37 Tex. Admin. Code § 4.12 - Exemptions and Exceptions
(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) - (C) 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; or
(C) a
vehicle transporting seed cotton.
(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) 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) 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) 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)
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) 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) The
provisions of Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 380 (Subparts A - D)
shall not apply to intrastate motor carriers and drivers.
(10) 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) 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) 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 mean 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.
Notes
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