Section 214. Exemptions

a.  The provisions of this article shall not apply
  in case of accident or act of God, nor when there  is  delay  which  was
  caused  by  the elements, or a cause not known to the driver or owner or
  to his or its officers in charge of such operations  at  the  time  that
  such  driver  left  the  place  where he last went on duty prior to such
  delays.
    b. The requirement in this article that every driver of a motor  truck
  or motor bus shall keep and carry on the vehicle records showing the day
  and  hour  when,  and the place where he went or was released from duty,
  shall not apply to any driver who drives wholly within a radius  of  one
  hundred  miles  of  the garage or terminal at which he reports for work,
  provided, however, that such records shall  be  kept  at  his  place  of
  employment.
    c.  The provisions of this article shall not apply to the operation of
  a motor truck or motor bus while being operated exclusively  in  a  city
  and/or incorporated village, nor to the operation of a motor truck owned
  by  a  farmer  and  operated  by himself or an employee when used in the
  hauling of farm, dairy, or horticultural products and farm supplies  for
  himself  or his farm neighbors to market, creamery, or place of storage,
  nor to the operation of wrecking and towing cars, nor to  the  operation
  of  federal  military  vehicles,  by members of the army or air national
  guard, or by federally paid employees of the army or air national guard.
    d. The provisions of this article shall not apply nor shall  hours  of
  service  accrue  to incidental drivers engaged in the actual restoration
  or preservation of electric, water,  telephone,  gas  or  steam  service
  during  an  emergency.  For  a  corporation  providing  electric, water,
  telephone, gas or  steam  service  to  avail  itself  of  the  exemption
  provided  by  this  subdivision  such electric, water, telephone, gas or
  steam corporation shall have filed with the department  a  plan  setting
  forth  the  procedures  such  corporation shall follow in emergencies to
  assure that no incidental driver shall drive if such driver has not  had
  sufficient  rest  necessary  to  maintain  his  or her ability to safely
  drive. The exemption provided by this subdivision shall not apply to  an
  incidental driver unless such incidental driver is engaged in the actual
  restoration  or preservation of electric, water, telephone, gas or steam
  service during an emergency or such incidental driver shall have  had  a
  period  of  rest consisting of at least eight consecutive hours off duty
  immediately upon the conclusion of such incidental  driver's  engagement
  in the actual restoration or preservation of electric, water, telephone,
  gas  or  steam service during the emergency. If an emergency extends for
  more than twenty-four hours, the  electric,  water,  telephone,  gas  or
  steam corporation availing itself of the terms of this subdivision shall
  notify  the  department,  in  writing,  that an emergency exists and the
  expected  duration  of  the  emergency.  For  the   purposes   of   this
  subdivision, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
    (1)  "Emergency"  is hereby declared to be any unplanned power outage,
  interruption  of  service  or  the  imminent  risk  of  such  outage  or
  interruption  of  service  to  electric,  water, telephone, gas or steam
  service or to transmission or distribution lines, pipes or other related
  facilities or any circumstance under which the public safety is at risk;
    (2) "Incidental driver" means an employee, contractor or  contractor's
  employee  of  an  electric,  water,  telephone, gas or steam corporation
  whose  primary  employment  by,  or  contractual  agreement  with,  such
  corporation is not as a driver of a motor vehicle but who drives only as
  an  incidental  part  of his or her employment or contractual agreement;
  and
    (3) "Interruption of service" shall mean  a  loss  of  service  for  a
  period of time defined in regulation by the department of public service

  for  electric  service (as set forth in paragraph (a) of section 97.1 of
  title  sixteen  of  the  official  compilation  of  codes,   rules   and
  regulations  of  the  state of New York) and shall, for purposes of this
  section,  apply  to  electric,  water,  telephone, natural gas and steam
  service.