As our roads become more and more crowded, we need to take steps to make all drivers and passengers reach their destination safely.  The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has announced its first substantial change to the hours-of-service rules (HOS) since 1939. 

According to the FMCSA, the new HOS rules allow truckers to drive 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off-duty.  Also, truckers may not drive beyond the 14th hour after coming on-duty, following 10 hours off-duty.  Similar to existing rules, truckers may not drive after being on-duty for 60 hours in a seven-consecutive-day period or 70 hours in an eight-consecutive-day period.  This on-duty cycle may be restarted whenever a driver takes at least 34 hours off-duty.

The FMCSA estimates the new rule will save up to 75 lives and prevent as many as 1,326 fatigue-related crashes annually.  FMCSA has been reviewing working on these new HOS rules for a long time.  During their development FMCSA held eight public hearings, three round-table sessions, and reviewed more than 53,000 written comments.