America’s Very Real Trucker Shortage — and What’s Driving It

[Darkwind]

Still, nobody is talking about local drivers.

Local drivers get it even worse. They often are in jobs that 'fingerprint' their loads and risk injury or chronic ailments by unloading thousands of cases to the company customers. They are often late leaving the dock, stuck in significant traffic and are often waiting on the side of the road to be 'rescued' because they ran out of hours to drive.

All this for the whopping pay of 1100 per week.

 

[Darkwind]

In the US a driver is allowed 10 hours on duty per day. "On duty" means you are waiting to load or unload, clear customs or deal with the Nazis at the weigh scales who`s only purpose is to come up with something so that they can fine you and you wind up loosing a week`s pay.

13 hours "On Duty", 12 hours driving. 30 minutes break every 8 hours. Exceptions made for major traffic incidents or weather. Max of 60 hours before a 36 hour reset is required. But hey, don't let facts get in the way.

IF you are over the road, the week is 70 hours. But hey, don't' let the facts get in the way.

Educate yourself.

Regulations

 

[Darkwind]

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/Drivers Guide to HOS 2015_508.pdf

The hours-of-service regulations focus on when and how long you are allowed to drive by placing specific limits on the amount of time you drive your truck and how many total hours you can work before you are no longer permitted to drive a commercial motor vehicle. You must follow three maximum duty limits at all times. They are the 14-hour “driving window” limit, 11-hour driving limit, and 60-hour/7-day and 70-hour/8-day duty limits.

14-Hour Driving Window This window is usually thought of as a “daily” limit even though it is not based on a 24-hour period. You are allowed a period of 14 consecutive hours in which to drive up to 11 hours after being off duty for 10 or more consecutive hours. The 14-consecutive-hour driving window begins when you start any kind of work. Once you have reached the end of this 14-consecutive-hour period, you cannot drive again until you have been off duty for another 10 consecutive hours, or the equivalent of at least 10 consecutive hours off duty. Your driving is limited to the 14-consecutive-hour period even if you take some off-duty time, such as a lunch break or a nap, during those 14 hours. **NOTE** If you have a sleeper berth in your vehicle, you may be able to use it to get the required rest and to extend the 14-hour limit. Sleeper-berth provisions will be discussed later in this section.

Example: You have had 10 continuous hours off and you come to work at 6:00 a.m. You must not drive your truck after 8:00 p.m. that evening, which is 14 hours later. You may do other work after 8:00 p.m., but you cannot do any more driving until you have taken another 10 consecutive hours off, or the equivalent of at least 10 consecutive hours off duty. This regulation is found in Section 395.3(a)(2). 4

Interstate Truck Driver’s Guide to Hours of Service 11-Hour Driving Limit During the 14-consecutive-hour period explained above, you are only allowed to drive your truck for up to 11 total hours. A driver may drive a total of 11 hours during the 14-hour period, however, driving is not permitted if more than 8 hours have passed since the end of the driver’s last off-duty or sleeper-berth period of at least 30 minutes. Once you have driven a total of 11 hours, you have reached the driving limit and must be off duty for another 10 consecutive hours (or equivalent) before driving your truck again.

Example: You have had 10 consecutive hours off. You come to work at 6:00 a.m. and drive from 7:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. (7 hours driving). You take a 30-minute break as required, and then can drive for another 4 hours until 6:30 p.m. You must not drive again until you have at least 10 consecutive hours off duty. You may do other work after 6:30 p.m., but you cannot do any more driving of a commercial motor vehicle on a public road. This regulation is found in Section 395.3(a)(3).

Thirty-Minute Rest Break The hours-of-service regulations require that if more than 8 consecutive hours have passed since the last off-duty (or sleeper-berth) period of at least half an hour, a driver must take an off-duty break of at least 30 minutes before driving. For example, if the driver started driving immediately after coming on duty, he or she could drive for 8 consecutive hours, take a half-hour break, and then drive another 3 hours for a total of 11 hours. In another example, this driver could drive for 3 hours, take a half-hour break, and then drive another 8 hours, for a total of 11 hours. Because of this short break provision, drivers are able to work 13.5 hours in the 14-hour period (if they are driving after the 8th hour on duty). The driver must be off duty for at least a half hour.

Meal breaks or any other off-duty time of at least 30 minutes qualifies as a break. This time does count against the 14-hour driving window, as allowing off-duty time to extend the work day would allow drivers to drive long past the time when fatigue becomes extreme. In addition, FMCSA has also added an exception for drivers of commercial motor vehicles carrying Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 explosives to allow them to count on-duty time spent attending the commercial motor vehicle, but doing no other on-duty work, towards the break.

This 30-minute break is further explained in greater detail throughout this document, particularly as it relates to the 11-hour driving rule. FMCSA does not enforce the 30-minute rest break provision [49 CFR 395.3(a)(3)(ii)] against any driver that qualifies for either of the “short haul operations” exceptions outlined in 49 CFR 395.1(e) (1) or (2). Specifically, the following drivers are not subject to the 30-minute break requirement: All drivers (CDL and non-CDL) that operate within 100 air-miles of their normal work reporting location and satisfy the time limitations and recordkeeping requirements of 395.1(e)(1).

5 Interstate Truck Driver’s Guide to Hours of Service This exception (395.1(e)(1)) applies for any day in which a driver: • Drives within a 100 air-mile radius of his/her normal work reporting location; • Returns to his/her work reporting location and is released within 12 consecutive hours; and • Follows the 10-hour off-duty and 11-hour driving requirements for property-carrying CMVs. Non-CDL drivers that operate within a 150 air-mile radius of the location where the driver reports for duty and satisfy the time limitations and recordkeeping requirements of 395.1(e)(2) are also exempt from the 30-minute rest break. 60/70-Hour Duty Limit An addition to the limits that are explained above is the 60/70-hour limit.

This limit is based on a 7 or 8-day period, starting at the time specified by your motor carrier for the start of a 24-hour period. This limit is sometimes thought of as a “weekly” limit. However, this limit is not based on a “set” week, such as Sunday through Saturday. The limit is based on a “rolling” or “floating” 7-day or 8-day period. The oldest day’s hours drop off at the end of each day when you calculate the total on-duty time for the past 7 or 8 days. For example, if you operate on a 70-hour/8-day schedule, the current day would be the newest day of your 8-day period and the hours you worked nine days ago would drop out of the calculation. As an example, in the table shown above, the driver has accumulated a total of 67 on-duty (driving and on-duty) hours in an 8-day period. If this driver is operating on the 70-hour/8-day rule, he/she would be in compliance with the HOS rules in this example. Once the driver reaches the 70-hour mark, the driver cannot drive the commercial motor vehicle until he/she has taken enough off-duty hours to operate again. In this particular example, when the driver reaches the 9th day of the cycle (the second Monday), the hours from Day 1 of the cycle (the first Sunday) would drop off, and the driver would then be calculating his or her hours for Days 2 through 9 (Monday–Monday). These same principles apply for the 60-hours in 7-day HOS rule as well. You are required to follow one of these two limits:

• If your company does not operate vehicles every day of the week, you are not allowed to drive a commercial motor vehicle after you’ve been on duty 60 hours during any 7 consecutive days. Once you reach the 60-hour limit, you will not be able to drive a commercial motor vehicle again until you have dropped below 60 hours for a 7-consecutive-day period. You may do other work, but you cannot do any more driving until you are off duty enough days to get below the limit. Any other hours you work, whether they are for a motor carrier or someone else, must be added to the total.
• If your company does operate vehicles every day of the week, your employer may assign you to the 70-hour/8-day schedule. This means that you are not allowed to drive a commercial motor vehicle after you’ve been on duty 70 hours in any 8 consecutive days. Once you reach the 70-hour limit, you will not be able to drive again until you have dropped below 70 hours for an 8-consecutive-day period. You may do other work, but you cannot do any more driving until you get below the limit. Any other hours you work, whether they are for a motor carrier or someone else, must be added to the total. DAY HOURS

1. Sunday 0 2. Monday 10 3. Tuesday 8.5 4. Wednesday 12.5 5. Thursday 9 6. Friday 10 7. Saturday 12 8. Sunday 5 TOTAL 67 hours 6 Interstate Truck Driver’s Guide to Hours of Service 34-Hour Restart The hours-of-service regulations allow you to “restart” your 60- or 70-hour clock calculations by taking 34 or more consecutive hours off duty (or in the sleeper berth) or some combination of both. These regulations are found in Sections 395.3(c)(1) and (c)(2). After you have taken at least 34 consecutive hours off duty, you have the full 60 or 70 hours available again.

The use of a “valid” 34-hour restart resets a driver’s “weekly” hours back to zero. In addition, an individual may perform other on-duty tasks, such as loading or unloading and paperwork, after reaching the 60/7 or 70/8 hour limits. They simply may not legally drive a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) on a public road when the limit has been reached. The 34-hour restart is an optional, not a mandatory regulatory provision. Example: If you follow the 70-hour/8-day limit and work 14 hours per day for 5 days in a row, you will have been on duty for 70 hours. You would not be able drive again until you drop below 70 hours worked in an 8-day period. However, if your company allows you to use the 34-hour restart provision, you would have driving time available immediately after 34 consecutive hours off duty. You would then begin a new period of 8 consecutive days and have 70 hours available.

 

[Muhammed]

That's really interesting I had no idea there were so many rules and regs. Something has to change I read the average age of a truck driver is near 55 years old.

Obama really fucked over truck drivers.