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One of the recent changes to the Hours of Service rules was a limitation on how often you can use a 34-hour restart break to reset your 70-hour clock. This change has caused some confusion about when a driver is eligible to use a 34-hour break and regain their 70-hours.
To clarify, to use a 34-hour restart under the new 2013 Hours of Service rules:
- Your break must be at least 34-hours long
- Your break must include two periods between 1:00 am – 5:00 am.
- You can only take a 34-hour restart break to regain your 70-hours once every 168 hours (or 7 full days).
- The 168-hours start counting from the beginning of your last restart break.
- For example – if you started your last restart break at 8:30 pm on Day 1 – you are not eligible to start counting another 34-hour break until 8:30 pm on Day 8.
- E-Log Drivers – Check your status screen and look for “Next (34-hr) Start” to find out when you are eligible to start another reset break. You cannot start counting your 34-hour restart break before the time shown.
- Paper Log Drivers – Review your previous 8 days logs and find out what time you started your last 34-hour restart. You will be eligible to take another restart at the exact same time – 7 days later.
- If you cannot take a 34-hour reset break under the new regulations you will need to recap your hours to determine how many hours you have available to work tomorrow.
- To recap your hours – add up your last 7 days Driving and On-Duty Not Driving time and subtract the total from 70. This will give you your available work time after midnight.
- E-Log Drivers – You can find your hours gained at midnight on the Status screen under “Hours to be Gained” and your hours gained at midnight in 2 days under “Hours to be Gained in 2 Days”.
If you have any questions and need further clarification feel free to call the help desk at 615-800-7899 or follow this link for additional information from the DOT on the new hours of service regulations.
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