Change is in the air for Hours of Service

On august 14th the FMCSA published their long awaited proposed rule changes to the Hours of Service (HOS) regulations. They have proposed five new rule changes that will have all industries celebrating and ELD providers may be scrambling to update their program.

• First, when operating in adverse driving conditions  as described in 395.2 drivers will be allowed to operate up to an extra 2 hours. (395.2 Adverse driving conditions means snow, sleet, fog, other adverse weather conditions, a highway covered with snow or ice, or unusual road and traffic conditions, none of which were apparent on the basis of information known to the person dispatching the run at the time it was begun.)
• Second, all Short Haul Exempt (SHE) drivers would now have 14 hours to return back to their initial reporting locations. SHE drivers operating CDL vehicles will be allowed an extra 2 hours of on duty time in their day and remain short haul exempt. Part 2 of the SHE regulation change is that all drivers would be allowed to travel within a 150 air mile (172.6 statute miles) and remain SHE. Thus equalizing non-CDL CMV drivers and CDL drivers for this exemption.
• Third, increase flexibility for the 30-minute break rule by requiring a break after 8 hours of driving time (instead of on-duty time), and allowing the requirement to be satisfied by an on-duty break from driving, rather than requiring an off-duty break.
• Fourth, Drivers could pause their 14-hour time clock by taking a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 3 hour off duty break. Provided the driver take a full 10 hours off at the end of their work shift.
• Fifth, the Agency proposes to modify the sleeper-berth exception to allow drivers to split their required 10- hours off duty into two periods: one period of at least 7 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth and the other period of not less than 2 consecutive hours, either off duty or in the sleeper berth. Neither period would count against the driver's 14-hour driving window.

These proposed rule changes are much needed as the HOS regulations have only been tightened making it harder for companies of all sizes to function. FMCSA is stating that this particular regulation overhaul will pump approximately 217 million back into the economy annually! If you break that down even further, it calculates out to over $127.00 per driver annually.

Now is the time to make a comment. Don’t wait till the last minute to read this 129 page proposed rule making. Everyone will have a total of 45 days to make comments from 8/14/2019.