A driver may restart a 7/8 consecutive day period after taking 34 or more consecutive hours off duty. The truck driver 34-hour reset is a way for drivers to reset their workweek and 60/70 hour clock by taking 34 consecutive hours off work, either spent off-duty or in the sleeper berth.
- Is the 34-hour reset mandatory?
- The 34-hour reset is not mandatory. As long as drivers comply with the other regulations, such as the 11-hour rule, 14-hour rule, and the 70-hour rule, they are not required to take 34 hours off at any time. For example, the 70-hour calculation is a rolling 8 days, so as hours drop off, the driver can work up to that amount.
- What is the 34-hour rest break?
- The rest break does not have to contain two overnight periods. The 34-hour period may include sleeper berth time, consecutive off-duty hours, or a combination of both. However, drivers must still comply with all other HOS regulations. Many drivers have mistaken ideas about the 34-hour rule, perhaps because of the seesawing on the issue.
- What is the 34-hour rule?
- Drivers use this rule to their advantage by taking 34 straight hours under off-duty, sleeper berth, or a combination of these two. There’s a lot of confusion over the 34-hour rule, as it was implemented on July 1, 2013, but was suspended in 2015 by Congress via the Omnibus Appropriations Bill 2015.
- What is the hours of service reset?
- As part of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)’s Hours of Service (HOS) rules, this reset dictates how many hours drivers must rest to be eligible to drive. It’s goal is to help ensure that workers are properly recovered and refreshed, enabling them to resume driving with full alertness.
What is a sleeper berth?
The sleeper berth provision allows cargo-carrying drivers to split their 10-hour off-duty time into chunks. In other words, they don’t have to take all 10 hours off consecutively in one go.
- How long is a sleeper berth?
- Cargo drivers may split the sleeper berth time into two periods if neither period is less than two hours: One shift must be at least two hours and can be spent in the sleeper berth, off-duty, or any combination of the two. The second shift must be at least seven hours long and must be taken in the sleeper berth.
- Can two drivers use a sleeper berth?
- If there are two qualified drivers, the truck can continue its route while one driver uses the sleeper berth for their required off-duty time. Like everything in life, there are always exceptions. Hour of Service regulation 13.4 refers to the adverse driving conditions exception.
- What is the new sleeper berth provision?
- The FMCSA changed the sleeper berth provision on June 1, 2020. According to the new provision, property-carrying drivers can now split their required 10-hour off-duty period into two periods of 7+ hours in the sleeper berth and 2+ hours of sleeper berth or off-duty, as long as the two periods add up to at least 10 hours.
- What are split sleeper berth rules?
- When used correctly, the split sleeper berth rules allow drivers to become more efficient and productive. This flexibility also helps drivers manage their schedules more effectively, especially for longer trips, and maintain safety and compliance with Hours of Service rules.
