FMCSA announced several changes to regulations mandated by FAST Act

FMCSA has announced several changes to the regulations that were mandated by the FAST Act. Because these “non-discretionary” changes were mandated by Congress, the agency bypassed the standard notice and comment process and simply issued a final rule adopting these changes.

They include:

Lengthening the maximum period for an exemption from 2 – 5 years; making permanent the 30-minute rest break exemptions that had previously been granted to drivers hauling ready-mix concrete, bees and livestock
An ELD exemption for drivers of recreational vehicles in drive-away/tow-away operations
Various regulatory exemptions for covered-farm vehicle operators
An hours-of-service logging exemption for drivers of ready-mix concrete trucks
An expansion of the air mile radius limitation for drivers of construction materials and equipment using an existing 24-hour restart provision
Various exemptions for drivers of welding trucks in the pipeline industry
And an HM endorsement exemption for drivers carrying less than 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel in agricultural operations.

For full details, see the notice at this link.