The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today published a final rule updating hours of service (HOS) rules to increase safety on America’s roadways by updating existing regulations for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.
Based on the detailed public comments and input from the American people, FMCSA’s final rule on hours of service offers four key revisions to the existing HOS rules:
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Short-Haul Operations
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· Extends drivers’ maximum on-duty period from 12 to 14 hours;
· Extends the air-mile radius within which the driver may operate from 100 air miles to 150 air miles.
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Adverse Driving Conditions
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· Modifies the adverse driving conditions exception by extending, by 2 hours, the maximum on-duty window during which driving is permitted;
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30-Minute Break
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· Requires a 30-minute break after 8 consecutive hours of driving time have elapsed;
· Allows a break to be taken in an on-duty, not-driving status.
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Sleeper Berth Exception
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· Allows drivers to split their required 10-hours off duty into two periods: an 8 and 2 split or a 7 and 3 split, either off duty or in the sleeper berth;
· Neither period counts against the driver’s 14-hour driving window.
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You can view the full Final Rule here.
