30-Minute Rest Break Rule Doesn’t Apply To Any Short-Haul Drivers, FMCSA Clarifies

The 30-minute rest break provision of the new hours-of-service rules for truckers will not apply to short-haul drivers, the Transportation Department’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced Aug. 7 to clarify the effect of a recent federal court decision.

The final hours-of-service rule, issued Dec. 27, 2011 (76 Fed. Reg. 81,134), retained an 11-hour daily driving limit for commercial truck drivers but added a requirement that a driver must take a break of at least 30 minutes if more than eight hours have passed since the driver’s last off-duty period (247 DLR A-2, 12/27/11). ...