The Hours of Service (HOS) Rule for Commercial Truck Drivers and the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Mandate David Randall Peterman Analyst in Transportation Policy March 18, 2020 Congressional Research Service 7-.... www.crs.gov R46276 SUMMARY R46276 The Hours of Service (HOS) Rule March 18, 2020 for Commercial Truck Drivers and the David Randall Peterman Analyst in Transportation Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Mandate Policy In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, on March 13, 2020, the Department of Transportation
[email protected] (DOT) issued a national emergency declaration to exempt from the Hours of Service (HOS) rule through April 12, 2020, commercial drivers providing direct assistance in support of relief efforts For a copy of the full report, related to the virus. This includes transport of certain supplies and equipment, as well as please call 7-.... or visit personnel. Drivers are still required to have at least 10 consecutive hours off duty (eight hours if www.crs.gov. transporting passengers) before returning to duty. It has been estimated that up to 20% of bus and large truck crashes in the United States involve fatigued drivers. In order to promote safety by reducing the incidence of fatigue among commercial drivers, federal law limits the number of hours a driver can drive through the HOS rule. Currently the HOS rule allows truck drivers to work up to 14 hours a day, during which time they can drive up to 11 hours, followed by at least 10 hours off duty before coming on duty again; also, within the first 8 hours on duty drivers must take a 30-minute break in order to continue driving beyond 8 hours.