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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