Here are the key new HOS provisions:

1. 10 consecutive off-duty hours instead of 8
2. 14 consecutive on-duty hours vs 15 non-consecutive hours
3. 24 total hours (on-duty, off-duty and rest) instead of 23
4. 11 total driving hours instead of 10
5. Voluntary on-duty 34-hour “restart” at any point in a driver’s 7- or 8-day cycle
6. All 14 existing exemptions remain and new short-haul exemption allows local drivers to operate up to 16 hours one day a week.
7. Team drivers can still split off-duty bunk time into two blocks but they must equal 10 hours not 8.

There is one significant difference in the wording of the new rule. It makes on-duty status “consecutive,” which means once you’re on duty, the clock keeps ticking—whether you’re driving, sitting at a loading dock, or stopping for a meal.

FMCSA says it does not expect to enforce the new hours of service rule before January, 2004.

For official information, go to www.fmcsa.dot.gov/Home_Files/revised_hos.asp or call the FMCSA office in your home state.