ALOHA! FMCSRs vs. State Rules/Adoptions

Hello from the sunny state of Hawaii! Carriers and Drivers often ask…when do I follow the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, when do I follow the state regulations/FMCSR adoptions and how do I know the difference?

For these purposes, we are going to use Hawaii as an example.  Most Carriers/Drivers in Hawaii are Intrastate, meaning the vehicle and commerce is not leaving from or going to another state, however, since the commerce and not just the vehicle can determine if a trip is inter or intrastate some companies in HI can be interstate.

From the UCR Handbook regarding inter vs. intrastate commerce:

"the definition of the terms “interstate” or “interstate commerce” is broad, and follows the definitions of those concepts as they have been developed by U.S. federal law and rulings of the U.S. DOT and the former Interstate Commerce Commission. In general, interstate or interstate commerce refers to the movement of goods or passengers across state lines or across the borders of the United States. This includes all movements of goods or passengers across state or national boundaries, but also a movement entirely within a state, when that movement is the beginning or continuation of a movement across a state or national border. For instance, nearly all intermodal drayage movements by truck are considered to be interstate in nature, though the truck portion of such a movement may not cross any state line"

If a carrier is indeed intrastate, then they CAN follow intrastate rules, in HI, the FMCSR adoption starts at any CMV weighing 26,001 lbs. or more. In addition, HI carriers have a federal exemption and are exempt from HOS rules regarding logging in accordance with FMCSR 395.1 (i). For other states with intrastate carriers, they've adopted (with the exception of CA) at other weights (i.e. 10,001, 26,001 lbs., 14,001 lbs., etc.).

Interstate Carriers/Drivers must follow the FMCSRs, however, some FMCSRs need to be followed while operating a CMV over 10,000 lbs. and others while operating a CMV over 26,000 lbs. So how do you know? 

If the Part of the regulation has a definition of a CMV, that is the definition you follow. For instance, Parts 382 and 383 have a definition of a CMV within that Parts definitions section (i.e. 26,001 lbs. definition), but if that Part of the regulation does not have a definition of a CMV within that Parts definition section, then the definition reverts back to the definition found in Part 390.5 (10,001 lbs. definition) and that is the definition that needs to be followed.