Total Truck Support is here to provide truckers with valuable trucking industry and trucking compliance. Below is some relevant information from J.J. Keller about the revised 34-hour restart regulations that motor carriers and drivers must comply with as of July 1,2013.
In order to use the 34-hour restart, a driver’s off-duty period of 34 (or more) consecutive hours must include two periods of time between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. A driver may only use the restart once within a period of 168 consecutive hours (7 days).
Drivers are not required to use the 34-hour restart; it is simply an option that may be used. Drivers can instead keep a running total of their duty hours under the 60-hourl7-day or 70-hour/8-day limit.
This change does not prohibit a driver from taking 34 or more consecutive hours off duty more than once a week, but only one of the 34 or more consecutive hour periods is counted as the driver’s restart. This limits the driver to restarting his or her 60-hour/7-day or 70-hour/8-day limit to once every 168 hours. The calculation of the 168 hours starts at the beginning of your last 34-hour restart.
The regulations require driver logs to be based on the time zone of the driver’s home terminal. The two 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. periods should be set by the time of the driver’s home terminal rather than local time.
If you have any questions about the restart regulations, or any other trucking compliance questions, while you are on the road we would be happy to help. Contact us today for all of your trucking needs.