Hurricane Ian prompts hours of service waiver in Florida

Hurricane Ian has made its way through the Caribbean and is now heading through the state of Florida forcing many load cancellations and evacuations. The Trucker News reported that due to the state of emergency declared by Governor Ron DeSantis, hours of service regulations will be suspended so motor carriers entering Florida can help bring emergency services and/or supplies onto the state. This waiver applies to truckers who transport emergency equipment, supplies, and personnel or transport FEMA mobile homes or other types of homes in and out of the state.

In addition, the Florida Department of Transportation has waived weight and size restrictions for vehicles transporting fuel, emergency equipment, services, supplies, agricultural commodities, and citrus.

During this time truckers should expect heavier traffic on roads and highways as residents evacuate, and emergency equipment, supplies, and services are being provided to aid with the hurricane and its impact. According to the weather service, “Ian is forecast to approach the west coast of Florida as an extremely dangerous major hurricane.”

They also reported, “Drivewyze, a provider of connected truck services and operator of the largest public-private weigh station bypass network in North America, and HAAS Alert, a provider of automotive connected safety with Safety Cloud, have announced a new collaboration on Connected Truck safety solutions.” The new partnership will incorporate HAAS Alert’s Safety Cloud into the Drivewyze Connected Truck platform, allowing commercial drivers to receive digital alerts about vehicles and equipment on the road via the Drivewyze in-cab application. “Maintenance, emergency response, and work zone events can often place vehicles and equipment in situations that can be hazardous to both workers and drivers,” said Brian Heath, CEO of Drivewyze. “This collaboration will give commercial truck drivers added reaction time to slow down and move over when approaching roadway operations — helping to avoid potential crashes.”

For those in Florida please be safe and take all the precautionary steps you need to get through this time.