HOS And 34 Hour Reset

See my post above yours if you missed it.

There is a requirement in the rules that a driver must include TWO consecutive 1am - 5am periods. That part is also suspended.

It really didn't make sense for that rule to be in there in the first place, because the 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. rule was based on your home terminal or log book time and NOT the time zone you might be in at any given time.

Dave

Keep in mind I don’t even have my CDL; I’m still considering this as a career move so this question is based on comments I’ve heard from seasoned drivers.

I have seen a lot of comments about the HOS and 34 hour reset. I’ve read several hundred comments all over the net about the ‘reset’ rule and from everything I read, it appears the rule exists. There are a few threads on TT including one about lifting the reset rule, but the comments from drivers implied it is a legal requirement. Since some of the comments from seasoned drivers had variations in what the rule was, I decided to go right to the source; the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. I’ll cut and paste the info I found pertaining to the rule;

The Hours of Service of Drivers Final Rule was published in the Federal Register on December 27, 2011. The effective date of the Final Rule was February 27, 2012, and the compliance date of remaining provisions was July 1, 2013. NOTICE: The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015 was enacted on December 16, 2014, suspending enforcement of requirements for use of the 34-hour restart. Enforcement of these requirements will remain suspended until the Secretary submits the CMV Driver Restart Study final report to Congress.

That comment from the FMCSA indicates the 34 hour reset rule was suspended on December 16, 2014 pending submission of the CMV Restart study to Congress. I followed everything I could find regarding this CMV Study, and it shows that the study was (is) scheduled for submission to Congress this month (December 2015). I am not sure if that has happened but even if it did they would allow a few months before enforcing again.

I can understand if companies have made the ‘34 hour reset’ a policy they choose to enforce, but everything I see from the FMCSA indicates the legal enforcement of the 34 hour reset policy is currently suspended. Can anyone clarify this?

Also, I have all the links to show where I am getting all this but I’m not sure if I can post comments with hyperlinks in them.

In the upper left corner of this webpage there is a search bar. Type in "HOS Rules", press enter and it will return several links explaining all of the HOS rules and how they work together. Without an overall understanding, a stand-alone discussion on the 34hour reset is incomplete.

There is a requirement in the rules that a driver must include TWO consecutive 1am - 5am periods. That part is also suspended.

It really didn't make sense for that rule to be in there in the first place, because the 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. rule was based on your home terminal or log book time and NOT the time zone you might be in at any given time.

Dave

You got that right.

From the sounds of the comments, I think I can assume this is a company policy if enforced, which is good. I don't want or need the government to tell me when I am tired.

The policy is not enforced at the discretion of an individual company. It's mandated by the government requiring carriers and drivers to comply with the rules.

Well, that's why I asked this question. From what I read in the FMCSA website, and what some other drivers have said here, it does sound as though the 34 hour reset rule has been suspended, but not everyone agrees with that.

If you search for and read the relevant part of the document they're refering to, then read the paragraphs of the FCR it talks about, it will make sense. It says that those rules won't be enforced during a period when a study is being conducted, but it also says that the rules in effect prior to 6/30/13 will be in effect.

I don't understand the idea behind limiting 34 hour resets. It seems like, if they decided you were "reset" after 34 hours, it shouldn't matter how many times you wanted to do it. Maybe I'm missing how it could be abused.

Sorry, "CFR", not FCR.

G-Town, I did use that search function and read a few articles on HOS. But there still seems to be confusion on enforcement, that's why I asked. Kurt G’s comment about the rule reverting back to what they were before June 2013 will probably make sense of all this. I’m reading through that right now.

G-Town, I did use that search function and read a few articles on HOS. But there still seems to be confusion on enforcement, that's why I asked. Kurt G’s comment about the rule reverting back to what they were before June 2013 will probably make sense of all this. I’m reading through that right now.

The 70 hour on-duty clock is strictly enforced. The 34 refreshes it back to a full 70.

From the sounds of the comments, I think I can assume this is a company policy if enforced, which is good. I don't want or need the government to tell me when I am tired.

Well, Dan, the problem is, SOME people do require the government to tell them when they are tired. I've been running pretty good miles and still conforming to the hours.

E-logs will become required in the future and I can't say it's a bad thing. I don't want to be I the road with a guy on his 15th hour of his second log book.

I've met many a owner operators that think it's a fun game they play against the dot to see how much driving they can really do and make it look legal. Since the overwhelming majority of trucking is done by small companies running paper logs, i do believe that everyone switching to e-logs will have an impact on the trucking market in favor of needing more drivers, and potentially higher pay until that demand is filled.