MONTPELIER, Vt. — An executive emergency declaration order in Vermont that grants motor carriers and drivers relief from maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicle requirements has been extended until Aug. 24.
The order was first enacted on Aug. 9 after heavy flooding in the state.
“The extension of the emergency declaration provides regulatory relief for commercial motor vehicle operations while providing direct assistance supporting emergency relief efforts related to the emergency resulting from the severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides in the state of Vermont,” the executive order states. “By execution of this extension of the emergency declaration, motor carriers and drivers providing direct assistance to the storm and flooding emergency in the state of Vermont are granted emergency relief from 49 CFR § 395.3, maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles, subject to the restrictions and conditions set forth herein. Direct assistance does not include transportation related to long-term rehabilitation of damaged physical infrastructure or routine commercial deliveries, including mixed loads with a nominal quantity of qualifying emergency relief added to obtain the benefits of this emergency declaration, after the initial threat to life and property has passed.”
The order notes that “Direct assistance terminates when a driver or commercial motor vehicle is used in interstate commerce to transport cargo or provide services that are not in support of emergency relief efforts related to the emergency as set forth in this extension of the emergency declaration, or when the motor carrier dispatches a driver or commercial motor vehicle to another location to begin operations in commerce.”
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
