APA Advisory - HOS & ELD Waiver Request for 2021-22

November 18, 2020

TO:             , 

SUBJECT: 2021-22 HOS & ELD Waiver Request – Action Required by December 1

Although we are still over a month away from celebrating the New Year, APA has begun the process of applying for a two year renewal of our Hours of Service (HOS) Exemption at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for the calendar years 2021-22.  This exemption provides limited relief from the 14-hour rule for drivers during the 11 day peak Fourth of July season, June 28 – July 8.

For the past few years, FMCSA has also granted APA participants in the HOS exemption a limited waiver from the regulations that require a motor carrier to install and use an electronic logging device (ELD) to record a driver’s HOS.

The FMCSA has asked that our request for this exemption be submitted early, ideally by the end of this year. FMCSA has raised the threshold criteria for granting this exemption for our industry because of criticism it has received by some outside safety organizations. While approval of this exemption request is by no means guaranteed, we believe our effort will be strengthened by providing a timely request with clear and persuasive safety arguments in support of the exemption.

How to Participate in the 2021-22 HOS Exemption & Limited ELD Waiver

APA will begin vetting our annual list of HOS participants for the 2021 Independence Day season. The 61 companies currently participating will be automatically included on the exemption request provided they maintain a satisfactory rating or notify us otherwise. Please review the attached excel  listing of current participants and notify us if any changes need to be made to your company’s contact information.

Remember, companies must have a valid USDOT number and a "satisfactory" rating as a carrier to be included and we ask you to please verify your company's carrier status, by logging into the agency’s Safety & Fitness Electronic Records System (SAFER) .

If your company is currently not listed on the HOS exemption and you believe you might benefit from being included, please complete and return this form to Annelise Gillespie at [email protected]  no later than Tuesday, December 1, 2020.

Please note:  This exemption is primarily for display fireworks companies where the driver acts as the driver of a company vehicle to a display site, and then is the operator in charge of the display.

However, there may be some consumer fireworks companies that may wish to participate in light of recent challenges some have experienced in securing common carriers over the July 4th holiday or to receive the limited ELD relief.

If you have questions whether or not your company has a need for this Hours of Service exemption, or concerns about your current carrier rating, please contact APA Executive Director Julie Heckman [email protected] as soon as possible.

 

 Advisory #2020-47