Hours regs suspended in parts of Florida, Georgia for Tropical Storm Elsa

Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, July 8, 2021:

In preparation for a major storm making landfall, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp this week issued emergency declarations, suspending hours of service regulations for haulers providing direct assistance to any emergency related to the storm.

Tropical Storm Elsa made landfall Wednesday morning along Florida's Gulf Coast and will make its way up the East Coast in the coming days. (National Hurricane Center graphic)The waiver in Florida applies to carriers in 27 counties in the state – Alachua, Charlotte, Columbia, Citrus, Collier, Dixie, Franklin, Hamilton, Hernando, Hillsborough, Gilchrist, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Monroe, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor and Wakulla counties.

Georgia’s declaration is effective in 92 counties across the southern and eastern parts of the state. The full list of counties can be seen in the emergency declaration.

Georgia’s declaration is set to expire July 14, while Florida’s will expire Aug. 2.

Tropical Storm Elsa made landfall Wednesday morning in northwest Florida after weakening from hurricane status overnight Tuesday. As the storm moves inland, it is expected to travel up the Southeast coast, bringing heavy rain and winds to parts of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.

Volvo Group, Daimler Truck and the Traton Group have signed a non-binding agreement to install and operate a high-performance public charging network for battery-electric heavy-duty long-haul trucks across Europe.