Snow, bitter cold prompt expansion of HOS suspensions in Midwest, Northeast
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has expanded its regional emergency declaration from Jan. 18 to now include 22 states ahead of a winter storm expected to impact much of the Eastern U.S. this week.
Truck drivers hauling heating fuels, including propane, natural gas, and heating oil, and other fuel products, including gasoline, into the affected states providing necessary relief will be exempt from hours of service regulations through Feb. 2, or until the end of the emergency, whichever is less.
States included in the declaration are: Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont and Wisconsin.
The coldest weather in years will put millions of people and animals throughout the midwestern United States at risk for hypothermia and frostbite to occur in minutes during the final days of January: https://t.co/SExvIDDjJB pic.twitter.com/mfgVZcsScB
— AccuWeather (@breakingweather) January 28, 2019