Ultimately, federal criminal penalties can be brought against a carrier that knowingly allows (or requires) violations. In either case, a downgrade can result in a variety of enforcement actions. Note that a pattern of violations can downgrade a carrier’s safety rating or a driver’s compliance, safety, and accountability (CSA) score. If the violation involves hazardous material, the fine can exceed $75,000. In general, violations deemed egregious result in the biggest fines. These fines range anywhere from $1,000 to $16,000 per violation depending on severity. Along with that, the FMCSA can levy civil penalties on a driver or carrier. In addition, law enforcement officials may assess fines according to state and local laws. As we’ll see below, that could either mean a driver is shut down for 10 hours or 34! While a shutdown isn’t a direct fine, it will certainly impact your bottom line. When that happens, the truck will sit on the roadside until the driver accumulates enough off-duty time to be back in compliance. What Are the Hours of Service Violation Penalties?įirst of all, if law enforcement finds a driver in violation of any HOS rule, they can shut a truck down. is designed or used to transport 9 (or more) passengers (including the driver) for compensation.is designed or used to transport 16 (or more) passengers (including the driver) not for compensation.transports hazardous materials in any quantity that requires placards.has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more.Let’s use the Force and dive into the rule book! Who Must Comply With HOS Rules?Ī driver of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) involved in interstate commerce must comply with HOS rules if their vehicle: If you want to avoid HOS violation penalties, the bottom line is simple: you need to know the HOS rules and you need tech watching your back. The fact is, ELDs basically track a truck’s every move. Your only hope to stay organized, remain compliant, and avoid violations is to get help from a tech platform that does all the Jedi mind tricks and heavy lifting for you. Put another way, the HOS, RODS, and ELD rules have become more nuanced-and enforceable.Īgainst this galaxy of paperwork, tech is like Obi-Wan and you’re Princess Leia. In my opinion, the technology of digitized documents, automatic billing, and cloud storage for data creates the greatest competitive advantage for the carriers who adopt them. It’s worth noting that ELDs are part of a greater logistics industry trend of building a holistic tech stack that synchronizes every facet of a trucking operation. As such, the rules have certain exceptions that do their best to address gray areas like adverse driving condition events and emergency circumstances. The FMCSA is aware that there’s a fine line between safety and viable drive time, and the organization took into account the many nuances in logistics when creating the HOS rules. But that same automation also makes it easier for law enforcement to penalize drivers who violate the HOS rules. ELDs have the potential to make tracking HOS easier and automatic for drivers. Law enforcement issues a large number of ELD, HOS, and RODS violations every year. Nowadays, the HOS, RODS, and ELD rules all work together.īe aware. Eventually, the FMCSA realized that paper logbooks can easily be altered by bad actors. Prior to ELDs, drivers kept paper logbooks. In turn, that led to the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate. After enacting the first rules around hours of service, records of duty status (RODS) became standard. The FMCSA has hammered out fair HOS rules seemingly forever. In other words, you gotta rule at knowing the rules. In this post, we’re going to provide the key information every driver needs to know in order to keep rolling-and avoid those costly HOS violation penalties. After all, knowing and following the HOS rules are the best ways to avoid violation penalties. That said, at the end of the day, drivers and fleet managers should understand and know the HOS rules. On the other hand, the HOS rules protect drivers from harassment and forced, unsafe driving. I realize also that it seems like the HOS rules put a cap on driving time and thus limit how much drivers can earn. I’m a believer in safety first, so this is a good thing. The goal of HOS rules? To minimize driver fatigue and improve overall safety on the roads. The HOS rules were established and are maintained by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Do the rules rule? They totally do.Ĭase in point, the hours of service (HOS) rules are a huge factor in every trucker’s life. As we grew up, we learned more and more about the actual rules. Sometime back in the ’80s, the phrase “That rules!” became popular.
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