ELDs are all the hype these days. Even if you are not part of the industry, you have no doubt heard the chatter. DOT mandated the use of electronic logging devices late last year and caused quite a controversy. To help clear the confusion, we decided to write down a short explanation of the hours of service rules.
Duty status
On-Duty time describes the performance of any work-related tasks. Those include driving, fueling, loading, and unloading, as well as freight and vehicle-related pre and post-trip inspections. Off-duty time means resting inside the sleeper berth or outside of the truck (at home or in a motel).
14 hour limit
Truckers get a maximum of 14 working hours per shift. The clock starts as soon as the driver goes on duty after his last 10-hour break. Logging rest time in between on-duty periods does not extend the 14-hour rule. In other words, if a driver starts his day at 6 am, his shift needs to end no later than 8 pm, even if he took off a couple of hours for lunch and a nap. Every 14-hour shift must be followed by ten consecutive hours of rest.
11-hour driving limit
DOT limits the number of driving hours to 11 per shift. This means that even though drivers are allowed 14 working (on-duty) hours per shift, they can only spend 11 of them behind the wheel.
30-minute rest break
Drivers can only hit the road if it has been less than 8 hours since their last break (sleeper berth or off-duty) of 30 minutes or more.
60/70 hour limit
Whenever you hear talk of a 34-hour restart, it means a driver has accumulated 60 or 70 on-duty hours in the last 7 or 8 consecutive days. To reset that clock and get fresh hours drivers to need to go off-duty for a minimum of 34 straight hours.
Recognizing the complex challenges of transportation logistics, the DOT provides for ways to circumvent the limitations that hours of service rules sometimes pose. In our next articles, we will discuss the “8/2 hour split” as well as “running on re-cap hours” and how using these techniques can improve productivity for both company drivers and owner-operators.
Personal Conveyance
FMCSA Personal Conveyance is a time that a driver can use to move the truck. It is used when a driver can use the CMV to do something personal. Such a thing can be going to a movie theater or buying groceries.
If you want to read about the new rule, you can read here.
ELD Malfunction Rules
There are occasions when the ELD device could malfunction. For more information about what to do about it read here.
David viers 
Mike 
Dan 
Bill 
Jason 
Dw 
An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a colleague who was doing a little homework on this. And he actually ordered me lunch simply because I discovered it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending some time to talk about this topic here on your web site.
I always log sleeper when being loaded or unloaded,is that wrong?
David viers.
NO ITS NOT LEGAL
Mike, he is correct.. The HOS is not there to limit you from working past your 14, it’s there to stop you from driving past the 14, granted that you have not reached the 11 driving hr. Keep in mind that being on duty will still go against your 70 limit. And also, you can work past your 70 hour limit, you just can’t drive. There’s been plenty of times I’ve worked past my 70 and gone into the negative.
Dan, that’s not entirely accurate. You have 11 driving hours and a total of 14 on duty hours . Work related tasks are to be logged as on duty, so if you have already driven 11 hours on your 14 hour clock, this only leaves you 3 on duty hours for “work” before you need to take a 10 hour break.
It should be noted that the HOS rules only limit when you are allowed to *drive*. You can continue to *work* as many hours as you want- it’s just that once you hit the 14 hour mark, you can no longer *drive* a CMV until you have had 10 consecutive hours off duty.
David, all work related tasks are considered “on duty”. Fueling, scaling and getting loaded and unloaded certainly count as “on duty” time.
Only when you are fueling you are supposed to be on duty.
My company makes me go off duty while fueling scaling waiting at ship or receivers is this legal