Hours of Service
The Revised Hours-Of-Service (HOS) Regulations
In April 2003, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued the first significant revision to the HOS regulations in more than 60 years. These regulations only apply to property carriers and drivers.
The current rules were enforced starting October 1, 2005. Listed below is a brief summary of the hours-of-service regulations:
- CMV driver may drive 11 hours after 10 hours off-duty.
- CMV driver may not drive beyond 14 hours after coming on-duty, following 10 hours off-duty.
- CMV driver may not drive after 70 hours on-duty in eight consecutive days as applied to Werner Enterprises. A driver may restart eight consecutive days after taking 34 consecutive hours off-duty.
How To Split Break
Split Breaks are not always the easiest part of logging, especially with the 14-hour rule. Please utilize this split break tool to help plan out your trips if split breaks are needed:
Simply Stated
Drivers may drive up to 11 hours instead of 10 hours, but are limited to 14 hours in a duty period. The 14-hour duty period may not be extended with off-duty time for meal and fuel stops, etc. Only the use of an 8-hour or more sleeper berth break can stop the 14-hour clock.
Each duty period must begin with at least ten hours off-duty, rather than eight.
The 70 hours on-duty in 8 consecutive days remains the same, but drivers can "restart" the 8-day period by taking at least 34 consecutive hours off-duty.
Sleeper Berth Exception
Drivers may split on-duty time by using split breaks. To fulfill the requirements of the split break, driver must have:
- One period equal at least 8 hours or more in the sleeper berth.
- A separate period of a minimum of 2 or more hours which may be off-duty, sleeper berth or a combination of the two.
Example:
Break #1: 2 Hours (Off-Duty)
Drive #1: 4 hours
Break #2: 8 Hours (Sleeper)
Drive #2: Driver would find his two periods that satisfy the split break requirements. In this example, this would be the 2 hours off-duty and the 8 hours in the sleeper. Driver would start calculating at the end of the 1st rest period off the 14.
Driver would take the 4 hours of driving between the breaks:
- 11 hr rule: 11 - 4 = 7 hours available on the 11-hour rule.
- 14 hr rule: 14 - 4 = 10 hours available on the 14-hour rule.
The lapsed time in the period immediately before and after each period when added together does not include any driving after the 14th hour. Unloading, fueling etc. will still be allowed after the 14th hour (driver must have an uninterrupted 10-hour break before driving again).
The only way to stop the 14-hour clock now is an 8-hour sleeper berth break.
34-Hour Restart
Anytime a driver has a 34 consecutive hour off-duty period the driver may restart the calculation of the 60/70- hour on-duty period.
The 34 hours was derived from 24 hours plus an additional 10 hours prior to coming back on duty.
The 34 hours must be consecutive and not broken by on-duty or driving activities.
14-Hour Rule
A driver may not drive beyond the 14th hour after coming on-duty following 10 hours off-duty. This means, once the driver begins an on-duty period of any kind, the 14-hour clock begins.
Example:
If a driver starts an on-duty status at 06:00, the driver would have to stop driving at 20:00 (14 hours later)
Effective October 1st the only way to stop the clock is a minimum sleeper berth break of 8 hours or more. This means all time spent waiting for trailers, paperwork, parking, etc will limit our driver's available hours.
Example:
Driver starts an on-duty status at 06:00, which means the 14-hour clock is up at 20:00. During the 14-hour period the driver also takes an 8-hour sleeper berth break. This now means driver has until 04:00 the next morning to get his driving in.
Once the 14 hours are reached, the driver may no longer drive but can continue to work. The driver must take a 10-hour consecutive break before resuming driving if they work beyond their 14th hour.