30-minute break exemption granted for radioactive materials

user-gravatar Headshot

Here’s the latest of several hours-of-service exemptions recently granted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA): radioactivity.

The FMCSA announced Friday it has renewed the Department of Energy’s exemption of the 30-minute break requirement of current hours-of-service rules for DOE drivers hauling sensitive radioactive materials.

FMCSA said the carriers and drivers hauling such materials for the DOE will be treated the same as those transporting explosives. The exempted drivers will be allowed to use 30 minutes or more of on-duty “attendance time” to meet the HOS rest break requirements providing they do not perform any other work during the break.

The Department of Energy estimated 30 units and 53 drivers would currently be eligible for the exemption.

The exemption will be effective until June 30, 2017.

The FMCSA recently granted exemptions for carriers of live honeybees, overweight and oversize loads and the reefer carrier C.R. England.