Understanding hours of service

Going to trucking school this weekend and I just wanted to get a head start on understanding the HOS, I know we have a 14 hour day if we decide to do OTR with a 11 hour maximum drive time, only with a mandatory 10 hour off duty time. If we drive 8 hours or more it's mandatory to take a 30 min break. So my question is, since we are "on-duty" for the 11 hour drive time, what happens to the other 3 hours during the day? Would that 3 hour be considered on-duty or off-duty? Also, I know that we can use the sleeper berth for a 10 hour off-duty period (eg: 8 hours sleeping one period then another 2 hour sleeping period will count towards the 10 hours restart). I know for on-duty you can do work related task, eg: paperwork, load/unload, pre-trip and etc. But as for off-duty that's our sleepy time . I also noticed they took away the two consecutive periods of 1am-5am for the 34 hour reset. I kind of get the HOS but still pretty confused. Please explain.

 

It is what it is.



There is no set status for those 3 hours. You could go back to work (assuming you've gotten your full rest and have time available on your 70-clock) and be on-duty, or driving. You can be off-duty; just whatever works for your schedule. Generally, it ends up as off-duty time for most drivers. It gets eaten up () for meal times, etc.

 

It's a 14 hour window you have 11 hours that you can drive. You can work however long you want, just can't drive past the 14th (with a few exemptions)
The 8 hour is from the last 30 minute or longer break. Includes drive and on duty time.

 

Can be found at
FMCSA REGULATIONS :395.3 (a) and (b)


The basics.
If you are not a local driver operating in there range bubble. The Hos rules are like this.

10 hour rule:
Start of work shift. You need a 10 hour break, recorded before starting your drive.
this can me in the sleeper birth <sleeper birth line on your logs>, or outside of it. <off duty line on logs> or a combination of both.
as long as your not working or driving.
In truck, sleeper birth. Out of truck, off duty.

14 hour rule:
You can WORK 14 hours in 24 hour period. Assuming you had your 10 hour break. This is working, so if you drove for 11 hours then did paper work for 3 or moved boxes ect. That would be working. <you are only in violation for penalties if you get behind the wheel again with out loging and taking a 10 hour break.>

11 hour rule:
You can only drive 11 hours in the 24 hour period assuming you have had your 10 hour break. This Is drive time.

30 minute rule:
You can't drive for more then 8 hours at a time. With out taking 30 minutes off duty for a break. <so yes you could drive for 7 hours and 59 minutes. Then take your break and not be in violation>

60 hour rule:
You can't drive more then 60 hours in 7 consecutive days if your company dose not dispatch trucks 7 days a week. < so if your company's closed on week ends. You only get 60 hours in a 7 day week. >.

70 hour rule:
Same as above but your company dispatches trucks/loads ect 7 days a week.

You are only in violation of the above rules if you are driving after the listed time limits.

This is for property carrying vechiles, rules for busses change a bit.

 

Thanks for the reply but I’m curious has to how the 8/2 or 2/8 hour split works to comply with the 10 hour rest periods? I know most ppl don’t use the split and rather do the full 10 but there may be days where I might have to use the 8/2 or 2/8 hour split

 

You drive 8 hours towards faraway USATown. Whoops take a 30 minute break. You keep driving until you have your entire 11 hours driving day finished and parked at safehaven USA near Faraway.

Whatever time you do not "USE" you get back on the 8th day in your recap. I prefer to have a 9 hour driving day find me a parking spot and a meal and quit for the "Day" which means 8 hours later in the Berth time to get up, another meal get going already.

 

Honestly I was never good at using that correctly and iv watched a lot of other drivers use it poorly too so a lot of us just a avoid it. Much better then having to sit OOS because the hours got messed up and we didn't realize it till we got inspected.

 

The 8 rest pauses your 14 clock until you return to work, the 2 rest does not (so your 14 is still ticking during the 2).

Work periods before and after the rest periods cannot violate your 11/14/70 clocks.

When using the split-break you enter into a cycle of:

work/rest1/work/rest2/work/rest1/work/rest2/work/etc.,​

until you return to a "normal" schedule by way of a 10-hour continuous rest or 34-hour reset.

That's it, in a nutshell. Think of it in those simple terms and the math doesn't get complicated.

 

It doesn't matter if your OTR or local.

It's the same hours. 11/14/70 or 60.

Local just don't have to do logs unless it's outside the 100 or 150 mile radius. Or exceeds a 12 hour day.
I think the 30 is also waived.