Adverse Driving Exemption

Fleet Administrators may deem a driver eligible to claim the Adverse Driving Exemption in the case of unforeseen traffic or weather conditions as described in §395.1(b). 

Claiming this exemption will increase the Drive limit clock by 2 hours. (11 → 13 for Property drivers, 10 → 12 for Passenger drivers). It will also increase the Shift limit by 2 hours (14 → 16 for Property drivers, 15 → 17 for Passenger drivers). Admins would also like this exemption to add a remark to the log and ELD Data File so the officer can analyze the daily log with this in mind.

Please note, this exemption will only add 2 hours when the driver is on Federal Property and Passenger rulesets. 

How do I configure my driver to have the Adverse Driving Exemption? 

Configuring Drivers via Dashboard

1. Navigate to the Settings > Drivers page.
2. Find a driver and click the three dots on the right side to choose Edit. This will bring up the Driver Settings page. 
3. Check the Adverse Driving box.
4. This will now give the option for the Adverse Driving Exemption to be claimed by the driver. This setting should be left on so the driver can claim then exemption when needed. 

Configuring Drivers via csv Upload

1. Look for column that states “Adverse Driving Exemption”
2. Populate the column with value "True" for drivers that are desired to have the exemption enabled
3. Upload csv  

Configuring Drivers via API

Drivers may be configured to have the API via the Driver creation API
https://developers.samsara.com/reference#createdriver

eldAdverseWeatherExemptionEnabled: true

How do drivers claim the Adverse Driving Exemption? 

Note: Drivers will need to be on the latest version of the Samsara Driver App in order to properly use this feature. Drivers are able to claim the exemption on an as need basis once the admin enables the dashboard driver setting. 

1. Normal HOS dials show an 11 hour (Property) or 10 (Passenger) Drive limit for Federal Rulesets
2. Scroll down on the driver daily log to find the “Exemptions” section and select “Adverse Driving (USA)" or "Adverse Driving (Canada)"  if you are in Canada
3. Claim exemption and set the "Apply For Time" you wish the exemption to be claimed for

IMPORTANT:

• In most scenarios, the driver will claim this for the current time, as they want to claim the exemption for the current shift they are in
• The time the driver claims the exemption for just needs to be within the shift they are claiming it for
  • Example: If I have a shift from 8am - 8pm, the time I claim the exemption for can be for any time in-between 8am and 8pm
  • If the driver wishes to claim the exemption for a previous shift, the driver will need to make sure the time the exemption is claimed for is contained within that shift. This is important if drivers have multiple shifts in a single day. 

4. See remark added to daily log
5. See the Drive dial reflect 13 hours. See the Shift dial reflect 16 hours
6. See DOT Inspection page with remark

What does this look like for Admins?  

When the exemption is claimed, Samsara will highlight a banner that states the exemption.

Violations will not appear for any driving time that is forgiven by the exemption. 

In the event that the Adverse Driving Exemption is unclaimed by the driver, we will surface an additional remark in the HOS Log 

Will Samsara support the Adverse Driving changes that are coming with the 9/29 HOS Rule changes? 

Yes, Samsara will support these changes. On 9/29, drivers will also see the Shift clock increase by 2 hours as well.