New Jersey Gives Fuel Drivers HOS Exemptions

April 26, 2006 1:45 PM, EDT

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ew Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) has extended until Monday an emergency exemption to intrastate trucking regulations that allows truck drivers more on-duty hours in delivering fuel to service stations, the Associated Press reported.

The emergency order affecting drivers’ hours-of-service is designed to alleviate spot fuel shortages in the state, AP said.

Virginia and Pennsylvania have enacted similar orders, AP reported.

The exemption was given to avoid bottlenecks at oil refineries, where drivers had been resting in compliance with federal law before making local fuel deliveries, AP said.

It was made in part due to high fuel prices and by an annual switch to summer-blend gasoline, AP said.