Hours of service rules is something that drivers have to be very careful about while driving. These determine how much the drivers can drive, rest and the duration for which they can be on ON-Duty state.  Here are some pointers that driver’s have to keep in mind to avoid any violation.

30 Minutes break in 8 hours- A 30- minute break has to be taken by drivers in 8 hours duration from the time they come on duty initially. This has to be done to avoid any kind of violation. It has to be noted that the 8 hour clock is in real time and the break should be taken before the hours have past.

10 hour off duty/Sleeper berth- As per FMCSA, drivers have to take 10 consecutive hours off duty when they have driven 11 hours within their shift or if they have been On-duty for 14 hours. Taking off duty does not mean that the driving hours will be increased more than the provided limit. Sleeper berth can also be split between 8 and 2 hours. For further information on split sleep, please find the link provided below.

Cycle reset- The drivers are usually on a 7 or 8 day cycle. They cannot drive more than 60/70 hours respectively. The cycle can be restarted during the 7/8 day cycle if the drivers take 34 hours or more consecutive off duty.

In our ELD the drivers are very well shown their current state and how many hours are left for their next break/ Off Duty. Warnings are also given time to time in yellow before any violation occurs. Violations are shown in red. Our ELD is very user friendly and easily understood by officers. There is a separate option for officers called “officer view” where officers can view the driver’s log.

 

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/hours-service/summary-hours-service-regulations

 

 

Disclaimer: The rules and regulations are subject to change any time. Readers must verify with the authority, FMCSA/MTO and must not rely on the contents of this blog