Beat the Clock: U.S. HOS Rules

June 2003

The biggest change in U.S. truck driver hours-of-service rules in more than 60 years comes down to this: two more hours of rest and one more hour of driving in each duty cycle.

The long-awaited proposal introduced by the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMSCA) on April 24 would replace a system that has been criticized by both industry and safety interests as unworkable and unenforceable. Like proposed new Canadian regulations published in February, the American regime would cap a driver’s workday at 14 hours followed by 10 hours off duty.

However, the two countries differ in several key areas. Among them: Driving hours: Canada would allow drivers 13 hours behind the wheel, leaving one additional hour for other on-duty activities. The U.S. proposal limits drivers to 11 hours of driving. Canada’s proposal allows a driver to defer up to two hours of his daily off-duty time to the following day if his driving hours average out to 13 hours over a 48-hour period. For example, you could drive 15 hours one day so long as you don’t exceed 11 hours driving the next day (the total driving hours over the two days is 26, averaging out to 13 per day).

Off-duty hours: In Canada, a driver must log at least eight consecutive hours off duty with the remaining two hours to be taken at his discretion in at least 30-minute chunks. Or, he can take all 10 hours at once, but he’ll no longer be allowed to split the workday into, say, a five-hours-on/four-off routine as many now do using the split-sleeper provision. For team drivers, the minimum rest interval has been increased to four hours from two, while the American minimum remains at two hours.

Cumulative cycles: The new U.S. rules retain the current limitation on weekly hours: either 60 hours in seven days or 70 hours in eight days. But they add a weekend provision that allows a driver to restart his week after taking at least 34 hours off. The Canadian plan would effectively eliminate cycle switching. Implementation. The FMCSA wants the new rules to take effect Jan. 4, 2004. In Canada, each province must update its own hours of service regulation to mirror the federal one. The architects of Canada’s rules wanted them to take effect in September. But the process is slow-going, and enforcement is expected to be delayed until early 2004.

Brian Orrbine, senior policy advisor with Transport Canada, says not to expect the Canadian policy to shift closer to the U.S. version when the final rule is published in the Canada Gazette Part II in the coming weeks. “The gap (between the two countries) has narrowed considerably based on the final U.S. and proposed Canadian rules,” he says. In fact, the proposed rule is notable for what it does not contain: There is no requirement for onboard electronic devices to track driver hours.

In his capacity as president of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), Peter Hurst says he wants to make sure enforcement officers on both sides of the border are ready for the new rules. Hurst, who is also director of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s carrier safety and enforcement branch, says the CVSA can lead the development of training materials for officers. “I’ve talked to people in the industry and they’re concerned about the standards coming out one on top of each other and how they’ll be enforced,” he says.

“We’re hoping CVSA will get to work with compliance officials in Canada and the U.S. to help develop that material as soon as we can get going.”