The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) claims the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) has made too many ELD exemptions for carriers causing, “confusion and inconsistency in enforcement.”
“Since 2015, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued nearly 50 exemptions to motor carriers, waiving regulatory requirements for certain segments of the transportation industry,” said in a letter written by Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance Executive Director, Collin Mooney, back in December. “This is in addition to the dozens of legislative and regulatory exemptions already in place.”
The CVSA has opposed ELD exemptions from the start; except when a carrier can, “demonstrate that there is a proven, critical need and provide assurances that an equivalent level of safety will be attained. In short, exemptions should be the exception, not the rule.”
The letter also asked that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration invites the CVSA and its partners into the decision-making process regarding industry exemptions.
According to the American Trucking Associations (ATA) spokesman, Sean McNally, the ATA believes, “the best way to address exemptions to the hours-of-service rules is by moving forward with their ongoing review of the current rules. Ensuring the rules are flexible and recognizing the trucking industry’s diversity is the best way to reduce the number and scope of exemption requests.”
