CDL Practice Tests: Logbook Rules
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Go!What happens after you take 10 consecutive hours either off duty, in the sleeper berth, or a combination of the two?
- Your 11-hour limit will completely reset, but the 14-hour limit will not
- Your 14-hour limit will completely reset, but the 11-hour limit will not
- Your 11-hour and 14-hour limits will completely reset
- Neither the 11-hour nor the 14-hour limits will completely reset
In order for time to be considered off duty for the logbook:
- You must not be driving, but you can do other job-related tasks
- You must be driving or performing some duty related to work
- You must be relieved of all responsibility for performing work and be free to pursue activities of your own choosing.
- You must not be performing any job duties even though you are on-call for your employer, ready to work
The rules governing a commercial driver's working and resting hours are called:
- Driver Time Management System
- On-Duty Status
- Logbook Mandates
- Hours Of Service Regulations
Which of the following describe the 14-hour rule?
- You are allowed a window of 14 consecutive hours of on-duty time after being off duty for 10 or more consecutive hours
- Once you have reached the end of this 14-consecutive-hour period, you cannot drive again until you have been off duty for 10 consecutive hours.
- All these are correct
- The 14-consecutive-hour, on-duty period begins when you start any kind of reportable work (doing your pre-trip inspection, performing vehicle maintenance, loading / unloading cargo, fueling, driving, etc.)
Which of the following is NOT correct when describing the 14-hour rule?
- You are allowed a window of 14 consecutive hours of on-duty time after being off duty for 10 or more consecutive hours
- The 14-consecutive-hour, on-duty period only begins when you start driving. It does not begin when you go on-duty.
- You can take care of other on-duty tasks beyond the 14-hour limit, but you must limit your driving time to this 14-hour window.
- The 14-consecutive-hour, on-duty period begins when you start any kind of reportable work (doing your pre-trip inspection, performing vehicle maintenance, loading / unloading cargo, fueling, driving, etc.)
The 14-hour on-duty limit is usually thought of as a daily limit, even though it is not based on a 24-hour period. You are allowed a window of 14 consecutive hours of on-duty time after being off duty for 10 or more consecutive hours. The 14-consecutive-hour, on-duty period begins when you start any kind of reportable work (doing your pre-trip inspection, performing vehicle maintenance, loading / unloading cargo, fueling, driving, etc.). Once you have reached the end of this 14-consecutive-hour period, you cannot drive again until you have been off duty for 10 consecutive hours.
Your opportunity for driving is limited to the 14 consecutive hours from the time you started your day. You can take care of other on-duty tasks beyond the 14-hour limit, but you must limit your driving time to this 14-hour window. This is a rule which has a few exceptions. There are some ways to extend this 14-hour period, but we will get into that later. For now, just think of it as an important limit. We are going to tackle this in little bites. We need to learn each of these rules as they are introduced to us. As we master them we will begin to learn more about them as we progress through this study material.
What do the Hours Of Service limitations do?
- All these are correct
- Place specific limits on the number of hours you can drive or be considered on duty
- Determine when and how long you are allowed to drive a commercial motor vehicle
- Specify how much time you must remain off duty before you can legally resume any driving duties and dictate when breaks are required during your workday
You start driving for the day at 6:00 am. How long can you drive before you must take a 30-minute break?
- Until 10:00 am
- Until 12:00 pm
- Until 2:00 pm
- Until 11:00 am
You wake up and do your pre-trip inspection at 6:00 am. You do a mix of driving and on-duty work throughout the day. At 8:00 pm you're parked on the dock and finished driving for the day. The dock workers want you to come inside and count freight as they load your truck. According to the 14-hour rule, can you legally do this, and why?
- No, you can not legally work after the 14-hour window until you get 10 consecutive hours off duty
- Yes, you can legally work after your 14-hour window has passed, but you can not drive again until you get 10 consecutive hours off duty.
- No, you can not legally work after the 14-hour window unless you have less than 2 hours of drive time remaining to get to your destination. Since you are at the destination already, you must not work until you get 10 consecutive hours off duty
- Yes, you can legally work after your 14-hour window has passed because you didn't drive the entire 14 hours. You mixed in some on duty time so that means you can drive or work after the 14-hour window.
During the 14-consecutive-hour, on-duty period, you can only drive your truck for up to how many total hours?
- 11
- 10
- 14
- 10.5
You begin your pre-trip inspection at 6:00 am. According to the 14-hour rule, you must complete your driving by what time?
- 8:00 pm
- 8:00 am
- 4:00 pm
- 6:00 pm
About The Logbook Rules For Truck Drivers
Truck drivers must use a logbook to record all of their time. The amount of time a driver can spend driving is regulated by the federal government. You must know the logbook rules.
What Are The Hours Of Service Regulations?
HOS regulations are rules issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a division within the Department of Transportation. These regulations limit the number of daily and weekly hours you can spend driving and working. They also regulate the minimum time drivers must spend resting between driving shifts.
Drivers must keep a current log showing all of their working and resting hours. You must keep these logs on an electronic logging device that meets DOT regulations as laid out in the FMCSA guidebook. You can find this information in the ELD rule section 395.22. The ELD rule applies to most motor carriers and drivers currently required to maintain Records Of Duty Status (RODS) per part 395, 49 CFR 395.8 (a). The rule applies to commercial buses, trucks, and Canada and Mexico domiciled drivers.
Why Do Hos Regulations Exist?
The purpose of HOS regulations is to reduce accidents caused by driver fatigue. Many drivers don't like being told when they can and can not drive. Still, studies have proven there are more accidents amongst fatigued drivers. The risk of an accident is directly related to how many hours a driver has been behind the wheel. The DOT designed the HOS regulations to prevent drivers from pushing themselves too hard and to keep carriers from forcing drivers to drive beyond their limits.
The following chart illustrates how driver fatigue increases the likelihood of an accident in a CMV.
Who Enforces Logbook Regulations?
Generally, DOT officers are the ones who enforce HOS rules, although any police officer may inspect a driver’s electronic logs. Individual states maintain weigh stations where they pull drivers in for random vehicle and logbook inspections. Police officers and DOT officers may also pull drivers over for random vehicle checks and log inspections.
13.3 Determining On-duty And Off-duty Time
Four Types Of Duty Status
There are four types of duty status you can log in your logbook:
- Off Duty
- Sleeper Berth
- On Duty (not driving)
- Driving
The hours of service rules will determine when you can drive based upon the amount of time you have spent either on duty or driving versus sleeper berth or off duty. First, let's talk about on-duty time.
What Is Considered On-duty Time?
The 60 / 70-hour limit is based on how many hours you work over a 7 or 8-day period. Just what kind of work is considered on-duty time? It includes all time you are working or are required to be ready to work for any employer.
Here are some specific activities that are considered to be on-duty time:
- All time spent at a plant, shipping / receiving facility, terminal, or other facility of a motor carrier, unless you are in your sleeper berth or have been relieved of all work-related responsibilities.
- All driving time.
- All time loading, unloading, supervising, or attending your truck; or handling paperwork for shipments.
- All time spent doing any other work for a motor carrier, including giving or receiving training and driving a company car.
- All time inspecting or servicing your truck, including fueling it and washing it.
- All other time in a truck unless you are resting in a sleeper berth.
- All time spent providing a breath, saliva, hair, or urine sample for drug / alcohol testing, including travel to and from the collection site.
- All time spent doing paid work for anyone who is not a motor carrier, such as a part-time job at a local restaurant.
The bottom line is that on-duty time includes:
- All time you are working for a motor carrier, whether paid or not
- All time you are doing paid work for anyone employer.
- All the time you are required to be ready to work for any employer (on-call)
What Is Considered Off-duty Time?
By understanding the definition of on-duty time, you will get a good idea of what they consider off-duty time. For time to be considered off duty, you must be relieved of all responsibility for performing work and be free to pursue activities of your own choosing.
If you are not doing any work (paid or unpaid) for a motor carrier, and you are not doing any paid work for anyone else, you may record the time as off-duty time.
Personal Use Of A Commercial Motor Vehicle
Occasionally, you may use a truck for personal reasons and not for commerce. You may move your personal belongings to a new house or, as a hobby, you may take your horses to a horse show. As long as the activity does not support a business, you are not operating in commerce. If you are not operating your truck in commerce, you are not subject to the hours of service regulations.
Hours Of Service Limitations
HOS regulations determine when and how long you are allowed to drive a commercial motor vehicle (CMV). This is accomplished by placing specific limits on the number of hours you can drive or be considered on duty. The rules also specify how much time you must remain off duty before you can legally resume any driving duties. And finally, the regulations dictate when breaks are required during your workday.
There are three limits and one break requirement which must be followed at all times. They are:
- The 14-hour, on-duty limit
- The 11-hour-driving limit
- The 60/70-hour, on-duty limit
- The 30-minute break
THE 34-HOUR RESTART
The regulations allow you to restart your 60 or 70-hour clock calculations after having at least 34 consecutive hours off duty. In other words, after you have taken at least 34 consecutive hours off duty, you have the full 60 or 70 hours available again.
A driver may take a 34-hour reset at any time, as often as they like. You don’t have to be at home to take a 34-hour break. You can take it on the road. One nice thing about taking a 34-hour break on the road is that it gives you a chance to see something in the area that might interest you. When taking a 34-hour break, you may log it all as off duty, or you can mix in some sleeper berth time if you want. The main thing is that you don’t interrupt your break with any on-duty or drive time.
The 34-hour reset is not a mandatory requirement. It is an option that gives a driver more flexibility in their schedule.
If you choose not to take a 34-hour reset and you're near the limit of your 70 hours, you may find the time you have available each day equals the hours that became available after the 8th day drops off the calculation. They commonly refer to this as “running on re-caps.”
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