• The hours-of-service laws, which mandate how many hours a truck driver may work and have been in place for truck drivers since 1938, are suspended at a federal level for the first time in history.
• As of Friday evening, truck drivers who are moving medical supplies and consumer goods like masks and hand sanitizer do not have to follow HOS.
• It’s common on a local or state level to lift these safety regulations amid natural disasters, like floods or hurricanes, that require stores and hospitals to stay stocked with necessary goods.
• Truck drivers move 70% of the nation’s goods by weight. They’re responsible for replenishing stores and hospitals with necessary items.
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The federal administration that oversees regulations for America’s six million professional drivers has temporarily suspended a trucking safety law that’s been in place since 1938.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said Friday evening that truck drivers who are moving goods “in support of emergency relief efforts related to the COVID-19 outbreaks” will temporarily not have to follow the hours-of-service laws, which mandate how many hours a truck driver may work.

This is the first time since 1938, when the rule was developed, that …continued .
[Source: Business Insider]