No Winter Break for Propane Drivers' Standard Hours Rules
Published Date: 12/2/2025
Notice
Summary
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) said no to the National Propane Gas Association’s request to relax driver hours rules from December 15 to March 15 each year. They decided the change wouldn’t keep drivers and the public as safe as current rules do. This means propane drivers must keep following the same hours, with no changes to timing or costs for now.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
No seasonal hours relief for propane drivers
If you operate or drive propane trucks, FMCSA denied the National Propane Gas Association's request to relax hours-of-service rules each year from December 15 through March 15. Propane drivers must continue to follow existing HOS limits, including driving up to 11 hours in a 14-hour on-duty period, 60/70 hours on duty in 7/8 consecutive days, and the 34-hour restart rules.
Emergency waivers remain the route for flexibility
FMCSA said it will not grant a blanket seasonal exemption and emphasized that emergency declarations and HOS waivers remain the process to get temporary hours flexibility during severe weather or other emergencies. That means in emergencies authorities can still issue waivers case-by-case rather than having a standing December 15–March 15 exemption.
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