Mid Year Time Change

 On July 1^st, the new hours of service rules go into effect. The ruling was made quite some time ago and therefore, we’ve had ample time to test out the new, more restrictive rules for our particular operations.


A month ago, I began playing with the revised rules in order to see what if any changes I needed to make in my business. The biggest concern for me was the new 34 hour restart provision which states that we can only utilize the restart once every 168 hours from the beginning of the previous restart. I’m not quite sure why I was worried with this change as I’ve operated in the past without any restart provision at all. Four weeks ago, I began to use the old recap method of not exceeding 70 hours within 8 days. I found that I didn’t run out of hours at all.


The next area of concern for many drivers is the two consecutive 1am-5am time periods to be taken within your 34 hour restart. I can see where this would be a concern for some, however this had absolutely no effect on my operation. Also, remember for a 34 hour restart to count, it must be noted in your logbook as a restart.


The final requirement is to take a 30 minute break before reaching 8 hours in any combination of on duty not driving or driving time. This was not a concern for me as I already take more than 30 minutes within 8 hours.


In conclusion, the only changes I’ll be implementing in my operation are to only use the restart when I absolutely need to and carefully plan my trips as to not begin a restart between 1am to 5am.