Adverse Driving Conditions Exception

The only way I could see rain being an issue is if it caused flooding. Unfortunately, in Houston that is becoming a regular occurrence. Mind you, the whole city doesn't flood, but it seems like every freeway has a low lying area that doubles as a storm retention pond.

So yes, if you saw that Houston was expected to get 6 inches of rain, and it turned into 10 inches and flooded the road for 8 hours I could see you being stuck. Possibly on the side of the road.

I don't see how rain would force you to keep driving. My understanding when I read the rule and supporting cases/articles was that "being late", "being short drivers" etc are not emergencies under the rule and explicitly not reasons to invoke.

I think an "unforseen emergency" would be something more akin to a forest fire or radiological disaster (nuclear meltdown) or Earthquake or some other disaster that somehow managed to occur as your hours ran out forcing you to drive to keep yourself, your cargo, and your vehicle safe.

Am I missing something in the rule?

Am I missing something in the rule?

No you're not missing anything.

You will find that very few drivers ever use this rule, and the ones that do, more than likely use it incorrectly. I haven't come across the need for use of this rule in five years, and I've been through some pretty snarly weather.

I may be wrong but if you do encounter such conditions and chose to deliver your load while running over your time, you will probably have a tough time explaining why you did not stop at the nearest truck stop or rest area to any DOT officer or state trooper that you may come across.