FMCSA extends emergency declaration

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced that it extended its emergency declaration first issued March 13 and expanded March 18 to include waste collection.

The existing provisions of the March 13 emergency declaration and the expansion March 18 will now remain in place until May 15. This pertains to requirements under Parts 390-399 and waives certain vehicle maintenance, inspection and driver qualifications mandates for waste haulers.

The extension also includes certain reporting requirements that were not required previously. Most notably, is the requirement regarding crash reporting that stipulates, “A motor carrier whose driver is involved in a crash while operating under this emergency declaration must report any recordable crash within 24 hours, by phone or in writing, to the FMCSA division office where the motor carrier is domiciled. The carrier must report the date, time, location, driver, vehicle identification and brief description of the crash.”

“We thank the FMCSA for recognizing the challenges of working during the COVID-19 pandemic and extending their Expanded Emergency Declaration. NWRA remains committed to working with federal and state officials to ensure our members can properly and safely respond to this health crisis,” NWRA President and CEO Darrell Smith says.

A full list of the requirements can be found online.