CMV drivers may drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty.

CMV drivers may not drive beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty, following 10 consecutive hours off duty. Off-duty time does not extend the 14-hour period.

A CMV driver may not drive after 60/70 hours on duty in 7/8 consecutive days.

A driver may restart a 7/8 consecutive day period after taking 34 or more consecutive hours off duty.

CMV Drivers must take a 30-minute break when they have driven for a period of 8 cumulative hours without at least a 30-minute interruption.

The break may be satisfied by any non-driving period of 30 consecutive minutes (i.e., on-duty not driving, off-duty, sleeper berth, or any combination of these taken consecutively).

CMV drivers may split their required 10-hour off-duty period, as long as one off-duty period (whether in or out of the sleeper berth) is at least 2 hours long and the other involves at least 7 consecutive hours spent in the sleeper berth.

All sleeper berth pairings MUST add up to at least 10 hours.

When used together, neither time period counts against the maximum 14- hour driving window.

CMV drivers are allowed to extend the 11-hour maximum driving limit and 14-hour driving window by up to 2 hours when adverse driving conditions are encountered.

Adverse Driving Conditions would include events like extreme and unexpected weather events, unanticipated severe traffic, etc.

CMV drivers are exempt from the requirements of §395.8 and §395.11 if: the driver operates within a 150 air-mile radius of the normal work reporting location, and the driver does not exceed a maximum duty period of 14 hours.

Drivers using the short-haul exception in §395.1(e)(1) must report and return to the normal work reporting location within 14 consecutive hours, and stay within a 150 air-mile radius of the work reporting location.

What's the key to reducing your HOS BASIC scores?

This is a very tough question and unfortunately it doesn't have an easy answer.

Like so many other things in life, it really depends on a different things.

A quick survey of any number of trucking companies will show you a very large HOS compliance spectrum. (In other words, some really appear to suck, some appear to have it held down and most are somewhere in between).

I can say that trucking companies with the most effective HOS compliance show their #truckdrivers that they care greatly about this critical compliance area.

Fleet owners should be regularly studying HOS reports from their ELD systems.

HOS violations, Unidentified Driving Time, ELD Disconnects and Personal Conveyance Use should all be tracked.

Drivers AND dispatchers who are found to be in violation of FMCSA regulations or company policy MUST be held accountable on a consistent basis.

If this is done regularly, the HOS BASIC scores take care of themselves!

By far, the most common Hours of Service violations are still related to "Form and Manner". This is the FMCSA's fancy way of saying that the driver didn't complete their HOS recordkeeping correctly.

Despite ELD systems capturing a great deal of data regarding the location of a truck at any given time, there are still manual entries that the drivers must input into the ELD in order to remain compliant. 

This information generally consists of things like the BOL number, shipper and consignee name and other load specific information. 

Personal conveyance is the movement of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) for personal use while off-duty.

The FMCSA has been very specific about the times when it is appropriate for a CMV driver to utilize Personal Conveyance mode. These are:

1. Time spent traveling from a driver’s en route lodging (such as a motel or truck stop) to restaurants and entertainment facilities.
2. Commuting between the driver’s terminal and his or her residence, between trailer-drop lots and the driver’s residence, and between work sites and his or her residence. In these scenarios, the commuting distance combined with the release from work and start to work times must allow the driver enough time to obtain the required restorative rest as to ensure the driver is not fatigued.
3. Time spent traveling to a nearby, reasonable, safe location to obtain required rest after loading or unloading. The time driving under personal conveyance must allow the driver adequate time to obtain the required rest in accordance with minimum off-duty periods under 49 CFR 395.3(a)(1) (property-carrying vehicles) or 395.5(a) (passenger-carrying vehicles) before returning to on-duty driving, and the resting location must be the first such location reasonably available.
4. Moving a CMV at the request of a safety official during the driver’s off-duty time
5. Time spent traveling in a motorcoach without passengers to en route lodging (such as motel or truck stop), or to restaurants and entertainment facilities and back to the lodging. In this scenario, the driver of the motorcoach can claim personal conveyance provided the driver is off-duty. Other off-duty drivers may be on board the vehicle, and are not considered passengers.
6. Time spent transporting personal property while off-duty.
7. Authorized use of a CMV to travel home after working at an offsite location.

Just as there are appropriate uses of Personal Conveyance status, there are also "improper" uses as well.

Here are some guidelines that the FMCSA has provided about these improper uses:

1. The movement of a CMV in order to enhance the operational readiness of a motor carrier. For example, bypassing available resting locations in order to get closer to the next loading or unloading point or other scheduled motor carrier destination.
2. After delivering a towed unit, and the towing unit no longer meets the definition of a CMV, the driver returns to the point of origin under the direction of the motor carrier to pick up another towed unit.
3. Continuation of a CMV trip in interstate commerce in order to fulfill a business purpose, including bobtailing or operating with an empty trailer in order to retrieve another load or repositioning a CMV (tractor or trailer) at the direction of the motor carrier.
4. Time spent driving a passenger-carrying CMV while passenger(s) are on board. Off-duty drivers are not considered passengers when traveling to a common destination of their own choice within the scope of this guidance.
5. Time spent transporting a CMV to a facility to have vehicle maintenance performed.
6. After being placed out of service for exceeding the maximum periods permitted under part 395, time spent driving to a location to obtain required rest, unless so directed by an enforcement officer at the scene.
7. Time spent traveling to a motor carrier’s terminal after loading or unloading from a shipper or a receiver.
8. Time spent operating a motorcoach when luggage is stowed, the passengers have disembarked and the driver has been directed to deliver the luggage.

Motor carriers must retain up to eight supporting documents for every 24-hour period that a driver is on duty.

Drivers must submit their records of duty status (RODS) and supporting documents to the motor carrier no later than 13 days after receiving them.

If a motor carrier retains more than 8 supporting documents, the motor carrier must maintain the first and last document generated during the regular course of business.

Some examples of supporting documents include:

• Bills of lading, itineraries, schedules, or equivalent documents that indicate the origin and destination of each trip;
• Dispatch records, trip records, or equivalent documents;
• Expense receipts related to any on-duty not-driving time;
• Electronic mobile communication records, reflecting communications transmitted through a fleet management system; and
• Payroll records, settlement sheets, or equivalent documents that indicate what and how a driver was paid.

Even with an operational ELD, drivers can still receive a form and manner violation.

Essentially, the FMCSA is requiring that each truck running an ELD has to have a few things as well, including:

8 Days worth of blank paper logs

The ELD Instruction Manual

ELD Device Malfunction Information 

Instructions on how to transmit data from the ELD to law enforcement

We've gathered these information packets for the major ELD providers. You can find those by clicking the link below: