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Driver Detention Impacts on Safety and Productivity
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulates the number of hours per daythat commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers are allowed to be on-duty, which includes total driving hours. Currently, property-carrying CMV drivers are allowed a maximum of 14 on-duty hours per day, with an 11-hour daily driving limit.
Since 2005, industry concerns over various provisions of the Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations are consistently ranked in the top five (out of 10) issues in the trucking industry’s annual survey of top concerns. In the 2018 survey, the HOS rules were the number two issue after the driver shortage. Recent industry challenges with the HOS regulations relate to the lack of flexibility in the sleeper berth provision and the requirement for a 30 minute rest break within the first eight hours of being on-duty. On August 23, 2019, FMCSA issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to address these and other concerns with the HOS rules.