OK... confused about new 14 hr rule...

[Dreamer]

According to the HOS FAQ here on EO, the 14 hrs on duty are consecutive. The question was, if a driver takes an hour off for lunch, and his company lets him count it as off duty, does it count against his 14 hrs on duty. The answer was yes, it does since they are consecutive from the FIRST time he logs on duty for that day, but doesn't count against his 70hr/8 day rule...

Ok. so that means...

I leave at 12:00am to pick up a 200 mile load.

1:00am arrive at dock
load not ready, I have to wait,
3:00 I leave with load.
7:00 I arrive at delivery
8:00 I'm unloaded, heading for truckstop,
8:30 Arrive at truck stop, go off duty, or sleep,
12:00pm, I get called for another 200 mile load, I can't take it, cause my 14 consecutive hrs are up at 2:00pm, even tho I've only driven 5 1/2 hrs, I can't take another similar run until 10:00pm.

Is this right? I believe it is, if I'm interpreting it right... you may split up your driving time, but only if it is within a 14 hr CONSECUTIVE time span from the FIRST time you log on duty that day....not 14 hrs for the day....


boy.. this is gonna screw up some things, and really make people not wanna take short runs!

 

[ATeam]

The OOIDA web site has an informative Q&A page about the new rules. The link is:

http://www.landlinemag.com/Special_Reports/May03/SPECIAL REPORT ON HOS Q-A.htm

Excerpt:

Will drivers still be able to split the sleeper berth time?

Yes. Drivers may split on-duty time by using sleeper berth periods. These drivers may accumulate the equivalent of 10 consecutive hours off-duty by taking 2 periods of rest in the sleeper berth, provided: Neither period is less than 2 hours; driving time in the period immediately before and after each rest period when added together does not exceed 11 hours; and the on-duty time in the period immediately before and after each rest period when added together does not include any driving after the 14th hour.

 

[Dreamer]

Thanks for your reply ATEAM. But, that's still not the question. I see the time can be split, however, according to the FAQ, the split time can still not exceed 14 consecutive hrs fromt the FIRST time you logged on duty for the day...

I quote...(caps added by me to draw attention to the lines that made me draw this conclusion)

>If a carrier allows a driver to log meal time as off-duty time, does that permit a driver to extend the 14-hour on-duty period?

>No. Off-duty breaks during the day do not extend the workday to permit a driver to drive after the 14th CONSECUTIVE hour on-duty. However, time logged as off-duty is not counted in calculating a driver's 60- or 70-hour on-duty period.

>How will the "relieved-of-duty" clause work? Will it be acceptable to relieve a driver of duty during a 14-hour on-duty period to keep the driver from violating the 60- or 70-hour on-duty requirement?

>Yes. A driver may be relieved-of-duty during the 14 CONSECUTIVE hour on-duty period. This off-duty time will NOT extend the 14-hour on-duty period. However, that off-duty time will not be included in calculating compliance with the 60- or 70-hour on-duty period.

>In another example, if, beginning at midnight, the driver drove 5 hours, went into the sleeper berth for 2 hours, was off-duty for 2 hours, and was "on-duty, not driving" for 4 hours, the driver could then drive for an additional 3 hours. Although the driver has accumulated only 8 hours of driving time on either side of a rest period, if the driver drove more than 3 hours during the second period, it would be a violation of the 14-hour provision of the sleeper berth exception (5 hours of driving + 2 hours of off-duty time, + 4 hours of on-duty, not driving time + 3 hours of driving time equals a total of 14 on-duty hours on either side of the rest period). At 2 p.m. the driver must go into the sleeper berth for 8 hours to accumulate the required 10 hours of off-duty time before driving again.




See what I mean?

Dreamer

 

[ATeam]

Sorry I misunderstood your question. As I've said before, reading the FMCSR leaves me with more questions than answers. While I'm happy to share info from other sources as a way of enhancing the discussion, I'm any interpretation I offered would be no better and no more qualified than the next lay-person's interpretation.

 

[SHARP327]

OK! I GET IT! THIS IS ALL ABOUT CONFUSING US DRIVERS SO THAT WE'LL MESS UP AND HAVE TO PAY BIG FINES FOR LOG BOOK VIOLATIONS BECAUSE I'VE YET TO HEAR ANY ONE WHO KNOWS 100% WHAT THE H... IS GOING ON! IT'S NOT FOR THE DRIVERS THAT'S FOR SURE! MY QUESTION THAT I HAVE IS DO WE HAVE TO DRIVE UNDER THIS NEW RULE OR CAN WE OPT TO REMAIN ON THE 10/8 RULE?. I MYSELF PREFER THE LATTER AND IF ALLOWED BY LAW TO REMAIN ON THE 10/8 I WILL INFORM DISPATCH OF THIS WHEN CONSIDERING ME FOR A LOAD. IT'S HARD TO BELEIVE THE LOG BOOK CAME ABOUT TO PROTECT THE DRIVERS FROM BEING MADE TO DRIVE WAY TO LONG WITHOUT REST! OR AT LEAST THAT'S THE WAY I HEARD IT! NOW IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S FOR THE CARRIERS. MAYBE I NEED TO LOOK INTO IT FUTHER BUT AS OF NOW I THINK THIS S...S!x( SHARP327

 

[ATeam]

Excerpt from the FAQ page on the Dept. of Transportation Site

When will carriers be allowed to comply with the new hours-of-service rules?

Carriers are required to operate under the current rules through January 3, 2004. This will allow adequate time for the agency, regulated industry, and the enforcement community to obtain training and make any systems changes required by the new rules. The new rules will be enforced starting January 4, 2004.

Link to full page:

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/Home_Files/hos/hos_faqs.asp#Q1

Excerpt from OOIDA FAQ web page:

What happens on the first day of rule implementation?

FMCSA has chosen a Sunday as the implementation date to minimize disruption. However, a driver who began a trip under the old rules in effect on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2004, will be allowed to continue under those rules until the end of the trip or the end of the first day of implementation (11:59 p.m., Jan. 4, 2004), whichever comes first.

Link to full page:

http://www.landlinemag.com/Special_Reports/May03/SPECIAL REPORT%
20ON%20HOS%20Q-A.htm

 

[ddivine]

My take is i'm not going to sweat these new rules, not enough change to be meaningful, just enough to satisfy lawsuit filed by some tree huggers sueing feds because they had not issued new rules on time. If rules r even implemented in january i don't think will be same as what we see now to much time for everybody to object with questions u rasied here. new economic impact study for required training. Just think it's alot of red tape in washington, but thats my thought. Good Luck everyone be SAFE, get home soon, Granchildern are a terrible thing to waste.