Medical Cards, 30 minute breaks, and Weather
30 Minute Break Exemption. The FMCSA stopped enforcing the 30 minute break rule for those who are classified as a short haul driver in August 2013. The regulators have officially changed the HOS rules to exempt certain short-haul drivers from the 30-minute break rule. Part 395.1(e) defines a short haul driver as:
- A driver who operates within a 100-air mile radius of the normal reporting location.
- That same driver returns to the same location and is released from work within 12 hours.
Medical Card. Drivers must continue carrying their DOT Physical Card while driving for at least another year. The feds have determined that they reacted too quickly for all states to adapt when they announced that drivers will no longer have to carry their Medical Certificate card while driving after mid January 2014. Don’t throw it away yet folks. If you have, contact HR for a replacement copy.
Keep Warm with COLD. Here are some methods of keeping warm that I remember from years ago. It uses the acronym COLD to remember the titles.
C - Clean clothing maintains the insulation qualities while soiled clothing seems to loose its insulation properties.
O - Over heating causes perspiration which dampens clothing and promotes hypothermia.
L - Layered clothing provides better insulation than a single layer of clothing.
D – Dry clothes provide better insulation than wet clothes. Wet clothes use up body heat to evaporate.
Wind Chill. Wind chill is the measured affect of wind on air temperature. The chart below is used to identify this affect and is intended to help you determine how to protect yourself when out-of-doors. As you can see, even with a slight breeze, the chilling affect is greatly increased. Also important to note is the Frostbite Times identified on this chart.
Following Distance. Several years ago I had a veteran driver tell me that when driving in snow and icy road conditions, that you should find the speed that you feel comfortable with and then back off 2 MPH. Don’t become over confident. He also recommended increasing your following time/distance to seven seconds or more and don’t use your cruse control during extreme cold...if you hit black ice it can quickly cause an accident.