Earlier today, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) finalized its adoption and interpretation of changes to the federal hours of service (HOS) regulations specific to ready mixed concrete truck operations. FMCSA’s published changes are the direct result of victories obtained by NRMCA’s regulatory and legislative departments, as well as the direct efforts of our association membership participating in the Quarterly DC Days, and then adopted and interpreted from last year’s transportation bill passed by Congress, known as the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act or FAST Act.

Specifically, the new HOS language covers ready mixed concrete trucks and their drivers concerning the industry-wide exemption from the 30-minute break and changing from 12-hours to 14-hours the reporting time contained in the 100 air-mile logging exemption.

• 30-minute break exemption: Makes permanent the exemption issued by FMCSA in April 2015 for the ready mixed concrete industry for the 30-minute break rule. While the original exemption had a number of caveats in order to use the exemption, the regulation now only specifically states: “A driver of a ready-mixed concrete delivery vehicle subject to the requirement for a 30-minute rest break in § 395.3(a)(3)(ii) may use 30-minutes or more of time spent while waiting with the commercial motor vehicle at a job site or terminal to meet the requirement for the 30-minute rest break, providing the driver performs no other work during the break.”

• 100 air-mile logging exemption (12 to 14 hours): Specific only for ready mixed concrete truck drivers, the provision increases the 12-hour on-duty logging threshold contained in the 100 air-mile logging exemption to 14 hours in order to be consistent with the 14-hour driving window contained in the HOS regulations. Please see the link below for the specific language.

It is important to note, based on how FMCSA decided to incorporate the new language into the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), and at the strategic urging and direction of NRMCA, the language likely preempts the industry from having to install and use Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) in many, if not most cases. As well, this specific and favorable incorporation likely means that compliance with the 30-minute break (whether under FMCSA guidance or the exemption noted above) will not come into play until a driver has been on-duty past 14 hours. While most of this is “in the weeds” analysis, it holds important developments for the industry. To this point, in the coming weeks, NRMCA will be creating and distributing factsheets detailing the new HOS changes and implications.

Other HOS provision changes that impact ready mixed concrete drivers:

24-hour Construction Materials Restart – Originally, drivers hauling construction materials (such as ready mixed concrete) could restart their weekly on-duty aggregate totals by taking a 24-hour restart, so long as they didn’t drive beyond 50 air-miles from their plant. That distance is now set at 75 air-miles.

Future Exemptions – Exemptions from FMCSA regulations, when granted, can now last for 5 years instead of the original 2 years, and be renewed for up to 5 years. The provision also contains an avenue for resubmitting a denied application as well as FMCSA’s need for explanation as to why they denied an exemption request.

To review the specific changes and language please click here. The official Federal Register version of the changes will be published tomorrow morning (7/22).

Finally, as more analysis and related impacts are realized, NRMCA will communicate such developments and prepare the necessary factsheets. As always, should you have any comments, concerns or questions please don’t hesitate to reach out.

NRMCA thanks all of its members who volunteered their time to participate in NRMCA’s Quarterly DC Days in order to educate Members of Congress and their staff on the importance of including these items in the final FAST Act measure.  It is because of your efforts that NRMCA was so successful.  NRMCA’s next Quarterly DC Days will likely take place in September.