The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued four significant Hours of Service (HOS) rule changes for interstate drivers – effective September 29, 2020.
The four new rule changes will improve safety, increase productivity, and increase flexibility for truck drivers:
- 30-minute breaks (§395.3(a)(3)) - Drivers can remain "on duty" for their breaks and not have to take a break until completing eight hours of driving time, rather than consecutive time.
- 100 air-mile exception (§395.1(e)(1)) - Drivers must be done working within 14 consecutive hours. Drivers must remain within a 150 air-mile radius.
- Split-sleeper provision (§395.1(g)(1)) - Drivers must spend at least 7 hours in a sleeper berth, plus another break to reach 10 hours total. Neither rest period counts against the 14-hour limit.
- Adverse conditions (§395.1(b)(1)) - Drivers may extend both their driving and on-duty limits by 2 hours.
With hours-of-service it's very important to know what exceptions you can use and how to use them. If a driver can't explain an exception, they may end up with a violation because it will look like a rule is being broken. Using exceptions properly and calling them out correctly will result in fewer violations.
There are seven commonly used hours-of-service exceptions included in this training:
- Air-mile radius short-haul
- 16-hour ("big day")
- Split-sleeper berth
- Adverse driving conditions
- Electronic logging devices (ELDs)
- Agricultural operations
- Personal conveyance
Carriers may allow or prohibit the use of exceptions based on their policies and practices.
The Hours of Service Training: Exceptions course is designed to help drivers understand which exceptions can be used and when to use them.
- The eLearning course covers the following topics:
- Air-Mile Radius Short-Haul
- 16-Hour ("big day")
- Split-Sleeper Berth
- Adverse Driving Conditions
- Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs)
- Agricultural Operations
- Personal Conveyance
- Other Exceptions
- After completing this course, drivers will be able to:
- Identify which drivers can use an hours-of-service exception
- Describe what an exception relieves a driver from
- Note: Spanish course will be available November 2020
- Intended Audience: Property-Carrying CMV Drivers
- Regs Covered: 49 CFR Part 395
- Length: 35 minutes
- Languages: English (61330), Spanish (61331)
- Copyright Date: 2020
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Compliance Topic: CSA Scores, DOT and Driver Training, Hours of Service
Industry: Transportation
Language: Spanish