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13.4 Exceptions To Hos Regulations
Adverse Driving Conditions Exception
When unexpected adverse driving conditions slow you down, you may drive up to 2 additional hours to complete what could have been driven in normal conditions. This means you could drive for up to 13 hours, which is 2 hours more than allowed under normal conditions. You may also extend your on-duty (14-hour) time limit by 2 hours. Adverse driving conditions means conditions that you did not know about when you began your trip, like snow, fog, or a road closure due to a crash. When using the adverse driving conditions exception, don’t forget to add a note in your driving log showing why you are over the daily driving limit.
Adverse driving conditions do not include situations that you should have known about through proper trip planning, such as congested traffic during typical rush-hour periods. Since this regulation allows you to extend your on-duty time by 2 hours and your drive time by 2 hours, you can conceivably have a 16-hour window for 13 hours of driving if the proper conditions are met.
With this exception, drivers will be able to wait out unexpected weather or traffic conditions. This is designed to help keep you from trying to race the clock to complete a run legally. Use of this exception is rare, and should be considered only when necessary. Much like the personal conveyance regulation, drivers should be careful not to abuse this privilege. Allowable uses of this exception are relatively narrow. A driver should know what kind of weather lies ahead for the day. The exception is for unexpected adverse conditions. If a blizzard was forecast for the day, you cannot use the adverse driving conditions exception. The blizzard was expected because it was in the weather forecast.
Be aware that this exception cannot be used for routine weather or traffic delays. The delay must be unexpected. You cannot use this exception because you got caught in rush-hour traffic in Chicago. That is a delay that every trucker should expect. You cannot use this exception for things like your vehicle breaking down, loading or unloading delays, or your inability to find parking. Those things are not considered legitimate reasons for using the exception. It is designed to be used for unexpected weather delays or unexpected traffic delays. If you get stuck sitting on the interstate because some truck spilled his load of freight all over the place, and nobody can travel through the blocked road, that would be an example of something unexpected that would allow you to use this exception.
The 150-air-mile Exception
The 150-air-mile exception allows short-haul truck and bus drivers to keep basic time records instead of using Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs). This exception allows drivers staying within a 150-air-mile radius of their starting point to go without 30-minute breaks or supporting documents (like bills of lading) as long as they stay local and return to their starting point each day.
This exception applies to property-carrying and passenger-carrying CMVs.
Drivers using this exception:
- Must be done working within 14 consecutive hours
- Must return to their original starting point
- Must remain within a 150-air-mile radius from their starting point.
The 16-hour Exception
The 16-hour rule is a special exception allowing certain drivers to occasionally extend their 14 hour clock to 16 hours. It does not extend the allowed 11 hours per day of driving. This exception applies only to drivers who have started and stopped their workdays at the same location for the previous five work days. These drivers can be described as short-haul drivers because they return to the same work location each day.
Under the 16-hour rule, the driver can remain on-duty for an extra 2 hours but must be relieved from duty immediately after the 16th hour. This exception can only be invoked one time in each 34-hour reset cycle once the 5-day pattern has been established. Due to its inherent liberties, this rule is very limited in its use.
The reason for this exception is clear once the requirements are understood. Drivers who report to the same location every day may still experience delays from time to time and should not be punished or kept from returning home due to inflexible restrictions. The 16-hour rule helps to avoid situations where a driver faces unreasonable delays when delivering a load, yet still needs to return to the reporting location. Without the 16-hour rule, the driver might reach the 14-hour on-duty limit when just an hour away from home even though he has only driven for 9 hours that day.
Without the DOT 16-hour rule, drivers may be tempted to drive recklessly in order to get home without violating HOS. The 16-hour rule is a common-sense regulation that ensures drivers don’t get stuck sleeping in a day cab or a hotel when their home is just a short distance away.
The DOT has done a decent job of including exceptions to HOS regulations. This allows truckers the flexibility to act reasonably and safely in the normal course of their duties. The 16-hour rule can only be applied once weekly. It is a great option for drivers on a regular route who need to get home at the end of each day.
To summarize the 16-hour exception:
- Allows drivers who have started and stopped their workdays at the same location for the previous five work days to extend their 14 hour clock to 16 hours one per week
- The driver can remain on-duty for an extra 2 hours but must be relieved from duty immediately after the 16th hour
- This exception does not extend the allowed 11 hours per day of driving
Multiple-Choice Questions:
Which of the following is NOT true about the adverse driving conditions exception for the logbook rules?
- If you're running through downtown Chicago during rush hour and traffic is backed up, you can use the two-hour exception
- If a blizzard was forecast for the day, you cannot use the adverse driving conditions exception.
- If you get stuck sitting on the interstate because some truck spilled his load of freight all over the place, and nobody can travel through the blocked road, that would be an example of something unexpected that would allow you to use this exception.
- Adverse driving conditions do not include situations that you should have known about through proper trip planning, such as congested traffic during typical rush-hour periods
Which of the following is NOT true about the 16-hour lobgook exception?
- The driver can remain on-duty for an extra 2 hours but must be relieved from duty immediately after the 16th hour
- This exception does not extend the allowed 11 hours per day of driving
- This exception allows the driver to extend their 14-hour and 11-hour clocks by two hours once per week
- Allows drivers who have started and stopped their workdays at the same location for the previous five work days to extend their 14 hour clock to 16 hours one per week
To summarize the 16-hour exception:
- Allows drivers who have started and stopped their workdays at the same location for the previous five work days to extend their 14 hour clock to 16 hours one per week
- The driver can remain on-duty for an extra 2 hours but must be relieved from duty immediately after the 16th hour
- This exception does not extend the allowed 11 hours per day of driving
Which of the following conditions are NOT required for a driver using the 150-mile air radius logbook exception?
- Must start work within 10 hours of finishing the previous shift
- Must be done working within 14 consecutive hours
- Must return to their original starting point
- Must remain within a 150-air-mile radius from their starting point.
Drivers using this exception:
- Must be done working within 14 consecutive hours
- Must return to their original starting point
- Must remain within a 150-air-mile radius from their starting point.
Which of the following conditions will allow for the use of the two-hour adverse driving logbook exception?
- A truck turned over on the Interstate, blocking traffic for several hours
- Your truck broke down and it took two hours to get it fixed
- A winter storm came through, which was forecast for the area
- Your available logbook hours will leave you two hours short of the delivery location.
When unexpected adverse driving conditions slow you down, you can extend your drive time by two hours. What can you do about your 14-hour on-duty clock if you hit adverse driving conditions?
- You can extend it by 3 hours
- You can not extend the 14-hour on-duty clock
- You can extend it by 1 hour
- You can also extend it by 2 hours
Which rule allows short-haul truck and bus drivers to keep basic time records instead of using Electronic Logging Devices?
- The 150-air-mile exception
- The 14-hour rule
- The 11-hour rule
- The 60/70-hour rule
What is the major difference between the adverse driving conditions logbook exception and the 16-hour exception?
- The adverse driving conditions exception allows for the extension of both the 11 and 14-hour clocks. The 16-hour exception only allows for the extension of the 14-hour clock
- You can use the adverse driving conditions exception for both expected and unexpected events. You can only use the 16-hour exception for unexpected events
- The 16-hour exception allows for the extension of both the 11 and 14-hour clocks. The adverse driving conditions exception only allows for the extension of the 14-hour clock
- The 16-hour exception allows you to extend the 14-hour clock by 4 hours, the adverse driving conditions exception allows you to extend the 14-hour clock by only two hours
Adverse Driving Conditions Exception
When unexpected adverse driving conditions slow you down, you may drive up to 2 additional hours to complete what could have been driven in normal conditions. This means you could drive for up to 13 hours, which is 2 hours more than allowed under normal conditions. You may also extend your on-duty (14-hour) time limit by 2 hours.
The 16-hour Exception
The 16-hour rule is a special exception allowing certain drivers to occasionally extend their 14 hour clock to 16 hours. It does not extend the allowed 11 hours per day of driving.
When unexpected adverse driving conditions slow you down, how must longer can you drive to complete what could have been driven in normal conditions.
- 2 hours
- 3 hours
- 5 hours
- 4 hours
Complete!
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