How does the new hours-of-service rule affect the adverse weather exception?
The new hours-of-service rule continues to permit a driver to exceed the 10 or 11-hour driving limit by no more than 2 hours under adverse weather conditions; however, this adverse weather exception does not permit a driver to exceed the 14 or 15 hour limit or the 60/70 hour limit. An absolute prerequisite for any use of the adverse weather exception must be that the trip involved is one that could normally and reasonably have been completed without a violation and that the unforeseen event occurred after the driver began the trip. Drivers who are dispatched after the motor carrier has been notified or should have known of adverse driving conditions are not eligible for the two hours additional driving time provided for under 395.1(b) , adverse driving conditions. The term “in any emergency” shall not be construed as encompassing such situations as a driver’s desire to get home, shippers’ demands, market declines, shortage of drivers, or mechanical failures.
The new hours-of-service rule continues to permit a driver to exceed the 10 or 11-hour driving limit by no more than 2 hours under adverse weather conditions; however, this adverse weather exception does not permit a driver to exceed the 14 or 15 hour limit or the 60/70 hour limit. An absolute prerequisite for any use of the adverse weather exception must be that the trip involved is one that could normally and reasonably have been completed without a violation and that the unforeseen event occurred after the driver began the trip. Drivers who are dispatched after the motor carrier has been notified or should have known of adverse driving conditions are not eligible for the two hours additional driving time provided for under ยง395.1(b) , adverse driving conditions. The term “in any emergency” shall not be construed as encompassing such situations as a driver’s desire to get home, shippers’ demands, market declines, shortage of drivers, or mechanical failures.
