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22 • SEPTEMBER 2023 JOB RESOURCES
Thetrucker.com
OWNING THE WHEEL
FMCSA’s ‘adverse conditions’ rule can be a valuable tool if used correctly
CLIFF ABBOTT | SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Everything’s going great — you’re even
ahead of schedule, cruising along in moderate
traffic, enjoying the day.
Then it happens.
Brake lights ahead indicate stopped traffic
… and there it is: a highway clusterfuddle in the
middle of nowhere. So, there you sit, creeping
inch by inch toward your destination instead of
cruising along on the open road.
By the time you finally get through all the
traffic and spot the two smashed-up fourwheelers
that caused the whole mess, sitting
on the shoulder of the highway, your schedule
is shot. You no longer have enough hours to
legally and safely complete the trip because of
hours-of-service rules.
Or do you?
Thanks to a little-understood provision in
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations
(better known as the FMCSRs), you just might
have up to two extra hours of driving. Your 14-
hour drive/work period can also be extended
by up to two hours. Unfortunately, some drivers
don’t understand this rule and avoid using it to
stay away from logging violations. At the other
extreme are drivers who use the provision
often but use it incorrectly, inviting problems
later when logs are audited. A third group
understands and uses the provision but isn’t
clear on how to record it.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration, adverse driving
conditions are defined as “snow, ice, sleet, fog,
or other adverse weather conditions or unusual
road or traffic conditions that were not known,
or could not have reasonably been known, to a
driver immediately prior to beginning the duty
day, or immediately before beginning driving
after a qualifying rest break or sleeper berth
period, or to a motor carrier immediately prior
to dispatching the driver.”
Notice the “unusual road or traffic
conditions” part of that rule.
Before claiming the extra driving and onduty
time, the first question a driver should
ask is whether the condition was (or could
have been) known before the driving day
began. Weather, for example, is predicted
almost constantly by government agencies and
reported frequently by media outlets. If heavy
snow was predicted for your route yesterday,
you won’t be able to claim extra time for the
adverse conditions you faced. The standard
is “could not have reasonably been known,”
so claiming you didn’t hear a weather report
won’t work as an excuse. The information was
available, if you had looked for it.
On the other hand, if the weather report had
called for rain, but the temperature dropped
lower than expected and the rain turned into
a surprise snowstorm, that’s a legitimate use of
the exemption.
Another example is traffic congestion. If
your trip takes you along I- 80/94 south of
Chicago and into northwest Indiana at 5:30 in
the afternoon, you won’t be able to claim that
traffic congestion was a surprise. Every driver
knows to expect heavy traffic during rush hour
in a metro area. On the other hand, a backup
caused by an accident on I-80 in rural Iowa
isn’t as predictable and could be used for the
exemption.
Things you definitely can’t use to extend
driving and working hours are events like
delays in loading or unloading, breakdowns,
personal illness, etc.
As any professional driver knows, traffic
backups can occur anywhere, and for a variety
of reasons. Vehicle collisions are often the cause,
as is construction, nature events such as rock
or mudslides, trees falling into the roadway,
stoppages for presidential motorcades and a
host of others. As long as you could not have
known before your trip or your latest driving
period, began, you can claim the extra time.
Another caveat of the exemption is that, in
order to claim the extra time, you be able to
prove you would have been able to finish your
trip within the regulated hours had the adverse
condition not occurred. If it’s Wednesday and
your delivery is scheduled for Friday, you can’t
drive extra time due to adverse conditions.
It only applies if you can reach your delivery
without another rest break.
Something to remember about using the
adverse driving conditions exemption is that
the reason claimed for driving the extra hours
can — and will — be checked. Law enforcement
iStock Photo
Thanks to a little-understood provision in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, drivers may have up to two
extra hours of drive time available when an unexpected event causes delays.
personnel usually have computers that are
connected to state offices, or at least radio
contact with people who have access. Your
claim of a huge traffic jam at mile marker 162
caused by loose cows in the roadway can be
checked, and you can receive a citation if it
can’t be shown as legitimate. You can argue, of
course, but a day in the courtroom, even if you
win your case, can still cost you a day’s pay plus
travel and potential lodging expenses. You’ll
want to save all the evidence you can about
your reason for claiming the exemption.
Carriers often use outside services to
check electronic log data and alert their safety
department or other designated staff when
carrier-specified events occur. For example, if
you work for a large carrier that had 50 trucks
travel the same stretch of highway that day and
you’re the only one who claimed the hours-ofservice
exemption because of a traffic backup
(or a tornado, or a blizzard), your version of
events could be questioned. Again, the answer
is to document the event as best you can.
You can use the internet to search for
and save stories about the event. Weather
events are often newsworthy, especially if they
are severe. A screenshot of a page from the
state’s department of transportation website
reporting unexpected events could be helpful.
Photos from your phone, in certain conditions,
may be enough, especially if you can get mile
marker signs or other location information
in the picture. You don’t need to spend hours
building a case, but it doesn’t hurt to save
evidence to back up your claim of adverse
driving conditions.
Finally, remember that the additional hours
you claim will still count against your seven- or
eight-day totals. You could run out of available
hours sooner than expected.
The exception to the hours of service for
adverse driving conditions is a great tool that
can save the day when on-time delivery is at
stake, but it must be used correctly to avoid
violations of the regulations and, in some cases,
carrier policies. For drivers who know how to
use the rule and document the exceptions, it
can be a great tool in the professional driver’s
toolbox. 8
Werner driver celebrates achievement of 5 million accident-free miles
THE TRUCKER NEWS STAFF
OMAHA, Neb. — Werner is celebrating driver
Tim Dean, who has traveled 5 million miles without
an accident. Dean joins Werner driver Charley
Endorf as only the second driver in company history
to reach this milestone.
To honor Dean’s accomplishment, Werner
recently hosted a ceremony at its headquarters in
Omaha, Nebraska.
The average professional truck driver drives
about 2 million miles over the course of their career,
according to the American Trucking Associations
(ATA). Driving 5 million accident-free miles is
equivalent to driving around the world more than
200 times.
“Today, we have the pleasure of showcasing
what greatness looks like in the daily work of the
American professional driver,” said Derek Leathers,
Werner’s chairman, president and CEO.
“It’s the accomplishment of waking up every day,
working hard and delivering goods that matter, both
safely and on time, to those who have entrusted us
to do so,” he continued. “We commend Tim for his
contributions to Werner and the industry as a whole
and are incredibly proud of him for his unwavering
commitment to safety over the last 35 years. We look
forward to Tim’s continued success on the road as a
professional driver, one safe mile at a time.”
Dean joined Werner in 1988 and has received
numerous accolades during his tenure with the
company. In 2009-10, he served as an ATA America’s
Road Team Captain, and he has served as a Werner
Road Team Captain and mentor since 2005.
For 22 years, Dean has competed in the Nebraska
Truck Driving Championships, placing first in his
class nine times and earning Grand Champion honors
in 2012 and 2018. He was awarded the Commercial
Vehicle Safety Alliance IDEA (International Driver
Excellence Award) in 2019.
In addition, Dean was named the Nebraska
Trucking Association’s Driver of the Year in 2019. 8
Courtesy: Werner
Werner driver Tim Dean has traveled
5 million accident-free miles.