Emergencies declared across Southeast ahead of winter storm, bringing HOS waivers

With a massive winter storm forecast to impact a large swath of the United States -- ranging from New Mexico all the way to Maine -- Friday through the weekend, several Southeastern states have issued emergency declarations to help facilitate any needed storm relief on the back end of the storm.

According to AccuWeather reporting Friday, snow, ice and bitter cold are expected in a path that includes major cities like Albuquerque, New Mexico; Denver; Dallas; Oklahoma City; St. Louis; Nashville; Indianapolis; Pittsburgh; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; New York City; Boston and others.

Many states in the Midwest and Northeast are already under emergency declarations from winter storms that occurred earlier this winter. Now at least six more states have done much the same, temporarily suspending certain trucking regulations for drivers and motor carriers providing direct assistance to the emergencies.

[Related: Emergency declarations, HOS waivers extended in 21 states]

Georgia

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared an emergency that’s effective through Jan. 29, suspending certain size-and-weight and hours-of-service regulations for relief response.

Under terms of the emergency, five-axle trucks can operate with a gross vehicle weight of up to 95,000 pounds, a maximum width of 10 feet, and an overall length of 100 feet. Trucks wider that 8.5 feet traveling after daylight -- defined as 30 minutes before sunset to 30 minutes after sunrise -- are required to have a vehicle front and a rear escort/amber light when traveling on a two-lane roadway and a rear escort when traveling on a four-lane highway.

New

Overdrive's Load Profit Analyzer

Know your costs, owner-operators? Compute the potential profit in any truckload, access per-day and per-mile breakouts, and compare brokers' offers on multiple loads. Enter your trucking business's fixed and variable costs, and load information, to get started. Need help? Access this video to walk through examples with Overdrive’s own Gary Buchs, whose work assessing numbers in his own business for decades inspired the Analyzer to begin with.

Try it out!

Georgia’s declaration also suspends HOS regs “to ensure the uninterrupted supply of goods and services necessary to respond to this state of emergency, including petroleum products,” for 14 days or until the emergency conditions are over, whichever is sooner.

Louisiana

The Louisiana Department of Public Safety's emergency declaration suspends 49 Code of Federal Regulations 390-399 for carriers providing residential heating fuel, including heating oil, natural gas, and propane.

The declaration also includes a suspension of Part 395.3 -- maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles -- for motor carriers in Louisiana providing direct assistance to the disaster relief in the state. That includes, but is not limited to, power grid repairs and delivery of groceries, fuel, and other essential products.

The declaration is effective through Feb. 5.

Mississippi

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared an emergency effective through Jan. 27 that suspends 395.3 for carriers providing assistance for “the immediate restoration of essential services or providing essential supplies during an emergency,” including but not limited to the transport of fuel, propane, food, water, medical supplies and other essential products, as well as the restoration of utility and transportation services.

North Carolina

Gov. Josh Stein’s emergency declaration calls for the state’s Department of Transportation to issue permits for commercial vehicles operating outside the normal weight, height, and length restrictions in the state.

Stein also waived 395.3 for emergency response vehicles, including those transporting essential fuels, food, water, non-alcoholic beverages, medical supplies, feed for livestock and poultry; transporting livestock, poultry, and crops ready to be harvested; or providing assistance for the restoration of utility and transportation services.

Texas

The Texas Department of Public Safety issued a declaration that suspends 395.3 for motor carriers providing assistance related to power grid repairs and the delivery of groceries, home heating oils, fuel, propane, and other essential products, and more.

The declaration is effective through Jan. 26, or until the end of the emergency, whichever is earlier.

Virginia

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has declared an emergency for the state ahead of the storms. The declaration, like any other governor’s emergency declaration, automatically triggers a 14-day suspension of 395.3 for truck drivers and carriers providing direct assistance. Spanberger’s declaration gave authorization to state agencies to waive regulations as necessary, but as of Friday afternoon, no additional trucking-related declarations had been issued.