What new hours of service regulations mean for you

What new hours of service regulations mean for you

Recently, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published its final rule updating hours of service (HOS) rules.

FMCSA’s final rule on hours of service offers four revisions to the existing HOS rules, which are as follows:

  • Flexibility has been added for the 30-minute break rule by requiring a break after 8 hours of consecutive driving and allowing the break to be satisfied by a driver using on-duty, not driving status, rather than off-duty status.
  • The sleeper-berth exception has been modified to allow drivers to split their required 10 hours off duty into two periods: an 8/2 split, or a 7/3 split—with neither period counting against the driver’s 14‑hour driving window.
  • The maximum window for the adverse driving conditions exception has been extended by two hours.
  • The short-haul exception available to certain commercial drivers has been changed, lengthening the drivers’ maximum on‑duty period from 12 to 14 hours and extending the distance limit within which the driver may operate from 100 air miles to 150 air miles.

The agency noted that these updates do not increase driving time or consecutive hours that drivers are allowed to drive, citing safety concerns. The new rules go into effect 120 days after publication in the Federal Register, which is slated to be Sept. 28.

So what does this mean for you? Well, if you’re a regional haul fleet, it’s all good news, as you’ll be able to expand your routes and should have the ability to make more money with your trucks on a given day.

With that in mind, you’ll need to monitor how these changes affect your equipment’s lifecycle—expanded routes being run means that the truck gets older sooner, and will likely need more maintenance.

“We’re going to see more utilization of the assets, which will impact the lifecycle,” says Jim Griffin, chief financial officer and chief technology officer at Fleet Advantage, a trucking business analytics provider. “It will be interesting to see how much it impacts the lifecycle, but it will definitely increase the utilization. And the utilization is going to require a little more maintenance as well. My guess is that from a cost perspective, that’s going to be balanced by the ability to make more with the truck—they’re going to have the ability to deliver more and they’re going to have more delivery options.”

This, Griffin says, makes it even more imperative than ever to take a look at your trucks’ lifecycles and determine when the right time is to replace older trucks with newer models.

“If you’re already operating aged equipment, and now you start to increase the utilization of that aged equipment, you could potentially start to see exponential increases in your maintenance and repair costs.” 

alex-podcast-icon-200

Related: You can hear more from Jim Griffin on equipment lifecycles, including how they may be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, in his interview on the Fleet Future podcast. Go here to listen.

You May Also Like

EUFMC releases conference speaker lineup

Fleet managers can unite at this year’s EUFMC, June 4-7.

With the 2023 EUFMC set to begin in early June, the conference educational program Driving Safety, Sustainability & Technical Expertise continues to take shape. Plans for presentations by fleet executives, manufacturers and industry experts during the two-day General Session include:

Keynote address

Brian L. Wolff, Chief Strategy Officer & Executive Vice President, Public Policy and External Affairs, Edison Electric Institute

Overall new equipment business volume down slightly Y/Y

According to ELFA findings, total headcount for equipment finance companies was down 4.6% year-over-year.

Equipment-Leasing-and-Finance-Association-monthly-index
Growth rate of parts aftermarket sales continues to gradually decelerate

CMVC’s Parts Aftermarket Sales Leading Indicator signals slowing growth in commercial vehicle parts sales.

parts-aftermarket-sales-leading-indicator
Eight fleets selected to participate in NACFE’s electrification initiative

The transition to electric vehicles is about much more than just the trucks themselves. It is about charging, infrastructure and more.

NACFE-Run-On-Less

Other Posts

PC-12: Looking to the future of heavy-duty engine oils

By doing this work in advance, you can maximize the benefits that PC-12 lubricants will offer to your fleet.

How to get the most from electric truck charging incentives right now

These programs can help lower the overall costs of charging stations to make the transition to EVs more feasible and equitable.

Hydrogen-powered mobility: Driving towards sustainable transport

It’s reassuring to know that there are a variety of technology choices available to support this transition, including natural gas.

Hydrogen-Fuel-NACFE-sustainable-transport
Navigating the EV charging market

Thoughts on future proofing charging infrastructure installations and charger/EV compatibility.

Amped-Featured-Image-EP36-AUTEL-1000x500