Hours of Service Requirements for Truck Drivers in Massachusetts
Federal regulations put strict “hours of service” requirements on truck drivers across the country, including in Massachusetts. These limitations work to combat tired driving and keep truckers alert. When they fail to follow these rules, they can put people at risk. Truck accident injury victims can often point to these regulatory violations to help them file lawsuits against dangerous truckers and trucking companies.
In general, truckers in Massachusetts have daily limits for actual driving time and their total workday. This blocks them from driving more than 11 hours or beyond the 14th hour after they start their day, requiring 10 hours off duty to rest. They also cannot drive more than 8 hours without a 30-minute break. Weekly limits work on a 7- or 8-day cycle and block driving after 60 or 70 hours, respectively, with 34 hours off duty before they can restart. If a driver or trucking company violated these rules and caused a crash, it can help you sue them for your injuries.
For help recovering damages after a truck accident, call the Law Office of John J. Sheehan’s Massachusetts truck accident lawyers at (617) 925-6407 today.
FMCSA Hours of Service Rules for Truckers in Massachusetts
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is a subdivision of the U.S. Department of Transportation. This body writes federal regulations that govern truckers and transportation across the country, including hours of service regulations that apply to truckers, bus drivers, and other transportation drivers. When it comes to the rules for truckers, 49 C.F.R. § 395.3 sets the hours of service rules.
Break Requirements
Truckers cannot drive for more than 8 hours straight without taking a break. Most drivers will likely take breaks more frequently than this, spacing out their breaks across their workday. However, it is possible under these rules for a driver to drive straight through 8 hours before stopping and taking a rest.
Daily Limits
Truck drivers have two daily limitations: one on total drive time and one on how long they’ve been on duty. Drivers cannot be behind the wheel driving for more than 11 total hours in a day, but they also cannot be on duty for longer than 14 hours. This 14-hour limit includes break times. For example, if a trucker starts at 7 a.m. and drives for 6 hours (1 p.m.), takes a 4-hour break (5 p.m.), then drives for 5 more hours (10 p.m.), they would be obeying the 11-hour driving limit, but they’d have violated the 14-hour on-duty limit when they drove past 9 p.m.
It takes 10 hours off duty before a driver can go on duty again for the next day. Combined with the 14-hour on-duty limit, this essentially breaks down one day’s driving into a 24-hour unit.
Weekly Limits
Drivers also have a weekly hour limit, though “a week” can actually be an 8-day cycle for some drivers. Drivers who work on a 7-day cycle cannot drive after being on duty for more than 60 hours total in that week, and drivers who work on an 8-day cycle cannot drive after being on duty for more than 70 hours in that period.
Drivers are put on an 8-day cycle if their employer operates vehicles every day and 7-day cycle if they don’t. This essentially gives room for the driver to have at least 1 whole day of rest in each cycle. A cycle can only reset after the driver is off duty for 34 hours straight, so drivers will actually need more like 1 whole 24-hour day plus a workday off in each cycle.
This ultimately means drivers often have to spend less than 11 hours behind the wheel each day as 7 days of driving 11 hours each day, plus 30-minute breaks, would be at least 80.5 hours on duty – well over the limit.
When Drivers and Trucking Companies Violate Hours of Service Regulations
These rules often come up in truck accident cases, where our Cambridge truck accident attorneys can use them to help show the driver or trucking company’s fault. Truck drivers are often responsible enough to follow these rules, but they are typically required to turn in logs to their employers. Many truckers work for multiple carriers, and these logs help the carriers follow the rules by making it harder for truckers to hide how many hours they’ve driven that week.
Many problems actually arise when the trucking company has bad intentions and forces drivers to break the rules. There have been cases in the past where trucking companies were accused of forcing drivers to falsify their logs before they would hand over their paychecks, forcing them to drive beyond their hours limits.
These rules are in place to prevent accidents by stopping tired driving. As such, a violation of these kinds of safety rules can be considered negligence. If a crash happened after a violation, we can point to that violation to help show the driver or trucking company was at fault.
When regulations are intentionally violated and ignored, that can also be grounds to help us claim punitive damages in your case, especially if the trucking company has a known history of falsifying logs, overworking drivers, or otherwise violating regulations.
These logs may not be as meticulously kept for short-haul drivers who report back to a home base location every day after work, as there are exceptions for them. However, when there are logs, they can be helpful in any trucking accident case. Even if the driver was following all regulations, their logs can be subpoenaed and used as evidence of where they were driving, how long they were on the road, etc.
Break Requirements for Truckers in Massachusetts
As discussed above, truck drivers need to take 30-minute breaks after 8 hours of driving, 10-hour breaks between days, and 34-hour breaks between weeks. These hours are sometimes broken up and spent in a sleeping birth in the truck, either resting there on their own or resting while another driver takes over. In any case, the goal is to get them rest and sleep to prevent tired driving, but bad rest breaks can be just as bad as no breaks. Even so, failing to sleep well might not be a violation of these regulations, and any time away from the truck often satisfies the break requirement.
Call Our Truck Accident Lawyers Today
If you were injured in a truck accident case, call the Boston truck accident lawyers at the Law Office of John J. Sheehan today at (617) 925-6407 for a free case assessment.