On May 14, 2020 the American Trucking Association announced that the anticipated HOS Final Rule, following the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in August, is now expected to be published in the Federal Register.
This rule includes four changes outlined by the ATA:
01. Short-Haul Operations
- Extends drivers’ maximum on-duty period from 12 to 14 hours;
- Extends the air-mile radius within which the driver may operate from 100 air miles to 150 air miles.
02. Adverse Driving Conditions
- Modifies the adverse driving conditions exception by extending, by 2 hours, the maximum on-duty window during which driving is permitted.
03. 30-Minute Break
- Requires a 30-minute break after 8 consecutive hours of driving time have elapsed;
- Allows a break to be taken in an on-duty, not-driving status.
04.Sleeper Berth Exception
- Allows drivers to split their required 10-hours off duty into two periods: an 8 and 2 split or a 7 and 3 split, either off duty or in the sleeper berth;
- Neither period counts against the driver’s 14-hour driving window.
The changes announced by the FMCSA today did not include the split-duty day previously proposed.
120 days after the publication in the Federal Register, the Final Rule will take effect, and the ATA expects this to be posted sometime next week.
The ATA will provide further details to ATA members, but in the meantime members can reach out to their Safety Policy Team at trucking.org.
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