(a)Exemptions to the adoptions in §4.11 of this
title (relating to General Applicability and Definitions) are made
pursuant to Texas Transportation Code, §§644.052 - 644.054,
and are adopted as follows:
(1)Such regulations shall not apply to the vehicles
detailed in subparagraphs (A) - (D) [subparagraph
(A) - subparagraph (D)] of this paragraph when operated intrastate:
(A)a vehicle used in oil or water well servicing or
drilling which is constructed as a machine consisting in general of
a mast, an engine for power, a draw works, and a chassis permanently
constructed or assembled for such purpose or purposes;
(B)a mobile crane which is an unladen, self-propelled
vehicle constructed as a machine used to raise, shift, or lower weights;
(C)a vehicle transporting seed cotton; or
(D)concrete pumps.
(2)The provisions of Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, §395.3
shall not apply to intrastate commerce. Drivers in intrastate commerce
will be permitted to drive 12 hours following 8 consecutive hours
off duty. Drivers in intrastate commerce may not drive after having
been on duty 15 hours, following 8 consecutive hours off duty. Drivers
in intrastate commerce violating the 12 or 15 hour limits provided
in this paragraph shall be placed out-of-service for 8 consecutive
hours. Drivers of vehicles operating in intrastate commerce shall
be permitted to accumulate the equivalent of 8 consecutive hours off
duty by taking a combination of at least 8 consecutive hours off duty
and sleeper berth time; or by taking two periods of rest in the sleeper
berth, providing:
(A)neither rest period in the sleeper berth is shorter
than 2 hours duration;
(B)the driving time in the period immediately before
and after each rest period in the sleeper berth, when added together,
does not exceed 12 hours;
(C)the on duty time in the period immediately before
and after each rest period in the sleeper berth, when added together,
does not include any driving time after the 15th hour; and
(D)the driver may not return to driving subject to
the normal hours of service requirements in this subsection without
taking at least 8 consecutive hours off duty, at least 8 consecutive
hours in the sleeper berth, or a combination of at least 8 consecutive
hours off duty and sleeper berth time.
(3)Drivers in intrastate commerce who are not transporting
placardable hazardous materials and were regularly employed in Texas
as commercial vehicle drivers prior to August 28, 1989, are not required
to meet the medical standards contained in the federal regulations.
(A)For the purpose of enforcement of this regulation,
those drivers who reached their 18th birthday on or after August 28,
1989, shall be required to meet all medical standards.
(B)The exceptions contained in this paragraph shall
not be deemed as an exemption from drug and alcohol testing requirements
contained in Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 40 and Part
382.
(4)The maintenance of a driver's record of duty status
is not required if the vehicle is operated within a 150 air-mile radius
of the driver's normal work reporting location if:
(A)the driver returns to the normal work reporting
location and is released from work within 14 consecutive hours;
(B)the driver has at least 8 consecutive hours off
duty separating each 14 hours on duty; and
(C)the motor carrier that employs the driver maintains
and retains for a period of 6 months true and accurate time and business
records which include:
(i)the time the driver reports for duty each day;
(ii)the total number of hours the driver is on duty
each day;
(iii)the time the driver is released from duty each
day; and
(iv)the total time on duty for the preceding seven
days in accordance with Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, §395.8(j)(2)
for drivers used for the first time or intermittently.
(5)An electronic logging device (ELD) and an automatic
on-board recording device have the meaning as defined in Title 49,
Code of Federal Regulations, §395.2.
(6)Unless otherwise exempted, a motor carrier operating
commercial motor vehicles intrastate shall require each of its drivers
to record the driver's record of duty status:
(A)Using an ELD that meets the requirements of subpart
B of Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 395;
(B)Using an automatic on-board recording device that
meets the requirements of Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, §395.15;
or
(C)Manually, recorded as specified in Title 49, Code
of Federal Regulations, §395.8. The record of duty status must
be recorded in duplicate for each 24-hour period for which recording
is required.
(7)Unless otherwise exempted, a motor carrier operating
commercial motor vehicles intrastate must install and require each
of its drivers to use an ELD to record the driver's duty status in
accordance with Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 395.
(8)The provisions of Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations,
Part 395 shall not apply to drivers transporting agricultural commodities
in intrastate commerce for agricultural purposes within a 150 air-mile
radius from the source of the commodities or the distribution point
for the farm supplies during planting and harvesting seasons.
(b)Exceptions adopted by the director of the Texas
Department of Public Safety not specified in Texas Transportation
Code, §644.053, are:
(1)Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, §393.86,
requiring rear-end protection shall not be applicable provided the
vehicle was manufactured prior to September 1, 1991 and is used solely
in intrastate commerce.
(2)Drivers of vehicles under this section operating
in intrastate transportation shall not be permitted to drive after
having worked and/or driven for 70 hours in any consecutive seven-day
period. A driver may restart a consecutive seven-day period after
taking 34 or more consecutive hours off-duty. Drivers in intrastate
transportation violating the 70 hour limit provided in this paragraph
will be placed out-of-service until no longer in violation.
(3)For drivers of commercial motor vehicles operating
in intrastate transportation and used exclusively in the transportation
of oilfield equipment, including the stringing and picking up of pipe
used in pipelines, and servicing of the field operations of the natural
gas and oil industry, any period of 7 consecutive days may end with
the beginning of any off-duty period of 24 or more successive hours.
(4)For drivers of a commercial motor vehicle operating
in intrastate transportation and used primarily in the transportation
of construction materials and equipment, any period of 7 consecutive
days may end with the beginning of any off-duty period of 24 or more
successive hours. "Transportation of construction materials and
equipment" has the meaning assigned by Title 49, Code of Federal
Regulations, §395.2.
[(5)Drivers of vehicles operating
in intrastate transportation claiming the 150 air-mile radius exemption
in paragraph (4) of this subsection must return to the work reporting
location; be released from work within 12 consecutive hours; and have
at least 8 consecutive hours off-duty separating each 12 hours on-duty.]
(5)[(6)] The provisions of Title
49, Code of Federal Regulations, §391.11(b)(1) shall not apply
to intrastate commerce. The minimum age for an intrastate driver shall
be 18 years of age. Intrastate drivers in violation of this paragraph
shall be placed out-of-service until no longer in violation.
(6)[(7)] The provisions of Title
49, Code of Federal Regulations, §391.11(b)(2) shall not apply
to intrastate commerce. An intrastate driver must have successfully
passed the examination for a Texas Commercial Driver's License and
be a minimum age of 18 years old.
(7)[(8)] Texas Transportation
Code, §547.401 and §547.404, concerning brakes on trailers
weighing 15,000 pounds gross weight or less take precedence over the
brake requirements in the federal regulations for trailers of this
gross weight specification unless the vehicle is required to meet
the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 121
(Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations §571.121) applicable to
the vehicle at the time it was manufactured.
(8)[(9)] Title 49, Code of Federal
Regulations, §390.23 (Relief from Regulations), is adopted for
intrastate motor carriers with the exceptions detailed in subparagraphs
(A) and (B) [subparagraph (A) and subparagraph (B)]
of this paragraph:
(A)Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, §390.23(a)(2)
is not applicable to intrastate motor carriers making emergency residential
deliveries of heating fuels or responding to a pipeline emergency,
provided the carrier:
(i)documents the type of emergency, the duration of
the emergency, and the drivers utilized; and
(ii)maintains the documentation on file for a minimum
of six months. An emergency under this paragraph is one that if left
unattended would result in immediate serious bodily harm, death or
substantial property damage but does not include routine requests
to refill empty propane gas tanks.
(B)The requirements of Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, §390.23(c)(1)
and (2), for intrastate motor carriers shall be:
(i)the driver has met the requirements of Texas Transportation
Code, Chapter 644; and
(ii)the driver has had at least eight consecutive
hours off-duty when the driver has been on duty for 15 or more consecutive
hours, or the driver has had at least 34 consecutive hours off duty
when the driver has been on duty for more than 70 hours in seven consecutive
days.
(9) [(10)] The provisions of
Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 380 (Subparts A - D) shall
not apply to intrastate motor carriers and drivers. Title 49, Code
of Federal Regulations[, Part 380 (Subpart E) is adopted for
intrastate motor carriers and drivers. Intrastate motor carriers and
drivers must complete the requirements of Title 49, Code of Federal
Regulations, §380.500 on or before July 31, 2005].
(10)[(11)] In accordance with §4132
of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity
Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETA-LU) (Pub. L. 109-59), the hours of
service regulations in this subchapter are not applicable to utility
service vehicles that operate in either interstate or intrastate commerce.
Utility service vehicles are those vehicles operated by public utilities,
as defined in the Public Utility Regulatory Act, the Gas Utility Regulatory
Act, the Texas Water Code, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, §395.2,
or other applicable regulations, and charged with the responsibility
for maintaining essential services to the public to protect health
and safety.
(11)[(12)] The United States
Department of Transportation number requirements in Texas Transportation
Code, Chapter 643 do not apply to vehicles/motor carriers operating
exclusively in intrastate commerce and that are exempted from the
requirements by Texas Transportation Code, §643.002.
(12)[(13)] Drivers of vehicles
under this section, operating in intrastate transportation, who encounter
adverse driving conditions and cannot, because of those conditions,
safely complete the run within the maximum driving time or duty time
during which driving is permitted under subsection (a)(2) of this
section, may drive and be permitted or required to drive a commercial
motor vehicle for not more than two additional hours beyond the maximum
allowable hours permitted under subsection (a)(2) of this section
to complete that run or to reach a place offering safety for the occupants
of the commercial motor vehicle and security for the commercial motor
vehicle and its cargo. Adverse driving conditions means snow, sleet,
fog, or other adverse weather conditions, a highway covered with snow
or ice, or unusual road and traffic conditions, none of which were
apparent on the basis of information known to the driver immediately
prior to beginning the duty day or immediately before beginning driving
after a qualifying rest break or sleeper berth period, or a motor
carrier immediately prior to dispatching the driver.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has
reviewed the proposal and found it to be within
the state agency's
legal authority to adopt.
Filed with the Office
of the Secretary of State on October 28, 2022
TRD-202204239 D. Phillip Adkins
General Counsel
Texas Department of Public Safety
Earliest possible date of adoption: December 11, 2022
For further information, please call: (512) 424-5848
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