WasteWatcher

FAQ: Hours of Service

1: When are carriers and drivers required to comply with the latest 2005 revisions of the Hours of Service rule?

Guidance: Carriers and drivers are required to comply with the latest revisions of the HOS rule on October 1, 2005, the effective date of the rule.

2: May a driver domiciled in the United States comply with the Canadian hours of service regulations while driving in Canada? 2A: If so, would the driving and on-duty time accumulated in Canada be counted toward compliance with one or more of the limits imposed by part 395 when the driver re-enters the United States?

Guidance: A driver domiciled in the United States may comply with the Canadian hours of service regulations while driving in Canada. Upon re-entering the United States, however, the driver is subject to all of the requirements of part 395, including the 11 and 14 hour rules, and the 60/ 70 hour rules applicable to the previous 7 or 8 consecutive days. In other words, a driver who takes full advantage of Canadian law may have to stop driving for a time immediately after returning to the U.S. in order to restore compliance with part 395.

3. How does the 2005 HOS rule differ from the previous HOS rule?

Guidance: Important changes were made in three areas.

(1) Sleeper Berth: To use any of the HOS provisions regarding sleeper berths, a driver must now have one of the following:

Continuous Sleeper Berth Provision : At least 10 consecutive and uninterrupted hours in the sleeper berth.

Sleeper Berth Provision: The equivalent of at least 10 consecutive hours off-duty (equivalent means at least 8 hours but less than 10 consecutive hours in a sleeper berth and a separate period of at least 2 hours but less than 10 consecutive hours either in the sleeper berth or off duty, or any combination of both).

Continuous Off-Duty and Sleeper Berth Provision: At least 10 consecutive hours sleeper berth and off-duty time combined and uninterrupted. Further details are on the internet at www.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/rulesregs/hos/logbook-examples.pdf .

(2) Operators of property-carrying commercial motor vehicles not requiring a commercial driver's license: Drivers of non-commercial driver's license (CDL) vehicles (those vehicles not requiring a CDL to operate) who are operating within a 150 air-mile radius of their normal work reporting location and return to their normal work reporting location at the end of their duty tour are now covered by a separate HOS provision. Drivers meeting these conditions are not eligible for the existing 100 air-mile radius provision in

§ 395.1(e) or the current 16-hour exception in § 395.1(o), since those conflict with this new "Non-CDL, 150 Air-Mile Radius" provision. These drivers are required to comply with the following:

(a) The 11 hours driving, minimum 10 hours off-duty, 14 consecutive hour duty period, 60/70 hours in 7/8 days, 34-hour restart all apply.

(b) On any 2 days of every 7 consecutive days, the driver may extend the 14-hour duty period to 16 hours.

(c) There is no requirement that the driver be released from duty at the end of the 14- or 16-hour duty periods. The driver may continue to perform non-driving duties, which would be counted against the 60/70 hour weekly limitation.

(d) Time records may be used in lieu of records of duty status (RODS).

(3) 34-Hour Restart: Previously, a driver was required to be in compliance with the "60/70 on-duty hours in 7/8 days" limitation before the driver could start counting a 34-hour restart period. Now the 34-hour restart period may begin at the start of any consecutive 34-hour off-duty period.

4: May a driver spend part of his 34 hours of consecutive off-duty time in a sleeper berth?

Guidance: Yes, provided the 34-hour period is a consecutive span of time using a combination of off duty and sleeper berth time and is not broken by on-duty or driving activities.

5: How would "waiting time" at a terminal, plant, or port be logged?

Guidance: "Waiting time" at a terminal, plant, or port may be recorded as off-duty, sleeper berth, or on duty/not driving, depending on specific circumstances.

For "waiting time" to be off-duty, the following off-duty conditions must be met:

The driver must be relieved of all duty and responsibility for the care and custody of the vehicle, its accessories, and any cargo or passengers it may be carrying.
During the stop, and for the duration of the stop, the driver must be at liberty to pursue activities of his/her own choosing and to leave the premises where the vehicle is situated.

If circumstances permit a driver to utilize a valid sleeper berth without being disturbed for a specific period of "waiting time," that time in the sleeper berth may be recorded as "sleeper berth" time. However, a driver must take eight consecutive hours in a sleeper berth, plus another two consecutive hours off duty or in a sleeper berth, in order to meet the requirement for the equivalent of 10 consecutive hours off duty. In most other circumstances, such as when the driver is required to remain with the vehicle to move it when necessary, the "waiting time" should be recorded as "on duty/not driving."

These provisions should not be confused with waiting time of drivers of vehicles that are specially constructed to service oil wells.

6: What are the penalties for violating the hours-of-service rules?

Guidance: Drivers or carriers who violate the HOS rules face serious penalties:

Drivers may be placed out-of-service (shut down) at roadside until the driver has accumulated enough off-duty time to be back in compliance;
State and local enforcement officials may assess fines;
FMCSA may levy civil penalties on driver or carrier, ranging from $1,000 to $11,000 per violation depending on severity;
The carrier's safety rating can be downgraded for a pattern of violations; and
Federal criminal penalties can be brought against carriers who knowingly and willfully allow or require HOS violations, or drivers who knowingly and willfully violate the HOS regulations.

7: Does the new hours-of-service regulation apply to Mexican and Canadian drivers and carriers?

Guidance: Yes. Mexican and Canadian drivers currently must comply with U.S. hours-of-service regulations at the time they enter the United States and while operating in the United States. the new regulations are applicable to them. They must maintain a current record of duty status for the previous 7/8 consecutive day period, and their last consecutive hours off-duty period must be at least 10 hours for property-carrying drivers.

8: May a motor carrier switch from a 60-hour/7-day limit to a 70-hour/8-day limit or vice versa?

Guidance: Yes. The only restriction regarding the use of the 70- hour/8-day rule is that the motor carrier must have CMV's operating every day of the week. The 70-hour/8-day rule is a permissive provision in that a motor carrier with vehicles operating every day of the week is not required to use the 70-hour/8-day rules for calculating its drivers' hours of service. The motor carrier may, however, assign some or all of its drivers to operate under the 70-hour/8-day rule if it so chooses. The assignment of individual drivers to the 60-hour/7- day or the 70-hour/8-day time rule is left to the discretion of the motor carrier.

9: If a carrier allows a driver to log meal time as off-duty time, does that permit a driver to extend the 14-hour on-duty period?

Guidance: No. Off-duty breaks during the day do not extend the workday to permit a driver to drive after the 14 nth consecutive hour on-duty. However, time logged as off-duty is not counted in calculating a drivers 60/70- hour on-duty period.

10: May a "100 air-mile radius" diver utilize the "16-hour duty period" exception in 395.1(0)?

Guidance: Yes. A CDL driver operating under the 100 air-mile exception in 395.1 (e) may also meet the requirement in 395.1(0) enabling the driver to have 1 period of 16 hours duty each week (or after a 34-hour restart). However on the day in which the 16-hour exception is utilized, the driver would not meet the 12-hour duty period requirement of the 100 air-mile logbook exception and would therefore be required to maintain a logbook for that day. (Remember a CDL driver is not eligible to use the new "short haul" provision.)

11: Does 34 consecutive hours off-duty immediately restart the calculation of 60/70-hour on-duty period?

Guidance: Yes. 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.

12: If a driver works at another job, unrelated to trucking, during his 34-hour off-duty restart period, and then begins a duty shift for the trucking company, does the 34-hour restart provision apply?

Guidance: No. Performing compensated work for a person not a motor carrier is considered on-duty time, which would interrupt the 34-hour period.

13: May a driver spend part of his 34 hours of consecutive off-duty time in a sleeper berth?

Guidance: Yes, provided the 34-hour period is consecutive and not broken by on-duty or driving activities.

14: If a carrier allows a driver to log meal time as off-duty time, does that permit a driver to extend the 14-hour on-duty period?

Guidance: No. Off-duty breaks and sleeper berths of less than 8 hours duration during the 14 hour work duty tour do not extend the workday to permit a driver to drive after the 14th consecutive hour on-duty. However, time logged as off-duty or sleeper berth is not counted in calculating a drivers 60/70- hour on-duty period.

15: If a driver is on call, but has not been called in for 34 hours, may those 34 hours be counted as a 34-hour restart?

Guidance: Yes, provided the carrier has not required the driver to report for work until after the 34-hour period has ended.

16: May drivers who work split shifts take advantage of the 100 air-mile radius exemption found at 395.1(e)?

Guidance: For property-carrying drivers, the concept of "split shifts" is no longer relevant due to the limitations of the 14-hour rule. The exception in 49 CFR 395.1(e) only provides an exception to the record of duty status (RODS) i.e., "logbook," requirements. It does not exempt the driver from any requirements of the HOS rules. A driver may go on duty and off duty multiple times during a duty tour, but all of the on- and off-duty time (with certain sleeper berth exceptions) continues to accumulate toward the 14-hour time limit.

A driver utilizing the 100 air -mile radius exception would also be limited by the 14-hour rule. Regardless of how many times the driver goes on and off duty during the duty tour, if the driver exceeds a total of 12 consecutive hours from first starting the daily duty tour, the 100 air-mile exception would no longer apply and the driver will be required to maintain a RODS. Prior Regulatory Guidance (395.1 Question 19) on this subject no longer applies to property-carrying drivers.

17 : How does a driver who is utilizing the sleeper berth provision calculate his or her compliance with the 14-hour rule?

Guidance: A sleeper-berth period of at least 8 consecutive hours is excluded from calculation of the 14-hour limitation. All other sleeper berth periods are included in the 14-hour calculation (unless part of a sleeper-berth/off-duty combination of 10 or more consecutive hours).

18 : How should a change of duty status for a short period of time be shown on the driver's record of duty status?

Guidance: For short duty status intervals (less than 15 minutes) a driver may remain on the appropriate on-duty (not driving) or driving line at the time the change occurs, and flag the change in the remarks section. The driver must indicate, in the remarks section, the length of the duty status change, such as "6 minutes," and a geographic location such as a highway identification and a mile marker, and the closest city and state.

19: When a driver fails to meet the provisions of the 100 air-mile radius exemption (395.1(e)), is the driver required to have copies of his/her records of duty status for the previous seven days? Must the driver prepare daily records of duty status for the next seven days?

Guidance: The driver must only have in his/her possession a record of duty status for the day he/she does not qualify for the exemption. The record of duty status must cover the entire day, even if the driver has to record retroactively changes in status that occurred between the time that the driver reported for duty and the time in which he/she no longer qualified for the 100 air-mile radius exemption. This is the only way to ensure that a driver does not claim the right to drive 11 hours after leaving his/her exempt status, in addition to the hours already driven under the 100 air-mile exemption.

For more information and to read the HOS rules online go to: fmcsa.dot.gov

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