The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued an emergency declaration for 11 states and Washington, D.C. as Hurricane Florence heads for the U.S. East Coast. The FMCSA’s declaration covers drivers in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, and D.C.
Motor carriers and drivers providing direct assistance in direct support of relief efforts related to Hurricane Florence are granted emergency relief from Parts 390 through 399 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations.
Emergency relief efforts include transporting supplies, equipment, fuel and persons into and from the affected states and jurisdictions or providing other assistance in the form of emergency services during Hurricane Florence.
Direct assistance terminates when a driver or commercial motor vehicle is used in interstate commerce to transport cargo or provide services not directly supporting the emergency relief effort or when the motor carrier dispatches a driver or commercial motor vehicle to another location to begin operations in commerce. Upon termination of direct assistance to the emergency relief effort, the motor carrier and driver are subject to hours of service regulations.
Florence is currently a category 4 hurricane and is expected to make landfall on the North Carolina coast Thursday evening. Weather officials issued a hurricane warning for more than 300 miles of coastline, and ordered more than 1 million people to evacuate the area.
Motor carriers or drivers currently subject to an out-of-service order are not eligible for the relief granted by this declaration.
This emergency declaration is effective immediately and shall remain in effect for the duration of the emergency or until 11:59 P.M., October 10, 2018, whichever comes first.
