The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has declared a State of Emergency in Florida due to the damage caused by Hurricane Milton.

Details

Hurricane Milton has come and gone, but its lingering effects, the destruction left in its wake, still persists. To that end, the FMCSA is suspending some regulatory requirements from Parts 390-399 in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. Usually, these Declarations are done under the authority of the state’s governor, but the FMCSA has taken the initiative to declare this an emergency without a signature from Governor Ron DeSantis (who signed his own State of Emergency Declaration for the statewide level on October 5th). One of the upsides of this is that the Declaration is more easily applicable nationwide: as long as a driver is headed to Florida to provide aid, they are under the protection of the exemptions of this Declaration even when starting the journey from Washington.

The Declaration states “certain regulatory requirements” are exempt, and makes sure to list specific regulations that are absolutely not exempt as a result of the Declaration:

• Driving under the influence of alcohol and other mind-altering substances.
• Driving without a proper Commercial Driver’s License (CDL).
• Financial responsibility/insurance requirements.
• Hazardous Materials Safety Regulations.
• Vehicle size and weight regulations.

This means that despite the need for emergency aid, a random person without a CDL cannot, while smoking marijuana, drive an oversized load, uninsured truck that is carrying radioactive waste.

The most commonly used exemption in 390-399 is the hours-of-service regulatory suspension, but even then, a driver must take a consecutive ten-hour break at the first sign of fatigue or having completed a delivery beyond the standard hours-of-service. The FMCSA does not want the exemption to become a free ticket to drive as much as a fleet wants, especially when sleep deprivation can sometimes prove to be worse for driving than alcohol.

Conclusion

If you would like to read the Declaration in its entirety, you can do so at the relevant FMCSA webpage. Currently, the Declaration is set to expire on November 4th, but may be set to become extended should the (likely) need arise for more aid.

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