FMCSA’s final rule on hours of service makes four key revisions to the existing HOS rules:

1. The 30-minute break rule, which requires a break after no more than eight hours of consecutive driving, can now be satisfied by the on-duty/not driving status, rather than off-duty status. That means a driver’s “break” could be satisfied by stopping to fuel the truck, for instance.

2. The sleeper berth rules will now allow drivers to split their required 10 hours off duty into two periods: an 8/2 split, or a 7/3 split — with neither period counting against the driver’s 14‑hour driving window.

3. The new rule changes the adverse driving conditions exception by extending by two hours the maximum window during which driving is permitted. The current rule allows for an extra two hours of driving time, but it still had to be within the maximum 14-hour workday. The new rule allows the workday to be extended to as much as 16 hours in the case of adverse conditions such as extreme weather or congestion.

4. The agency will change the short-haul exception available to certain commercial drivers by lengthening the drivers’ maximum on‑duty period from 12 to 14 hours and extending the distance limit within which the driver may operate from 100 air miles to 150 air miles.

The new hours of service rule will have an implementation date of 120 days after publication in the Federal Register. The final rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register next week.

For more information: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/hours-service/hours-service-drivers-final-rule