Courtesy of NAA:

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) updated their regulations to include a new exemption within the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations in part 395 regarding hours of service of drivers during planting and harvesting periods.

The new exemption is added to section 229(a)(1)(D) of Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act and applies to “drivers transporting livestock (as defined in section 602 of the Emergency Livestock Feed Assistance Act of 1988 (7 U.S.C. 1471) including insects) within a 150 air-mile radius from the final destination of the livestock.”

To access the Federal Register notice announcing this change and other changes to FMCSA regulations, click here.  Given this is a final rule and effective today, farms and drivers benefiting from this regulatory change should print and carry a copy of the notice in their commercial motor vehicles to share, if needed, with federal and state law enforcement.