The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has denied a request by two movers associations seeking hours-of-service exemptions, the agency announced this week.
The groups sought exemption of the 14-hour limit placed on drivers’ on-duty time, saying drivers who are delayed making deliveries at residences could need to drive beyond the 14th hour to move the truck to a secure location for overnight parking.
The American Moving & Storage Association requested the exemption last September, and the International Association of Movers followed suit in November.
AMSA and IAM said is separate applications that unexpected delays during delivery days could result in the drivers being held up at a residences past their 14thon-duty hour.
They added that moving the trucks out of the residential areas to overnight parking eliminates the safety problems created when trucks and trailers are parked in residential neighborhoods and ensures the security of household goods in the trucks.
AMSA and IAM proposed to allow their truck operators drive either 75 miles or 90 minutes beyond the 14th hour.
FMCSA said in its denial that neither AMSA nor IAM offered “any measures to offset the excessive fatigue to which CMV drivers operating beyond the 14th hour would be subjected.” FMCSA added the applications didn’t put a limit on how often the exemption could be used, which resulted in the denial of the applications.
