Hours of Service • ELDT.LIVE
FMCSA Grants a 90-Day HOS Waiver for Gasoline and Diesel Haulers
A new federal waiver allows qualifying fuel-hauling drivers to operate within a 16-hour window during a 24-hour period, while preserving required rest and excluding carriers with conditional safety ratings.
The waiver took effect September 16
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a 90-day waiver that took effect Wednesday, September 16, for truck drivers transporting gasoline and diesel fuel. Reuters reported that FMCSA issued the relief in anticipation of a need for greater hours-of-service flexibility as global supply disruptions and higher seasonal demand threaten to delay fuel shipments. The agency also cited potential effects on transportation providers, agricultural harvesting and the public.
The relief is for qualifying fuel transportation—not every load
The announced waiver is tied to drivers handling gasoline and diesel. It is not a general extension for ordinary dry van, refrigerated, flatbed, intermodal or other freight merely because higher fuel prices affect those operations. Dispatchers and drivers should identify the commodity and confirm that the carrier and trip meet the actual waiver terms before changing an HOS plan. A return load, mixed load or repositioning move should not be assumed to qualify without checking the federal document and company compliance instructions.
A 16-hour window is not the same as 16 hours of driving
The announcement allows covered drivers to operate within a 16-hour window during a 24-hour period instead of the usual 14-hour duty window, provided required rest is taken. That wording should not be treated as permission to drive for 16 consecutive hours. Standard property-carrying HOS rules distinguish the driving limit, the duty window, required off-duty time and the 30-minute break. Drivers should follow the waiver's precise conditions and their carrier's logging procedure rather than selecting a familiar 16-hour exception in the ELD without authorization.
Carrier safety status can make the operation ineligible
FMCSA excluded motor carriers with conditional safety ratings from the waiver, according to the announcement. A driver should not infer eligibility from a dispatch message or the commodity alone. The carrier's safety department should confirm the current rating, document why the movement is covered and provide instructions for ELD annotations or supporting records. An unrated or satisfactory carrier should still verify every other condition; not having a conditional rating is only one part of eligibility.
The waiver preserves an immediate-rest safeguard
FMCSA said a driver who needs immediate rest may take 10 consecutive hours off duty before resuming work. Operational pressure, a fuel shortage or an extended duty window does not make a fatigued driver safe. Drivers should report declining alertness before it becomes an emergency, and carriers should provide a safe stopping plan without retaliation or pressure to continue. The waiver creates scheduling flexibility; it does not turn fatigue symptoms into acceptable operating conditions.
Fuel-hauling compliance remains broader than the HOS clock
Gasoline and diesel transportation can involve cargo-tank, hazardous-materials, shipping-paper, placarding, route, loading, attendance, inspection and emergency-response requirements. A targeted HOS waiver should not be treated as a blanket suspension of those duties. Before dispatch, confirm the driver's CDL and endorsements, the vehicle and cargo-tank inspection status, required documents, placards, route restrictions and emergency equipment. If the federal waiver and carrier instructions do not clearly address a requirement, continue following the normal rule.
Drivers and trainees should document the decision process
A practical checklist is to identify the fuel commodity, confirm carrier eligibility, read the current waiver, record its effective period, understand which HOS provision changes, preserve required rest, follow the carrier's ELD procedure and keep the supporting dispatch information available. ELDT trainees can use the development to practice the difference between a driving limit and a duty window. The professional response to regulatory relief is precise compliance—not simply assuming that more time has appeared on the clock.
Educational summaries help you prepare, but official FMCSA and state licensing sources remain the authority for current requirements.
Official sources
Reuters — U.S. temporarily eases curb on working hours for fuel truck drivers (September 17, 2026) ↗FMCSA — Summary of Hours-of-Service Regulations ↗49 CFR 395.3 — Maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles ↗FMCSA — Emergency Declarations, Waivers, Exemptions and Permits ↗ELDT.live independently creates and reviews its content. We do not present practice questions as official examination questions and do not guarantee a licensing result.