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13.2 Hours Of Service Limitations
HOS regulations determine when and how long you are allowed to drive a commercial motor vehicle (CMV). This is accomplished by placing specific limits on the number of hours you can drive or be considered on duty. The rules also specify how much time you must remain off duty before you can legally resume any driving duties. And finally, the regulations dictate when breaks are required during your workday.
There are three limits and one break requirement which must be followed at all times. They are:
- The 14-hour, on-duty limit
- The 11-hour-driving limit
- The 60/70-hour, on-duty limit
- The 30-minute break
The 14-hour On-duty Limit
The 14-hour on-duty limit is usually thought of as a daily limit, even though it is not based on a 24-hour period. You are allowed a window of 14 consecutive hours of on-duty time after being off duty for 10 or more consecutive hours. The 14-consecutive-hour, on-duty period begins when you start any kind of reportable work (doing your pre-trip inspection, performing vehicle maintenance, loading / unloading cargo, fueling, driving, etc.). Once you have reached the end of this 14-consecutive-hour period, you cannot drive again until you have been off duty for 10 consecutive hours.
Your opportunity for driving is limited to the 14 consecutive hours from the time you started your day. You can take care of other on-duty tasks beyond the 14-hour limit, but you must limit your driving time to this 14-hour window. This is a rule which has a few exceptions. There are some ways to extend this 14-hour period, but we will get into that later. For now, just think of it as an important limit. We are going to tackle this in little bites. We need to learn each of these rules as they are introduced to us. As we master them we will begin to learn more about them as we progress through this study material.
14-hour On-duty Limit Example:
The above image is an example of a driver's daily log. Let's try to further understand the 14-hour on-duty limit using this example.
You began working at 6:00 a.m. (vehicle inspection, fueling, loading / unloading freight, etc.). That makes 6:00 a.m. your starting calculation point for the 14-hour, on-duty limit. You must not drive your truck after 8:00 p.m. that evening (14 hours later). You may do other work after 8:00 p.m. (load / unload freight, perform maintenance duties, etc.), but you cannot do any more driving until you have taken 10 consecutive hours off duty. Once you have taken 10 consecutive hours off duty, your 14-hour limit will start over as soon as you go back on duty.
Multiple-Choice Questions:
You wake up and start fueling at 5:00 am. You do a pre-trip inspection while you're getting fuel. You find a problem you can quickly fix yourself and it takes until 6:00 am to fix it. You begin driving at 6:00 am. According to the 14-hour rule, you must complete your driving by what time?
- 7:00 pm
- 6:00 pm
- 7:00 am
- 8:00 pm
You begin your pre-trip inspection at 6:00 am. According to the 14-hour rule, you must complete your driving by what time?
- 4:00 pm
- 8:00 pm
- 6:00 pm
- 8:00 am
Which of the following describe the 14-hour rule?
- The 14-consecutive-hour, on-duty period begins when you start any kind of reportable work (doing your pre-trip inspection, performing vehicle maintenance, loading / unloading cargo, fueling, driving, etc.)
- You are allowed a window of 14 consecutive hours of on-duty time after being off duty for 10 or more consecutive hours
- All these are correct
- Once you have reached the end of this 14-consecutive-hour period, you cannot drive again until you have been off duty for 10 consecutive hours.
Which of the following is NOT correct when describing the 14-hour rule?
- You can take care of other on-duty tasks beyond the 14-hour limit, but you must limit your driving time to this 14-hour window.
- You are allowed a window of 14 consecutive hours of on-duty time after being off duty for 10 or more consecutive hours
- The 14-consecutive-hour, on-duty period begins when you start any kind of reportable work (doing your pre-trip inspection, performing vehicle maintenance, loading / unloading cargo, fueling, driving, etc.)
- The 14-consecutive-hour, on-duty period only begins when you start driving. It does not begin when you go on-duty.
The 14-hour on-duty limit is usually thought of as a daily limit, even though it is not based on a 24-hour period. You are allowed a window of 14 consecutive hours of on-duty time after being off duty for 10 or more consecutive hours. The 14-consecutive-hour, on-duty period begins when you start any kind of reportable work (doing your pre-trip inspection, performing vehicle maintenance, loading / unloading cargo, fueling, driving, etc.). Once you have reached the end of this 14-consecutive-hour period, you cannot drive again until you have been off duty for 10 consecutive hours.
Your opportunity for driving is limited to the 14 consecutive hours from the time you started your day. You can take care of other on-duty tasks beyond the 14-hour limit, but you must limit your driving time to this 14-hour window. This is a rule which has a few exceptions. There are some ways to extend this 14-hour period, but we will get into that later. For now, just think of it as an important limit. We are going to tackle this in little bites. We need to learn each of these rules as they are introduced to us. As we master them we will begin to learn more about them as we progress through this study material.
What do the Hours Of Service limitations do?
- Determine when and how long you are allowed to drive a commercial motor vehicle
- All these are correct
- Specify how much time you must remain off duty before you can legally resume any driving duties and dictate when breaks are required during your workday
- Place specific limits on the number of hours you can drive or be considered on duty
You wake up and do your pre-trip inspection at 6:00 am. You do a mix of driving and on-duty work throughout the day. At 8:00 pm you're parked on the dock and finished driving for the day. The dock workers want you to come inside and count freight as they load your truck. According to the 14-hour rule, can you legally do this, and why?
- No, you can not legally work after the 14-hour window unless you have less than 2 hours of drive time remaining to get to your destination. Since you are at the destination already, you must not work until you get 10 consecutive hours off duty
- No, you can not legally work after the 14-hour window until you get 10 consecutive hours off duty
- Yes, you can legally work after your 14-hour window has passed because you didn't drive the entire 14 hours. You mixed in some on duty time so that means you can drive or work after the 14-hour window.
- Yes, you can legally work after your 14-hour window has passed, but you can not drive again until you get 10 consecutive hours off duty.
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