“Hours of Service” Regulations Revised

“Hours of Service” Regulations Revised

On June 1, 2020, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) revised the hours of service (HOS) regulations with the goal of providing greater flexibility for drivers without adversely affecting safety.  These new HOS regulations go into effect on September 29, 2020.

The new HOS regulations revise the prior issued regulations in four specific areas:

·      Short-Haul Exception

·      Adverse Driving Conditions Exception

·      30-Minute Break Requirement

·      Sleeper Berth Provision

The two areas of change that will be most impactful (in positive ways) to the heavy construction industry are the “Short-Haul Exception” and the “30-Minute Break Requirement”.  A brief summary of those changes are:

Short-Haul Exception – Expands the short-haul exception from a radius of 100 air-miles to 150 air-miles, and extends the maximum on-duty time from a 12-hour to a 14-hour work shift.

30-Minute Break Requirement – Requires a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving time instead of on-duty time, and allows an on-duty, but not driving period to qualify as the required break.

Click here to watch a short (approximately 20 minutes) FMCSA webinar that provides an overview of these 4 HOS revisions.

MITA has confirmed that the Michigan State Police, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division will begin enforcing the new HOS rules on September 29, 2020.

If you have any questions, please contact Lance Binoniemi at lancebinoniemi@thinkmita.org or at 517-282-2851 or Glenn Bukoski at glennbukoski@thinkmita.org or at 517-256-0741.