The exemption is a renewal for 46 companies in the APA, and the agency decided to grant the same exemption for five other companies. The exemption will be effective June 28-July 8, 2015, as well as June 28-July 8, 2016.
The original application covered 55 carriers, but FMCSA has declined to exempt 3 of them, and 1 carrier is out of business, leaving 51 approved carriers.
The exemption allows drivers to accumulate 14 on-duty hours rather than working a straight 14-hour window.
During the period of the exemption, the truck operators will be allowed to exclude off-duty and sleeper-berth time of any length from the calculation of their 14 hours. The drivers will not be allowed to drive after accumulating a total of 14 hours on-duty time, following 10 consecutive hours off duty, and will continue to be subject to the 11-hour driving limit and the 60- and 70-hour weekly on-duty limits.