The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation. This is the agency tasked with regulating various aspects of the truck driving industry, including limiting the number of hours that truck drivers can spend on the road.
To enforce these hours of service, all drivers are required to keep a log of their driving time. Recent laws stipulate that these hours of service must be recorded on an electronic logging device (ELD), though the hours used to be recorded on paper log books.
Hours of service requirements are absolutely necessary to combat truck driver fatigue. Currently, the hours of service requirements are as follows:
- Drivers can operate their vehicle during a 14-hour window each day, but only after they have been off duty for ten consecutive hours.
- During the 14-hour driving window, the truck driver can operate for 11 total driving hours, with the remaining time constituting various breaks the driver needs.
- Any driver who has been operating their vehicle for more than eight consecutive hours must take a 30-minute break.
- During a seven-day workweek, drivers can operate for 60 total hours.
- During an eight-day workweek, drivers can operate for 70 total hours.