The Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration has announced an extension to the hours-of-service suspension. It was first declared on March 13th and originally extended from April 12th to May 15th, and is being extended again to June 14th.
The Applicable Shipments
Not all trucks on the road get the privilege of ignoring hours-of-service until the job is done. The suspension mainly applies to truckers hauling:
- Medical supplies and equipment related to the testing, diagnosis, and treatment of the COVID-19 coronavirus
- Equipment, supplies, and persons necessary to establish and manage temporary housing, quarantine
- Food, paper products and other groceries for emergency restocking of distribution centers or stores
- Supplies and equipment — e.g. masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, soap and disinfectants — necessary for community safety, sanitation, and prevention of community transmission of COVID-19
- Raw materials, such as paper, plastic or alcohol, required for the manufacture of essential items
- Liquefied gases to be used in refrigeration or cooling systems.
Free PDF version from the FMCSA
Conclusion
The daily average for COVID-19 deaths in the United States is decreasing. This could mean we are on the downward slope of the curve for the pandemic. Will the Suspension from the FMCSA need to be renewed another thirty days, until the middle of July? Only time will tell, but based on CDC statistics, that appears to be less likely than so.
