Truck Accident Hours of Service Rules in Virginia

Federal hours-of-service (HOS) rules limit how long a commercial truck driver may drive and how long the driver may stay on duty. After a crash, the driver’s records may be checked against those limits. This guide explains truck driver hours of service rules after a crash in plain terms. The firm handles truck accident and commercial vehicle cases from its Winchester and Harrisonburg locations.

What the Federal Hours-of-Service Rules Cover

The federal hours-of-service rules set how long drivers of commercial motor vehicles may drive and work before taking time off. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) explains the rules on its hours-of-service page. The rules apply to motor carriers and drivers, with listed exceptions, under 49 CFR § 395.1.

Exceptions matter. Some apply to certain drivers, certain cargo and certain short-haul work. This guide covers the main limits in general terms and does not describe every exception. Investigators often start with these limits when they review a driver’s hours after a crash. To see how the rules apply to a specific trip, the FMCSA page is a good starting point.

The Main Driving and Duty Limits

A driver may not drive after 14 consecutive hours on duty that follow 10 consecutive hours off duty. Under 49 C.F.R. § 395.3, a driver may drive a total of 11 hours during the period specified in paragraph (a)(2) of that section. These limits come from 49 CFR § 395.3.

The clock works in a set way. A driver must first take 10 consecutive hours off duty before driving again. The 14-hour period begins when the driver comes on duty after that rest. A dispatch schedule or a planned delivery time may not match these counts. The timing comes from the driver’s duty records.

Weather can add some time. Under § 395.1, a driver who encounters adverse driving conditions, as defined in § 395.2, and cannot, because of those conditions, safely complete the run within the maximum driving time or duty time may drive not more than two additional hours beyond the maximum allowable hours, except that a driver in the State of Alaska who encounters adverse driving conditions may drive for the period of time needed to complete the run. This applies only when the conditions could not reasonably have been known in advance and the driver cannot safely finish the run within the normal limit, except that a driver in the State of Alaska who encounters adverse driving conditions may drive for the period of time needed to complete the run.

A driver can stay within the daily limits and still break another rule. Because of that, investigators review the records as a whole.

How Often Do Truck Drivers Have to Take a Rest Break?

A driver may not keep driving once more than 8 hours of driving time have passed without a consecutive 30-minute break. That break is the interruption the federal rule requires, as set out in 49 CFR § 395.3.

The break can be off-duty time, time in a sleeper berth, on-duty time that is not driving, or a mix of these. The rule uses those exact duty-status terms, so the driver’s log shows which one was used. Some drivers who qualify for short-haul exceptions follow different timing. The rules for transporting bees and livestock also differ, as noted in § 395.1.

Break timing is one thing investigators may compare against the driver’s logs. Roadside inspections can include a review of the driver’s record of duty status, according to CVSA’s inspection-level guidance.

Can You Explain the 60/70-Hour Rule?

Yes. Over a set number of consecutive days, a driver may not drive after 60 or 70 hours on duty. The limit depends on how the carrier operates. Under § 395.3, the limit is 60 hours in 7 consecutive days if the carrier does not operate every day of the week. It is 70 hours in 8 consecutive days if the carrier operates every day.

Each one is a window of consecutive days.

The count can reset. A period may end with the start of an off-duty period of 34 or more consecutive hours, under the same section. Because of that, logs from several days matter after a crash, not only the day of the crash.

How Logs and Electronic Logging Devices Record Driving Time

Under 49 C.F.R. § 395.8, a motor carrier must require each driver used by the motor carrier to record the driver’s duty status for each 24-hour period. Under § 395.24, drivers enter their duty status on the device by selecting off duty, sleeper berth (only if a sleeper berth is used), driving, or on-duty not driving. Under § 395.8, a carrier operating commercial motor vehicles must require its drivers to use an electronic logging device (ELD) to record duty status.

Under § 395.30, a carrier must not alter or erase the original hours-of-service information. Carriers must also keep a backup copy of ELD records for 6 months, on a device separate from the one storing the original data, under § 395.22.

Other records can help check the logs. Under § 395.11, supporting documents include bills of lading, dispatch or trip records, and expense receipts tied to on-duty not driving time. Investigators often compare a log with these records, because one source may not match the whole trip.

Why a Crash Alone Does Not Prove a Violation

Proof comes from comparing the records with the rules.

Fatigue is a separate standard. Under § 392.3, no driver may operate a commercial motor vehicle, and a carrier may not require or permit it, while the driver’s ability or alertness is so impaired, or so likely to become impaired, through fatigue, illness or another cause that operating it is unsafe. In a grave emergency where stopping would increase the hazard to the vehicle’s occupants or other highway users, the driver may keep driving to the nearest place where that hazard is removed. A driver can be within the numeric limits and still be unsafe to drive.

Whether records show a violation depends on the facts of the trip, the carrier and the records that exist. Truck driver hours of service rules after a crash are one piece of that comparison. Missing or inconsistent records can also raise questions that an investigation looks into.

Further Reading on Commercial Vehicle Crashes in Virginia

Short answers to common questions come first, followed by links for readers in Virginia.

For an overview of commercial vehicle crashes in Virginia, see the commercial vehicle accidents guide. Readers along the Interstate 81 corridor may find the tanker truck crash page useful. For Richmond readers, see the Richmond commercial vehicle guide, and for Henrico County readers, see the Henrico County commercial vehicle guide.