Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, March 2, 2023:
Truck driver and U.S. Army veteran John Olier is petitioning the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for an exemption from several provisions of the hours of service regulations.
Specifically, Olier seeks a permanent exemption from the 10-hour break, the 14-hour driving window, the 11-hour driving limit, the 30-minute break requirement and the 70-hours-in-eight-days limit.
In the materials he submitted to FMCSA, Olier said he has 30 years as a licensed driver, including 11 years as an “expert driver” in the Army and five years as a CDL holder, adding that he has “never had an accident or incident involving safety.”
Olier said that as a former U.S. Army Airborne Ranger and scout/sniper, he has “extensive training in working continuous ops of 72 hours or more with little to no sleep periods.” He added that he has been trained “to recognize my body’s warning signs for fatigue and respond accordingly.”
Olier added that he has a “very different natural [sleep] cycle” for which the rigidity of the HOS regs doesn’t work.
As a refrigerated van operator, Olier said he often sleeps while waiting to be loaded and unloaded, which can be several hours and is enough for him to “function safely.” He added that over the last three years, he has “operated under various exemptions for more than 75%” of his time on the road, hauling under emergency declarations for FEMA operations, the COVID-19 emergency declaration, and while hauling ag-exempt commodities.
