The Department of Transportation late Monday issued a driver hours of service exemption to facilitate the delivery of heating oil and propane affected by the recent winter storm. 

The exemption was issued pursuant to Gov. Wolf’s January 22, 2016 Proclamation of Disaster Emergency which recognized exemptions like this would be necessary to deal with weather-related emergencies.

The exemption will be in place from 2400 hours Monday, January 25, 2016 to 2359 hours February 6, 2016 with certain standard restrictions still in place.

The exemption was requested by the Pennsylvania Petroleum Association earlier Monday in a letter to Gov. Wolf.

In the letter, PPA said, “The weekend storm has created a challenging situation for companies that deliver heating oil and propane.  The condition of secondary roads and driveways will significantly impede the movement of delivery vehicles.  These road passability issues on urban and rural roads and streets are very serious given the size of our delivery vehicles.  In some cases they are worse in the cities where only narrow lanes have been plowed.

“The depth of the snow will also hinder locating fill pipes and slow the maneuvering of hoses by drivers making deliveries.

“It is estimated that this combination of factors will slow the delivery rate by as much one half of the number of deliveries made in a normal day.

“Temperatures in upcoming days mark the return of average winter temperatures as compared to previous months this winter.  The forecast for Tuesday, specifically, calls for rain, freezing rain or snow in many areas of the Commonwealth that will add more complications.”

A copy of the PennDOT Exemption 2016-2 is available online.

NewsClips:

Senate, House Members Seek Hearings On Stranded Turnpike Motorists

House To Hold Hearings On Turnpike’s Handling Of Storm

Will State Disaster Declaration Help Pay Local Snow Cleanup Costs

Editorial: Winter Storm Fallout

Editorial: Blizzard Of Issues For Turnpike

Editorial: Blizzard Was Awful, State Response Was Worse

2/1/2016