FMCSA Grants Exemption for Heating Oil in 46 States
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) says that if current winter storms are any indicator of what is to come, the start of 2023 is going to be a time of great cold. As such, the FMCSA is giving hours-of-service exemptions to haulers providing heating oil, such as propane and natural gas, to numerous states.
States Affected
Here are all the states (and single district) that are included in the Declaration.
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Before reading on, can you guess without looking as to which four states are not exempt? Two of them are immediately obvious, but the other two may be hard to remember by themselves. The answer will be at the end of this article.
The Declaration is very run-of-the-mill: drivers can travel beyond 14 hours unless they feel tired and when they finish a delivery or are tired they must take a break no shorter than ten consecutive hours.
Conclusion
With Winter officially having begun, the nation is in a state of cooling, and many people are going to need additional heating. As time goes on, specific states may experience cold snaps that require additional Declarations. Robin Hutcheson says on the relevant FMCSA webpage that if a state provides additional relief, a driver may operate under that relief within its state borders.
The Declaration is currently set to expire on January 6th, but may be extended or terminated early if the situation calls for it.
With the winter season ramping up, we advise you to keep emergency supplies, such as blankets and hand warmers, in your cabin in the off-chance you need them. It is better to have and not need than to need and not have!
Finally, the four states that are not covered in the Declaration are Alaska, Hawaii, Florida, and New Mexico.
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