Hours of Service Tips and Tricks

Follow these tips to maximize the efficiency of your teams when using the Hours of Service features included in Verizon Connect mobile apps:

1. Driving Cycles:
Driving cycles depend on how many days of the week a carrier operates. If a carrier operates every day of the week, a driver is eligible to operate under the 70-hour/8-day cycle, which limits them to 70 on-duty hours over any 8-day period. If the carrier operates for fewer than 7 days in a week, the driver is eligible to operate under the 60-hour/7-day cycle, which limits a driver to 60 on-duty hours over any 7-day window.

2. Drive Cycle Restart:
In order for a driver to completely reset their driving cycle they must have 34 consecutive hours off.

3. The 14-hour rule:
When a driver comes on-duty after taking at least 10 consecutive hours off-duty, he or she has a 14-hour window to complete driving for the day. Although driving is not permitted after the 14th hour (unless using the 16-hour exemption), other work-related tasks may still be performed.

4. The 11-hour rule:
Within the 14-hour driving window, a driver is allowed to drive a maximum of 11 hours.

5. The 30-minute break:
No driving is allowed after any 8-hour on-duty period until a driver has taken the mandatory 30-minute off-duty break.

6. Sleeper berth extension:
The sleeper berth extension allows drivers to extend their 14-hour window without taking the required 10 hours off-duty. By logging at least 8 hours (but no more than 10 hours) in the sleeper berth, a driver can effectively freeze the 14-hour clock.

7. Split sleeper berth:
The split sleeper berth allows drivers to split the required 10 hour off-duty break into two shifts. One of those shifts must be between 8-10 hours, spent entirely in the sleeper. The second shift can be between 2-8 hours and completed in the sleeper berth, off-duty, or as a combination of sleeper berth and off-duty. Regardless of the order in which a driver takes these breaks, successful completion of both will give the driver a new 11-hour drive time and 14-hour driving window, which begins after completion of the first qualifying break.