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.
The Hours of Service Training: Limits course is designed to help drivers avoid operating a commercial motor vehicle when fatigued and comply with the hours-of-service limits by ensuring they understand how each of the limits or clocks work together. It will also help them to know when to take a break and when to rest to restart their hours.
- The eLearning course covers the following topics:
- Ill or Fatigued Operator
- 10-Hour Clock (Off-Duty)
- 14-Hour (On-Duty) Limit
- 11-Hour (Driving) Limit
- 60- and 70-Hour (On-Duty) Limit
- Interruption of Driving
- 34-Hour Restart
- After completing this course, drivers will be able to:
- Recognize how fatigue requires drivers to stop driving even if they have hours left to legally operate
- Identify off-duty activities that qualify as a 10-hour break
- Describe how the 14-hour limit is calculated
- Identify which duty status the 11-hour limit tracks
- Determine when to use the 60- or 70-hour limit
- Identify an exception which resets the 60- or 70-hour limit
- Explain how to satisfy the 30-minute break required under the interruption of driving provision
- Differentiate between cumulative and consecutive limits
- Note: Spanish course will be available November 2020
- Intended Audience: Property-Carrying CMV Drivers
- Regs Covered: 49 CFR Part 395
- Length: 30 minutes
- Languages: English (61326), Spanish (61327)
- Copyright Date: 2020
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