Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration November 22, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Section 219(d) of the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 (MCSIA) restricted Mexico-domiciled motor carriers from leasing commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) to U.S. carriers to transport property into the United States until the international obligations under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) chapter on cross-border trade in services were met. Given FMCSA's acceptance of applications for long-haul operating authority from Mexico-domiciled motor carriers following the conclusion of the U.S.-Mexico Cross Border Long-Haul Trucking Pilot Program, the obligations are fulfilled and the restriction is no longer applicable.

FMCSA announces the extension of the exemption from the 30- minute rest break requirement granted to the American Trucking Associations, Inc. (ATA) on August 21, 2015, on behalf of motor carriers whose drivers transport security-sensitive hazardous materials (HM) requiring constant attendance on the vehicle. The Agency extends the expiration date from August 21, 2015 to August 20, 2020, in response to section 5206(b)(2)(A) of the ``Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act'' (FAST Act), which extends hours-of-service (HOS) exemptions in effect on the date of enactment to 5 years from their date of issuance. The ATA rest break exemption is limited to drivers transporting HM loads requiring placarding under the HM regulations or select agents and toxins identified in the HM regulations that do not require placarding, and who have filed security plans requiring constant attendance of HM. The Agency previously determined that the CMV operations of drivers under this exemption would likely achieve a level of safety equivalent to or greater than the level of safety that would be obtained in the absence of the exemption.