|
On Janurary 4th, 2004 the new HOS rules will go into effect. Here's
some info on how those new rules will work, and links to a few other
relevant articles on this topic. Please note these comments relate
primarily to OTR drivers.
The current rules allow you to drive 10 hours in a 15 hour work day.
The new rules now allow you to drive 11 hours in a 14 hour work day,
so you've gained another hour driving time, but have lost an hour of
OnDuty time. Another important change is that once you report for duty
the 14 hour clock starts. It then runs continously except for sleeper
berth time - and even that counts towards the 14 hours if you take
more than 2 sleeper berth sessions to make your 10 hours break. The
last significant change is that after 34 hours off duty your 70 or 60
hour clock will reset.
In order to comply with the new rules and make the most of your time you are going to need to make a few changes in the way you do things, but by working "smart" you can take advantage of these new rules and actually run a few more miles every day. The first thing to remember is to get breakfast and your morning chores out of the way BEFORE you report for duty (do your pre-trip or make any other entries in your log relating to work). Once you start your day by doing your Pre-Trip inspection your 14 hour clock is running. You can stop the clock once during your 14 hour shift by going to the sleeper berth for a minimum of 2 hours. Just remember this only applies to one sleeper berth session and it MUST be followed by another sleeper berth period which when combined with the first one total 10 or more hours. If you go Off Duty for your 10 hour break any sleeper periods will count towards your 14 hours On Duty. . Here's an example: If it takes more than 2 hours to get loaded and you stay in the sleeper for the entire time this does not count against your 14 hours. If it takes less than 2 hours the time counts against your 14 hours even though you were in the sleeper. It's now 7.5 hours since you came on duty and you've driven 3 hours and been on duty for 1.5 hours, so you have 8 hours left to drive, and 9.5 hours left to be on duty. You've now driven 6.5 hours and been on duty for 8.25 hours, you have 4.5 hours left to drive, and 5.75 hours left to be on duty. It's now 7pm - In order to start you next day at 6am you will need to have an additional 7 hours in the sleeper (you already have 3 from when you were loading) so you will need to stop driving and go to the sleeper no later than 11pm. So you can drive another 4 hours if you want today. Here's what it would look like on your log -
Here's a few mistakes to avoid - Keep your logs as accurate as possible, but showing sleeper periods when you take them and remember you can only take ONE SLEEPER period that will not count towards your 14 hours On Duty. Any other Sleeper or Off Duty periods will count towards your 14 hours. You can only combine Sleeper and Off Duty if they are part of a continous break that totals 10 hours or more. You cannot use any Off Duty in the combination when you are using a split break. Comment or questions on the new HOS are welcome. Post your questions in the FORUM and we'll answer then as quickly as we can. We are also receiving additional questions on this and will post the answers and more clarification there. OTHER ARTICLES AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: |
The Truckers Helper, LLC, is not responsible for nor do we necessarily endorse the content of any external sites linked to from this site.
All logos and trade names are those of their respective owners. Copyright © 2002-2010 The Truckers Helper, LLC
| Copyright © 2010 Truckers Helper Online Report Bugs | Terms Of Service ~ Truckers Helper Privacy Policy |
payroll, trucking payroll, trucking software, sample invoices, the trucker, owner operator, drivers daily log, log book, log software, LTL software, truck maintenance, mapping software, fuel tax software, fleet tracks, promiles, fuel tax software, DOT log software |
