Update on APCA Exemptions from FMCSA Hours of Service Requirements

On March 21, 2019, the ACPA’s two-year exemption from the federal Hours of Service (HOS) requirement that commercial drivers take a 30-minute off-duty break after eight hours of work expired. ACPA applied for a five-year renewal of its exemption from the 30-minute break requirement in September 2018. However, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) incorrectly assumed that concrete pumpers did not need the 30-minute break exception after FMCSA granted ACPA a two-hour extension to the HOS short- haul exemption* in November 2018. FMCSA informed ACPA in early March of their position.

After a series of in-person and electronic communications, ACPA made clear to FMCSA that a significant number of concrete pumps operate outside of the short-haul exemption and need the 30-minute break exemption. FMCSA agreed to publish the five-year renewal to apply retroactively and did so on October 9, 2019 (84 FR 54267). With the publication of the notice, the ACPA 30-minute break exemption is now in place through March 17, 2024.

To address the gap between when the 30-minute break exemption expired and was then renewed (March 21 through October 9), FMCSA offered assistance to expunge 30-minute break rule violations cited during that time. If you have a violation, please go to FMCSA’s DataQ website at https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov/Default.aspx and sign up for a DataQ account. DataQ allows you to request and track a review of federal and state data issued by FMCSA that you may feel to be incomplete or incorrect. The system automatically forwards your Request for Data Review (RDR) to the appropriate office for resolution and collects updates and responses for current requests. Note that the DataQ account can be used for all violations, but that FMCSA will only remove the 30-minute break violations per our discussions.

If you have any questions about this, please contact Patty Power at ppower@bosepublicaffairscom.

*The short-haul exemption applies to commercial drivers who drive within a 100-air mile radius and return to their normal reporting location at the end of a 12-hour day. The ACPA two-hour extension allows concrete pumps to operate for 14 hours. The 30-minute break requirement does not apply if you operate under the short-haul exemption.

Notification to FMCSA

Any motor carrier utilizing this exemption must notify FMCSA within 5 business days of any accident (as defined in 49 CFR 390.5), involving any of the motor carrier’s CMVs operating under the terms of this exemption. The notification must include the following information:

(a) Identity of the exemption: “ACPA”;

(b) Name of operating motor carrier and USDOT number;

(c) Date of the accident;

(d) City or town, and State, in which the accident occurred, or closest to the accident scene;

(e) Driver’s name and license number and State of issuance;

(f) Vehicle number and State license plate number;

(g) Number of individuals suffering physical injury;

(h) Number of fatalities;

(i) The police-reported cause of the accident;

(j) Whether the driver was cited for violation of any traffic laws or motor carrier safety regulations; and

(k) The driver’s total driving time and total on-duty time prior to the accident.

Reports filed under this provision shall be emailed to MCPSD[at]DOT[dot]GOV.