The Trucker 060120

4 • June 1-14, 2020 Nation
THETRUCKER.COM
FMCSA extends temporary emergency hours-of-service
suspension for hauling essential goods through June 14
TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
GREENBELT, Md. — The Commercial
Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) 2020 Operation
Safe Driver Week will go on as scheduled,
July 12-18, according to a May 12 statement.
During the weeklong traffic-enforcement
safety initiative, law-enforcement personnel
throughout North America will be looking for
drivers who are engaging in unsafe driving behaviors.
Identified drivers will be pulled over
by law enforcement and may be issued a warning
or citation.
According to the Governors Highway Safety
Association, having less traffic on the highways
during the COVID-19 pandemic may be
encouraging some drivers to ignore traffic safety
laws, including speed limits. Many jurisdictions
report seeing a severe spike in speeding
despite the lighter volume of traffic.
As the number of vehicles on roadways
decreased in March and April, average speeds
measured during the first week of April increased
significantly in the five largest U.S.
metropolitan areas. According to recent data,
the average speed on interstate highways, state
highways and expressways in those areas increased
by as much as 75% compared to January
and February.
• In New York City, transportation officials
reported an increase of more than 60%
in the number of speed camera tickets issued
in March compared to a year ago. At the same
time, traffic was down more than 90% compared
to January.
• In Washington, D.C., traffic decreased
iStock Photo
Medical supplies and equipment related to the
testing, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19
continue to be qualifying items for the hoursof-service
exemption.
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department
of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued
yet another extension to its suspension of
hours of service for commercial vehicles in
response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In a May 13 notice, FMCSA announced
that the exemption will now expire on
June 14, 2020.
The original emergency declaration
granting relief from hours-of-service requirements
was issued March 13 and was
initially set to expire April 12. In April, that
expiration date was extended to May 15, and
the hours-of-service waiver has now been
extended for another month.
The FMCSA’s declaration provides for
regulatory relief for commercial motor vehicles
transporting the following:
• Medical supplies and equipment related
to the testing, diagnosis and treatment of
COVID-19.
• Supplies and equipment necessary for
community safety, sanitation and prevention
of community transmission of COVID-19
such as masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, soap
and disinfectants.
• Food, paper products and other groceries
for emergency restocking of distribution
centers or stores.
• Immediate precursor raw materials —
such as paper, plastic or alcohol — that are
80% in March compared to January, while officials
recorded a 20% increase in March speeding
tickets. Of those tickets, violations for driving
21 to 25 mph over the speed limit rose by
nearly 40%.
• During just one weekend, in Toronto, Ontario,
Canada, police charged 18 drivers with
stunt driving, at speeds of 80 to 106 mph on
the Don Valley Parkway, a major freeway that’s
limited to 55 mph.
• California reported an increase in speeding
violations, and although the California
Highway Patrol’s call volume has decreased,
the crashes they have recently responded to
have been worse.
• In Tucson, Arizona, police reported a 40%
increase in one-vehicle wrecks, which usually
happens when a driver is going so fast that they
lose control of the vehicle.
• In Minnesota, motor-vehicle crashes and
fatalities more than doubled compared to the
same time period in previous years. Half of
those deaths were related to speeding or careless
or negligent driving.
• In Colorado, Indiana, Nebraska and Utah,
police have clocked highway speeds of more
than 100 mph.
• Chicago and Los Angeles went from
travel speed increases of 35 to 38% above
average to 74 to 75% above average in just
one week.
To address this trend of increased speeding
on North American roadways during the pandemic,
CVSA selected speeding as the focus
for this year’s Operation Safe Driver Week.
required and to be used for the manufacture
of essential items.
• Fuel.
• Liquefied gases to be used in refrigeration
or cooling systems.
• Equipment, supplies and persons necessary
to establish and manage temporary
housing, quarantine and isolation facilities
related to COVID-19.
Persons designated by federal, state or local
authorities for medical, isolation or quarantine
purposes.
Persons necessary to provide other medical
or emergency services.
The expanded and extended declaration
stipulates that direct assistance does not include
routine commercial deliveries, including
mixed loads with a nominal quantity of
qualifying emergency relief added to obtain
the benefits of the emergency declaration.
To ensure continued safety on the nation’s
roadways, the emergency declaration stipulates
that once a driver has completed his or
her delivery, the driver must receive a minimum
of 10 hours off duty if transporting property,
eight hours if transporting passengers.
To read FMCSA’s official release regarding
the extension and expansion, www.fmcsa.
dot.gov/emergency-declarations. 8
CVSA’s Operation Safe Driver Week to go on as scheduled July 12-18
iStock Photo
According to the Governors Highway Safety
Association, having less traffic on the highways
during the COVID-19 pandemic may
be encouraging some drivers to ignore traffic
safety laws, including speed limits.
“It’s essential that this enforcement initiative,
which focuses on identifying and deterring
unsafe driving behaviors, such as speeding, go
on as scheduled,” said CVSA President Sgt.
John Samis with the Delaware State Police.
“As passenger vehicle drivers are limiting their
travel to necessary trips and many commercial
motor vehicle drivers are busy transporting vital
goods to stores, it’s more important than ever to
See CVSA on p6 m
USPS 972
Volume 33, Number 11
June 1-14, 2020
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