Hours of service questions and answers

11 hours to drive, within a 15 hour window of time...and no more than 70 hours in any 8 day period.

Fueling is logged on line 4...and only counts on your 70 hours.

Loading and unloading counts on your 70 hours too...and it will start your 14 hour clock, but won't stop it...meaning you can work past 14 hours, but not by driving.


15 minute loading and unloading...its on its way out, be careful with it.

 

Im not exactly a new driver, born and raised around trucks, I have only held a CDL for 2 years though. I do OTR and sometimes local stuff which i like. My question is how does the 16 hour rule work in the logs?

 

okay;;...loading and unloading is part of your driver time...that really sucks......what is the mininum you can log for loading and unloading and not get burnt by the dot.....i use to log 15 minutes when i drove...they never bothered ya...i just told them i hired a lumber, but in reality...as long as i had something logged ...they did not bother me...

 

From the time you start your day; (depending on company requirements) flag or 15 minutes on line 4 for pre-trip. This starts your 14 hour clock, so you have 14 hours to drive a maximum of 11 hours...any time on line 4 does not count against your driving line 3 (Fuel, load, unload, PTI), but it does count against the 70.

I have never been questioned about the 15 minute unload...however a drop and hook issue can arise so I just log 30 minutes for a DR/HK. I f you are a bit confused about the 14 hour rule, then don't even try the split sleeper rule change...that one is really crazy...8 and 2 to split the sleeper...why not just take a 10 and start the 14 over fresh?

 

The 16 hour rule is for local (100 mile air radius) drivers. there is a thread that deals with this subject and covers the info very well...use the thread search on the upper task bar (search)...

 

Ok thanks for the info. I guess i dont need to know about it any further.

 

In some rare cases, it is legal to extend your 14 by a couple hours. It is to be used in emergency situations only...like when you get stuck in traffic and there's a blizzard on the way, your 14 runs out while you're sitting there and there is no legal or safe place to park for your 10. You may go over your 14 only as long as it takes to get to the next safe parking place and this exemption may only be used once each (I think) seven days. It is not a substitute for trip planning. I've never had to use it. Perhaps this is the rule you were alluding to. See FMCSA Part 395.1 (2) (b)

There is also a provision for a traffic emergency and whether you would have been able to complete your run had the emergency not happened. I would check with a DOT officer on this. Perhaps Mr. Dieselbear may weigh in on this...if he sees it.

 

i understand the 14 hour thing....11 driving,. with unloading and loading added..., gasing up for a total of 14....

don,t know much about the sleeper rule..other than 10 hours off...in that 10 off...is that 8 hrs mandatory sleeping......how would you log 8 hours in the bunk,,,2 sitting in the truck on the cb?

what about time in the truck stop..is that off duty time?

 

On a 10-hour break you can do any combination of line 1 or 2 time as long as it totals 10 consecutive hours. Whether you sleep or not is up to you.

What you can't do is have any time on line 3 or 4 during that 10 hour period.