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. Split sleeper-berth extension:

The split sleeper-berth extension allows drivers to split the required 10-hour off-duty break into two non-consecutive breaks. One of those breaks must consist of at least 7 consecutive hours, spent entirely in the sleeper berth. The other break must be at least 2 hours and completed in the sleeper berth, off-duty, or as a combination of sleeper berth and off duty. The two off-duty breaks must total a minimum of 10 hours. It does not matter which break the driver takes first.

The split sleeper-berth extension allows drivers to extend their 14-hour driving window without taking the required consecutive 10 hours off-duty time. By logging a break of at least 2 hours in the off-duty or sleeper berth status, a driver can effectively freeze the 14-hour clock.

For more information on calculating compliance with the 11-hour driving limit and 14-hour driving window using the sleeper-berth provision, see the Interstate Truck Driver’s Guide to Hours of Service.