Precision Fireworks HOS Exemption Request: What It Signals for Trucking Fleets

FMCSA has opened Docket FMCSA-2026-1520 for public comment; it has not granted or denied the request. Precision Fireworks is asking to exclude off-duty and sleeper-berth periods of any length from the 14-hour calculation for roughly five drivers operating five commercial vehicles during its Independence Day season, June 28 through July 8, for 2026 through 2031.

The request is narrow. The drivers would still be limited to 14 total hours of on-duty time after 10 consecutive hours off, and the 11-hour driving limit plus the 60- and 70-hour limits would continue to apply. Precision says its CDL drivers hold hazardous-materials endorsements and transport Division 1.1G, 1.3G, and 1.4G fireworks. Comments on the application are due August 31, 2026.

This notice is not a general change to the HOS rules. FMCSA must decide whether the requested operation can maintain a level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the existing regulation. That makes the applicant's actual routes, rest opportunities, driver controls, and safety history central to the review.

The broader lesson for fleets is that a special operating need is only the starting point. Precision points to routes typically within 150 miles, off-duty rest at display sites, early-morning travel, and its claimed seasonal crash record. Any fleet seeking unusual treatment should expect its operating facts and controls to be tested just as closely.

An FMCSA exemption decision does not automatically change an insurance policy or guarantee that an underwriter will accept the operation. A carrier may still ask how drivers are selected and trained, how hazardous cargo is handled, what ELD and dispatch controls are used, where vehicles are parked, and whether the loss and inspection history supports the stated safety plan.

What we tell our clients is simple: do not wait for renewal or a claim to explain a special operating model. Give your agent the application, any final FMCSA decision and conditions, the affected units and drivers, the operating window, cargo details, and the controls used to prevent fatigue and unauthorized movement. Final coverage and pricing still depend on the policy, filings, drivers, cargo, state, and carrier appetite.

Keep the exemption application, docket materials, and any final approval or denial together with the driver list, CDL and hazardous-materials endorsements, MVRs, training records, ELD logs, duty schedules, dispatch instructions, route plans, mileage, and secure-parking procedures. The file should show how off-duty time is recorded and how dispatch prevents a driver from exceeding every limit that remains in force.

For insurance review, add current loss runs, crash and roadside-inspection history, vehicle schedules, maintenance records, cargo descriptions, COIs, policy forms, and the written safety or security plan. If an exemption is granted, track its dates and conditions like any other compliance deadline rather than relying on a verbal summary.

Is the need truly narrow and seasonal? Can you document meaningful rest even when that time does not fit the standard calculation? What dispatch, ELD, supervision, parking, and cargo controls support an equivalent level of safety? Which drivers and vehicles are included, and how will everyone know when the operating window starts and ends?

Also ask your insurance agent and carrier what they need before the operation begins. Until FMCSA issues a decision, the current HOS rule remains in place; even after an approval, only the named operation and stated conditions would be covered by that exemption. This article is informational, not legal or coverage advice.