{"id":2746,"date":"2018-07-20T23:47:53","date_gmt":"2018-07-20T23:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.legalinfo.com\/legal-news\/?p=2746"},"modified":"2018-07-20T23:47:53","modified_gmt":"2018-07-20T23:47:53","slug":"emergency-declaration-information-what-every-cdl-driver-should-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalinfo.com\/legal-news\/emergency-declaration-information-what-every-cdl-driver-should-know.html","title":{"rendered":"Emergency Declaration Information: What Every CDL Driver Should Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emergency Declaration Information: What Every CDL Driver Should Know <\/strong><\/p>\n

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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) works closely with a variety of states to help provide emergency services when and where they\u2019re needed. If a natural disaster or other type of emergency threatens people or renders them in need of basic supplies, truck drivers and other commercial drivers have the option of rendering aid and taking on loads of food, water, first aid supplies, and other items that people in emergency or disaster areas might need. When aid of this kind is needed, states will issue an emergency declaration. Your rendering of aid is always voluntary, but if you decide that you want to help in these situations, here\u2019s what you should know.<\/p>\n

Your Participation is Voluntary <\/strong><\/p>\n

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Responding to emergency declarations is entirely up to you and is your personal choice. Your trucking company cannot force you to render aid, nor can they use forced dispatch to make you carry a load to an emergency area. There may be a number of reasons why a commercial driver doesn\u2019t want to render aid. Perhaps you would be adversely affected by seeing those in distress. Maybe you\u2019re sick or you\u2019ve worked too many hours and you don\u2019t think you can transport the load safely. Whatever the reason, you cannot be forced to carry a load to an area affected by an emergency, so don\u2019t ever feel like you have to say yes. Assuming you want to render aid, though, you will be aided by the temporary revocation of certain safety laws.<\/p>\n

Which Laws Are You Exempt From During the Haul? <\/strong><\/p>\n

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Emergency situations are clearly unique. They are time-sensitive and require immediate attention. Most of the time, supplies need to get there quickly, and certain regulations might hamper the expediency of a haul. For instance, limiting the number of hours you drive or limiting what you can carry might mean that you can\u2019t get the emergency supplies to their intended location in a timely manner. For that reason, certain laws have been suspended for those rendering aid to areas affected by an ongoing emergency.<\/p>\n

What You\u2019re Exempt From <\/em><\/p>\n

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The laws that exist within 49 CFR Parts 390-399. These laws cover general safety laws, hours of service, transportation of migrant workers, inspection, repair, and maintenance, parts and accessories, and driver qualifications, to name a few. You\u2019re exempt from many of these laws during your trip to a disaster-affected area or an area undergoing an emergency situation.<\/p>\n

What You\u2019re Not Exempt From <\/em><\/p>\n

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While you\u2019re exempt from certain laws that might hamper your progress and efficiency in rendering aid, you\u2019re not <\/em>exempt from other laws. For instance, you still can\u2019t drink and drive while rendering aid. Furthermore, you still have to follow size and weight limitations, must comply with all State and Federal tax requirements, and are prohibited from transporting hazardous materials. In other words, use common sense and follow the basic safety laws that are always in effect. If you\u2019re ever in doubt, check with your supervisor or with the FMCSA for more information.<\/p>\n

Other Rules and Technicalities <\/strong><\/p>\n

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In addition to knowing which laws you are and are not exempt from, it pays to know some of the other technicalities that exist. For instance, you can only render aid if the emergency is ongoing in order to be exempt from the various regulations mentioned above. Additionally, even if the situation is ongoing, you must be providing direct assistance in order to be exempt. In other words, if you\u2019re taking water directly to victims, that\u2019s acceptable, but if you\u2019re not rendering that kind of direct aid, then you\u2019re not exempt.<\/p>\n

Carrying of Documentation <\/strong><\/p>\n

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You do not need to carry documentation of the declaration while you\u2019re traveling. Even if you\u2019re traveling through states not affected by the emergency in order to render aid to the victims, you\u2019re exempt from those rules that Federal law allows you to be exempt from while rendering such aid. You can simply tell any officer or individual who questions you, if they do, that you\u2019re responding to an emergency declaration and tell them the state it\u2019s in and what event it\u2019s for. It\u2019s likely the authorities in each state already know about it, since they are often called upon to help, as well.<\/p>\n

Using Good Judgement <\/strong><\/p>\n

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No matter what laws you are or aren\u2019t exempt from, the law also states that you must use good judgement when you\u2019re traveling in order to render aid. You still shouldn\u2019t drive if you\u2019re ill, exhausted, or in any situation where your being on the road would put others in a hazardous situation. Use common sense, and make sure it\u2019s safe for you to be on the road while you\u2019re traveling to administer aid to those affected by emergencies.<\/p>\n

Administering aid and responding to emergency declarations can be a rewarding experience. However, make sure you\u2019re using your best judgement in order to avoid accidents, injury, or unnecessary charges. If you\u2019re charged with a traffic-related crime while rendering aid, make sure to contact a traffic attorney in the area immediately. Only an experienced attorney will be able to help you obtain the best possible outcome given your specific situation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Emergency Declaration Information: What Every CDL Driver Should Know The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) works closely with a variety of states to help provide emergency services when and where they\u2019re needed. If a natural disaster or other type of emergency threatens people or renders them in need of basic supplies, truck drivers and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-default"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalinfo.com\/legal-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalinfo.com\/legal-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalinfo.com\/legal-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalinfo.com\/legal-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalinfo.com\/legal-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2746"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalinfo.com\/legal-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2747,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalinfo.com\/legal-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2746\/revisions\/2747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalinfo.com\/legal-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalinfo.com\/legal-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalinfo.com\/legal-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}