On September 29th, four major updates to the hours-of-service (HOS) rules went into effect. The new update changed how long haul drivers take breaks and extended the distance short-haul drivers can travel in a day.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration launched a free online resource, Educational Tool for Hours of Service (ETHOS), to help drivers better understand the new HOS regulations.
New HOS regulations provided by the FMCSA:
- Expand the short-haul exception to 150 air-miles and allows a 14-hour work shift to take place as part of the exception.
- Expand the driving window during adverse driving conditions by up to an additional 2 hours.
- Require a break of at least 30 consecutive minutes after 8 cumulative hours of driving time (instead of on-duty time) and allows an on-duty/not driving period to qualify as the required break.
- Modify the sleeper berth exception to allow a driver to meet the 10-hour minimum off-duty requirement by spending at least 7 hours of that period in the berth combined with a minimum off-duty period of at least 2 hours spent inside or outside the berth, provided the two periods total at least 10 hours. When used together as specified, neither qualify period counts against the 14-hour driving window.
The FMCSA’s Educational Tool for Hours of Service (ETHOS) helps truck drivers better understand the recent changes to the HOS regulations.
Drivers simply enter their hours of service into a web-based log, and ETHOS will point out any violations of the new HOS regulations.
FMCSA states that ETHOS “is for educational purposes only” and it “does not preclude enforcement or other actions by FMCSA based on violations discovered during roadside inspections, compliance reviews, or other inspections and investigations.”
Check out the new Educational Tool for Hours of Service (ETHOS) on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s website.
