More drivers exempted from 30-minute breaks and ELDs

FMCSA New Rest Break Exemptions

The list of commercial drivers who are exempt from needing half-hour breaks and electronic logging devices (ELDs) is growing.

The latest group of exempt drivers are those who transport ready-mixed concrete and “related materials and equipment” in trucks that don’t have rotating mixer drums.

Under the new exemption from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), these drivers are allowed to:

• Log their 30-minute rest breaks as “on duty” while waiting with the vehicle, and
• Work 14 hours without needing to use a log or ELD, two hours more than normally allowed under the 100-air-mile exception.

Related industries are already exempt

The new exemption is identical to those already in effect for:

• Drivers of ready-mixed concrete delivery vehicles equipped with rotating drums (exempt since 2016), and
• Drivers transporting asphalt and related materials and equipment (exempt since early 2018).

Drivers operating concrete pump trucks can also use on-duty time for their breaks but are not allowed to work over 12 hours without a log or ELD.

FMCSA New Rest BreakConditions

If you deliver ready-mix concrete and related materials in vehicles without mixer drums, you will need to comply with the following conditions:

• Drivers must carry a copy of the exemption notice as published in the Federal Register on February 6, 2019, and must present it to enforcement officials upon request.
• Drivers using on-duty “waiting time” to satisfy the break requirement must not perform any work during the break.
• Drivers using the 100-air-mile exception in Sec. 395.1(e)(1) must return to the work-reporting location and be released from work within 14 consecutive hours, or a normal log or ELD will be required.
• Motor carriers must email the FMCSA within five business days, providing specific information, if any driver using the exemption has a crash.

The new exemption is in effect for five years, until February 6, 2024.