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Do You Know the Hours of Service of Truck Drivers in US

The number of hours truck driver spends behind the wheel is considered as Hours of service (HOS). There are 2 different conditions of flatbed truck drivers for counting on duty hours of service. They can drive continuous at a stretch for 11 hours and can have 10 hours off duty or can drive 14 hours max in day. The off duty hours should not be used in maintenance of vehicle, tarping of load, vehicle inspection and other office related jobs. After accumulating 60-70 HOS, in a week drivers are required to take 34 hours of off duty to reset their HOS to zero. But if the driver is not completing 60 hours thresh hold limit in a week, there is no compulsion to take 34 hours of off duty rest.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) had laid down some rules for safety of truck drivers so that they must have appropriate rest after logging maximum working weekly hour limit. Hours of service (HOS) were amended in the year 2013 and were challenged by the trucking companies in US as they were oppose to the compulsory rest of 34 hours for the truck drivers after logging of 60-70 hours of the work. In the year 2015 it was made compulsory that w.e.f December 2017, all truck drivers will be logging their working hours electronically. The truck drivers who are providing service within radius of 150 miles for e.g. from New York City area to trucking queens, New York City to Manhattan are not required to maintain HOS electronically subject to the condition that their employer should be maintaining the same. Earlier the drivers were using decades old technique of maintaining log books. Transition from a manual log book to electronic logging device will put a major challenge for the trucking companies as they have to maintain proper records of trucking hours of each driver which they were not maintaining earlier. More precise logging will put pressure on logistic companies as they will no more be able to falsify logs. In order to maintain the supply chain in place flatbed service truck companies have to find more effective way to comply with the new FMSCA regulations.

However this new change will positively affect the health of drivers, improve productivity of trucking companies and more safer highways.

The number of hours truck driver spends behind the wheel is considered as Hours of service (HOS). Hours of service (HOS) were amended in the year 2013 and were challenged by the trucking companies in US as they were oppose to the compulsory rest of 34 hours for the truck drivers after logging of 60-70 hours of the work. In the year 2015 it was made compulsory that w.e.f December 2017, all truck drivers will be logging their working hours electronically.

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