Recent requests seeking exemptions from trucking hours-of-service rules have raised questions about how federal regulators view such requests and what kind of response they are required to provide.
Ronnie Brown III, who drives for Waterloo, Iowa-based Gray Transportation, applied in June to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for an exemption from both HOS and rules requiring drivers to have ELDs installed in their cab.
Brown contended in his application — a two-page email to FMCSA —...