Truck Crash Reference

Hours of service for property-carrying drivers

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Contents
  1. Daily driving and the driving window
  2. Multi-day limits
  3. Exceptions must be identified
  4. Related entries
  5. References
Hours of service for property-carrying drivers
Ordinary driving limit11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty[1]
Ordinary windowNo driving beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty[1]

Federal hours-of-service rules limit when covered property-carrying commercial drivers may drive. Section 395.3 establishes the ordinary limits, while Section 395.1 contains exceptions. These rules are not a universal schedule for every vehicle or trip, and complying with a numerical limit does not authorize driving while dangerously fatigued.[1][2][3]

See: Electronic logging devices and duty-status records

Daily driving and the driving window

Under the ordinary property-carrier rule, a driver may drive up to 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty and may not drive beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty following that rest. The regulation also requires a consecutive 30-minute interruption of driving after more than eight cumulative driving hours without such an interruption. That interruption can include on-duty time when the driver is not driving.[1]

Multi-day limits

Section 395.3 also prohibits driving after 60 on-duty hours in seven consecutive days for a carrier that does not operate every day, or 70 hours in eight consecutive days for a carrier that does. It permits a restart after at least 34 consecutive hours off duty. These are restrictions on further driving, not instructions to treat all time away from the steering wheel as off duty.[1][4]

Exceptions must be identified

Section 395.1 addresses short-haul operations, sleeper-berth arrangements and adverse driving conditions, among other provisions. Each has conditions; an exception to a logging requirement is not blanket permission to drive without limits. A useful review identifies the claimed exception and checks its conditions against the trip record. A log showing legal hours also does not resolve the separate fatigue prohibition in Section 392.3.[2][3]

References

  1. abcde 49 CFR 395.3: Maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Office of the Federal Register and GPO. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-395.3. official. Checked . Source record
  2. ab 49 CFR 395.1: Scope and exceptions. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Office of the Federal Register and GPO. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-395.1. official. Checked . Source record
  3. ab 49 CFR 392.3: Ill or fatigued operator. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Office of the Federal Register and GPO. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-392.3. official. Checked . Source record
  4. ^ 49 CFR 395.2: Definitions. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Office of the Federal Register and GPO. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-395.2. official. Checked . Source record