Hours of Service (HOS): The Rules Truck Drivers Actually Need

The four clocks

Every property-carrying driver is running four clocks at once. Break any one of them and you have a violation, even if the other three are fine. Understanding which clock is about to run out is the whole job.

• 11-hour driving limit: maximum driving time after 10 consecutive hours off duty
• 14-hour window: once you go on duty, driving must end 14 hours later — breaks do not pause it
• 30-minute break: required before you hit 8 cumulative hours of driving time
• 60/70-hour limit: 60 hours on duty in any 7 consecutive days, or 70 in 8 if your carrier runs every day

The 14-hour window is the one that catches people

The 11-hour driving clock only counts driving. The 14-hour window counts everything from the moment you go on duty — fueling, loading, waiting at a shipper, a two-hour lunch. It does not stop. If you start at 6 a.m., you cannot drive after 8 p.m., no matter how much of your 11 hours is left.

The 30-minute break

After 8 cumulative hours of driving time without at least a 30-minute interruption, you must take a 30-minute break before driving again. Since 2020 the break can be logged as on-duty not-driving, so time spent loading, doing paperwork, or a pre-trip inspection counts. It no longer has to be off duty.

The 34-hour restart

Taking 34 consecutive hours off duty resets your 60- or 70-hour weekly clock back to zero. There is no longer a requirement that it include two 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. periods, and there is no limit on how often you can use it. The restart does not affect the 11-hour or 14-hour clocks, which reset with 10 consecutive hours off.

Split sleeper berth

Split sleeper lets you divide required off-duty time into two periods instead of one 10-hour block. One period must be at least 7 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth; the other must be at least 2 hours off duty or in the sleeper. The two must add to at least 10. Neither qualifying period counts against the 14-hour window, which is what makes the split valuable when you are stuck waiting on a load.

• 8/2 split: 8 hours sleeper + 2 hours off duty
• 7/3 split: 7 hours sleeper + 3 hours off duty
• The longer period must be in the sleeper berth; the shorter can be off duty
• Your driving clock is recalculated from the end of the first qualifying period

Exceptions that legally buy time

Two exceptions come up constantly and are frequently mislogged, which is how they turn into violations. Both must be annotated on the ELD with an explanation.

• Adverse driving conditions: up to 2 extra hours of driving and 2 extra hours on the 14-hour window for weather or traffic you could not have known about when you dispatched
• Short-haul 150 air-mile: no RODS or ELD if you start and end at the same location, stay within 150 air miles, and finish within 14 hours
• Personal conveyance: off-duty movement of the CMV for personal purposes, laden or not, with no business advancement — must be annotated
• 16-hour short-haul extension: once per 7 days for drivers who return to the same reporting location