Hurricane Laura has been upgraded to a category 4 storm and expects an unsurvivable storm surge for parts of Louisiana and Texas. In response to this, our industry as always lines up hundreds of buses to take people to safety. The FMCSA has relaxed nearly all regulations to assist in this effort.
According to REGIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARATION UNDER 49 CFR § 390.23 No. 2020-004 you are allowed when directly involved with relief efforts in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas are allowed to operate without restraint to HOS, most driver qualification items such as medical cards, and should even get a break on most mechanical issues during roadside inspections.
This relaxation of FMCSA regulations is only applicable to the time directly going from your terminal to the evacuation area while staging and working in relief efforts, and the empty trip back to your terminal at witch time all relaxation of regulations is over. Please be safe out there and remind your drivers that they should never drive tired.
Read the entire declaration here: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/emergency/ssc-wsc-regional-emergency-declaration-2020-004-hurricanes-tropical-storms-laura-and
