Hurricane Florence is forecasted to hit the Carolinas and the mid-Atlantic region as a severe, Category 4 hurricane and fleets should be aware of several items. Flooding is expected to be similar to or worse than what Hurricane Matthew did to the Carolinas in 2016 and over 1.5 million people are asked to evacuate before the storm makes landfall.
On the regulatory front, there has already been a disaster relief exemption issue from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). A copy of this notice should be carried by the drivers that will enter those areas as defined in the exemption. Carriers should maintain a copy for audits since logs may show violations for that period and the exemption takes care of those issues.
The FMCSA’s regional emergency declaration notice, issued September 10, 2018, can be accessed and printed here.
Should any other declarations become available, the FMCSA will update this page — carriers should check for updates.
As a reminder, carriers can broadcast fleet-wide messages with Omnitracs IVG and MCP devices in case emergency information is needed to send to the drivers on route. Omnitracs XRS can send fleet-wide messages from the admin functions menu as well. Omnitracs customers can contact support to have this accomplished, should it be needed. Additional support staff will be available during this period, if needed.
Fleet management technology can also help fleets manage weather disruptions through route mapping, tracking systems, and vehicle condition monitoring.