Moving industry know-how
Hours of service for drivers
The federal driving-time limits for truck drivers — 11 hours driving, the 14-hour window, the 30-minute break, the 60/70-hour week and the 34-hour restart — and how MoveBoard plans around them.
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- Checked against MoveBoard
- For owners & admins, dispatchers
On this page
Drivers of commercial trucks may only drive and work so many hours (49 CFR Part 395). The rules apply to most moving trucks over 10,001 lbs in interstate commerce, and many states apply them inside the state too.
The daily limits (property-carrying drivers)
- 11 hours of driving at most, after 10 hours off duty in a row.
- The 14-hour window — no driving after the 14th hour since coming on duty, even with breaks. Loading and paperwork count toward the 14 hours.
- A 30-minute break once a driver has driven 8 hours in total without a 30-minute interruption.
The weekly limits
- 60 hours on duty in 7 days, or 70 hours in 8 days — which one depends on whether the company runs vehicles every day of the week.
- A 34-hour restart — 34 hours off in a row resets the week.
Logs
Drivers record their hours on an electronic logging device (ELD), which is the legal record. Some short-haul drivers who stay within 150 air-miles and return the same day may use time records instead.
Why it matters for planning
A 1,200-mile delivery is about 20 hours of driving — two days for a solo driver, not one. Plan delivery dates, holds and trips with the limits in mind, and leave room for loading, traffic and weather.
In MoveBoard
- On a long-distance order delivered by your own crew, the Suggested hold splits the drive out and back into days of at most 11 hours of driving around the estimated delivery. See Delivery dates and the delivery spread.
- The Trip Planner plans each trip day inside the daily limits and warns when a day — or a driver's week across trips — goes over. Choose the 60/7 or 70/8 cycle on Trips › Trailers & settings. See Hours of service alerts.
- These are planning alerts, not a compliance record: the driver's ELD is the record.
Related guides
- Long distanceHours of service alertsHow MoveBoard plans each trip day inside the driving-hours limits and warns you when a day or a driver's week goes over.
- Long distanceDelivery dates and the delivery spreadSet when a long-distance shipment is picked up and delivered — the pickup spread, delivery days, the first available delivery date, the estimated delivery, and the truck block with its driving-hours suggestion.
- Long distanceTrailers and trip settingsSet up the Trip Planner once — trailers, truck weight limits and lengths, the capacity headline, the SIT period, per diem, routing, the drivers' hours-of-service cycle, the load plan, and which customer messages trips send.
- Moving industry know-howFMCSA, USDOT and MC numbersWho the FMCSA is, what a USDOT number and MC operating authority are, when a mover needs them, and where they must appear — including in MoveBoard.
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