Hours of Service Regulations Monthly Training Topic Ryder Safety & Loss Prevention

Hours of Service Regulations

Monthly Training Topic

Ryder Safety & Loss Prevention

04/10/23 Proprietary and Confidential 2

What Are the Hours-of-Service Regulations?

FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY REGULATIONS (FMCSRs)

The hours-of service regulations are found in Part 395 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

The regulations are developed and enforced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which is part of the United States Department of Transportation.

States may have identical or similar regulations.

The primary reason for hours-of-service regulations is safety. The goal of the regulations is to keep fatigued drivers off the road.

The regulations impose limits for when and how long a driver may drive.


Who Must Comply With the Hours-of-Service Regulations?

Motor Carrier and drivers of commercial motor vehicles are subject to the hours-of-service regulations.

A motor carrier means a for-hire or a private motor carrier. The definition includes a motor carrier’s agents, officers and representatives as well as employees responsible for hiring, supervising, training, assigning, or dispatching drivers. It also includes employees concerned with the installation, inspection, and maintenance of motor vehicle equipment and/or accessories.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations apply to motor carriers operating in interstate commerce.

States may impose similar hours-of service-regulations for intrastate operations


DefinitionsInterstate means the goods have traveled into or through another State or country. Even if your truck does not leave your State, but the goods have or will, the transportation is usually considered to be in interstate commerce. Interstate commerce means the goods have left their home State.

Intrastate Commerce means the goods and services stay within a single State. The goods and services do not leave their State.

On Duty Time includes all time you are working or are required to be ready to work, for any employer.

Off Duty Time includes time when a driver is relieved of all duty and responsibility for performing work. You must be free to pursue activities of your own choosing and be able to leave the place where your vehicle is parked.

Adverse Driving Conditions is considered to be unexpected adverse driving conditions slow you down, you may drive up to 2 extra hours to complete what could have been driven in normal conditions.

Driver’s Daily Log is a written or electronic record to track the time a driver is driving, on-duty not driving, in a sleeper berth, or off duty.


The Three Maximum Duty Limits

These limits apply to property carrying motor carriers.

The hours-of service regulations focus on when and how long a driver is allowed to drive by placing specific limits on the amount of time a driver drives a commercial

motor vehicle and how many total hours can be worked before the driver is no longer permitted to drive a commercial motor vehicle.

The three maximum duty limits are;

► 14-hour duty limit; ► 11 hour-driving limit; ► 60/70 hour duty limit.


The 60/70 Hour Duty Limit Rule

This limit is based on a 7-day or 8-day period, starting at the time specified by the motor carrier for the start of a 24-hour period. It is usually midnight or noon.

This limit is sometimes thought of as a “weekly” limit. The limit is not based on a “set” week, such as Sunday through Saturday. The limit is based on a “rolling” or

“floating” 7-day or 8-day period.

A driver is required to follow one of these two “weekly” limits. If the motor carrier:

► Does not operate vehicles every day of the week, the driver must follow the 60-hours in 7-days rule.

► Does operate every day of the week, the driver may follow either the 60-hour 7-day rule or the 70-hour 8-day rule


34-Hour Restart

The regulations allow a driver to “restart” the 60 or 70-hour clock calculations after having at least 34 consecutive hours off duty.

In other words, after the driver have taken at least 34 hours off duty in a row, he or she will have the full 60 or 70 hours available again.

A motor carrier may not require a driver to use the 34 hours restart rule. It is optional.


Non-CDL Short-Haul Exceptions

An operator drives short distances in a truck that does not require a commercial driver’s license (CDL), driver might be able to use the non-CDL short-haul exception.

► A driver can only use this exception if he or she: ● Drives a truck that does not require a CDL● Works within a 150 air-mile radius of normal work reporting location

► If the criteria is met for using the non-CDL short-haul exception: ● Driver must not drive for more than 11 hours following 10 consecutive hours off duty● Driver must not drive past the 14th hour after coming on duty 5 days in any period of 7

consecutive days● Driver must not drive past the 16th hour after coming on duty 2 days in any period of 7

consecutive days● Driver must not drive after being on duty 60 hours in any 7 consecutive days or 70 hours

in any 8 consecutive days (unless the driver took 34 consecutive hours off to restart a 7/8-day period)

► Log books are not required, but time records must be kept for 6 months


16-Hour Short-Haul Exception

If a driver comes back to the work-reporting location and go home at the end of the workday, he or she might be able to use the 16-hour short-haul exception. This

exception allows you to extend the 14-consecutive-hour duty period once every 7 consecutive days. In order to use this exception,

the driver must do the following:

► Return to the work reporting location each day► Be released from duty within 16 hours after coming on duty. ► Must only use this exception once every 7 consecutive days (unless the driver took

34 consecutive hours off to restart a 7/8-day period).


Sleeper Berth Provisions

If a driver operates a truck that has a regulation approved sleeper berth, your drivers may use it to get the required off-duty time in three ways. Your driver:

► May spend time in the sleeper berth to get some of, or all of, the 10 consecutive hours of off-duty time. 10 hours in the sleeper berth/off duty combined in two rest periods.

► May also use the sleeper berth to extend the 14-hour limit.

► May also use the sleeper berth in a different way to get the “equivalent of at least 10 consecutive hours off duty.”

● The first rest period must be no less than 8 hours and no more than 10.● The second rest period must be at least 2 hours and no more than 10 hours.● Rest periods may be spent in sleeper berth, off duty, or a combination (it will count as

part of the 14 hours unless driver spends at least 8 hours in the sleeper berth)● It does not matter which rest period the driver takes first.


Record Keeping

A Driver’s Daily Log is a written or electronic record to track the time a driver is driving, on-duty not driving, in a sleeper berth, or off duty.

Your drivers must account every day on their logs, even the days they are off duty. The log must cover all 24 hours of every day

The regulations do not specify what the log form must look like. However, it must include a 24-hour graph grid, which is shown in the regulations, contain specific information on each page.

► Date► Total miles driving► Truck or tractor/trailer number► Name of the carrier► Main office address► Driver signature in full► Name of co-driver if applicable► Time base to be used► Remarks► Total hours► Shipping document numbers/ name of shipper► The graph grid


Out of Service Drivers

Drivers Can Be Declared Out-of-Service for a number of reasons

► Exceeding maximum driving time.► Exceeding maximum on duty status► Failing to have a log book► Failing to keep their logbook current

Motor carrier have a duty to not require or permit a driver who has been placed out-of-service to drive.

Fines can be stiff for willful violations of the hours-of-service regulations.

Hours of Service Regulation Changes

The goal of this rulemaking is to reduce excessively long work hours that increase both the risk of fatigue-related crashes and long-term health problems for drivers. A rule cannot ensure that drivers will be rested, but it can ensure that they have enough time off to obtain adequate rest on a daily and weekly basis. The objective of this rule, therefore, is to reduce both acute

and chronic fatigue by limiting the maximum number of hours per day and week that the drivers can work. On average, the rule reduces a driver’s maximum allowable hours of work

per week from 82 hours to 70 hours, a 15% reduction. The 15% reduction in the average maximum allowable hours of work based on the new rule results from the restrictions on the

use of the restart period.

The new rule:

► Retains the current 11-hour daily driving limit ► Reduces a driver's work week from 82 hours within a seven-day period to 70 hours► Prohibits drivers from driving after working eight hours without first taking a break of at least 30

minutes► Limits drivers' use of the "34-hour restart" to once during a seven-day period;► Requires truck drivers who maximize their weekly work hours to take at least two nights' rest from

1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. ► The effective date of the final rule is February 27, 2012, and the compliance date of selected

provisions is July 1, 2013.


Summary of Hours of Service Changes

Rule Subject Current HOS Rule New HOS Rule

Total On-Duty Window in Each Shift

14 consecutive hours

Change based on Rest Break – Still 14 consecutive hours; with 30 minute rest break, maximum on-duty time within 14 hour window is 13.5 hours.No driving may occur after 14 consecutive hours of coming on duty;non-driving work is allowed past the 14 hour driving window

Maximum Driving HoursLimit on

1111 hours, but it may not be consecutive.No driving if more than 8 consecutive hours have passed since the last break of 30 minutes or more.

Mandatory Rest Break During Shift

NoneDrivers will not be permitted to drive if 8 hours have passed since their last break of 30 minutes or more.

Cumulative

On-Duty “Restart”

Voluntary:34 consecutive hours off-duty resets aDrivers’ cumulative on-duty back to zero (or restarts a drivers 60 hour weekly clock) at any point in a driver’s 7 day cycle.

Voluntary:The minimum length of a restart period is 34 consecutive off-duty hours. The actual length of the restart period is variable since it must include two consecutive nighttime off-duty periods from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.Drivers are allowed to use this restart only once during any seven calendar day period.

Federal Exceptions& Exemptions

All existing exemptions and exceptionsremain.

Slightly modified Oilfield exemption.


Questions & Answers

When is compliance required?

• Compliance with the § 395.2 definition of “on-duty time” and the § 395.1(d) “oilfield” provisions, when applicable, is required 60 days after publication of the Final Rule in the Federal Register. Compliance with all other provisions is required no later than July 1, 2013. Because the new rule is more restrictive than the current rule, drivers and carriers may comply at any time after the effective date of the rule; in other words, if they are in compliance with the new rules, they will also be in compliance with the current rules.

Which drivers are most likely or unlikely to be affected by the rule changes?

• The rule will mainly affect drivers who work more than 70 hours a week on a continuing basis. These drivers are mostly a subset of long-haul truckload drivers. Local drivers and less-than-truckload drivers, who rarely work more than 5 days a week, are unlikely to be affected.

What are the costs and benefits of the rule?

• The rule has annual costs of about $470 million and benefits of around $630 million. FMCSA’s best estimate is that the rule will produce net benefits of $160 million a year.

Where can carriers and drivers obtain more information?

• The FMCSA Website: www.fmcsa.dot.gov



Questions and Comments

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Additional Information on Rules and Regulations

This document is intended to be a guide on applicable rules and regulations. Although it may be used as a guide/reference for your training needs, this document is not intended to be used as the standard for FMCSA rules and

regulations.

Additional information can be found on the FMCSA website.

The FMCSA website will contain the most accurate and up-to-date information on any and all applicable rules and regulations.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov

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Hours of Service Regulations Monthly Training Topic Ryder Safety & Loss Prevention