driver should be cited for the applicable violation of 49 CFR 395.3 or 395.5.
Bottom line: If your run could have been completed within HOS under normal conditions and you or your dispatcher had no prior knowledge of potential adverse driving conditions, you can apply the exception.
