FMCSA Hours of Service Rules Explained
Federal hours-of-service (HOS) rules limit property-carrying truck drivers to 11 hours of driving after 10 consecutive hours off duty, within a 14-hour on-duty window, with a required 30-minute break and weekly caps of 60 hours in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 days. Electronic logging devices (ELDs) record compliance automatically.
Key Takeaways
- 11-hour driving limit after 10 consecutive hours off duty.
- 14-hour on-duty window that cannot be extended by breaks.
- 30-minute break required after 8 cumulative hours of driving.
- 60/7 or 70/8 day weekly limits, resettable with 34 hours off duty.
The core HOS limits
Property-carrying commercial drivers operate under a structured set of daily and weekly limits designed to prevent fatigue-related crashes. The 11-hour driving limit applies after the driver has had 10 consecutive hours off duty; the 14-hour window starts when the driver begins any on-duty activity and cannot be paused or extended, even by breaks or fuel stops. Drivers must also take a 30-minute break after 8 cumulative hours of driving time.
Weekly limits cap total on-duty time at 60 hours over 7 consecutive days, or 70 hours over 8 days for carriers operating every day of the week — resettable with 34 consecutive hours off duty.
How ELDs enforce the rules — and how violations become evidence
Since December 2017, most commercial drivers must use an electronic logging device that automatically records driving time by connecting to the engine. This largely ended the era of paper logbooks that could be manually falsified, though drivers can still misuse 'personal conveyance' or 'yard move' statuses to disguise HOS violations.
After a crash, ELD data is among the first and most important records an attorney demands — it can show whether the driver was legally on the road, and its absence or inconsistency can itself become evidence of wrongdoing.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a trucker violates hours-of-service rules?+
The carrier and driver face FMCSA fines and out-of-service orders, and if a crash results, the violation is powerful evidence of negligence — potentially negligence per se in many states.
Are there exceptions to the HOS rules?+
Yes — including short-haul exemptions, adverse driving condition extensions, and the 30-minute break exemption for short-haul drivers, among others.
How long must ELD data be kept?+
Six months, along with supporting documents — which is why an attorney should send a preservation letter immediately after a crash.