Hours of service rules: reading a truck driver’s log after an Atlanta crash

The DOT hours of service rules are the federal limits on how long a commercial truck driver may drive and stay on duty. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sets them in 49 CFR Part 395. For a driver hauling freight, the core rules are 10 hours off before a shift, 11 hours of driving inside a 14-hour window, a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving, and a 60- or 70-hour weekly cap. After a truck crash on I-285 or the Downtown Connector, those numbers become plain questions. When did the driver’s day start? How long had the truck been moving?

The hours of service rules at a glance

All six limits for property-carrying trucks are in 49 CFR 395.3. Bus and coach drivers follow a different section.

Rule	Limit	49 CFR
Time off before driving	10 consecutive hours off duty	395.3(a)(1)
Driving window	No driving after the 14th consecutive hour from coming on duty	395.3(a)(2)
Driving limit	11 hours of driving inside that window	395.3(a)(3)(i)
Break	A 30-minute break from driving once 8 hours of driving have passed	395.3(a)(3)(ii)
Weekly limit	60 hours on duty in 7 days, or 70 hours in 8 days if the carrier runs trucks every day	395.3(b)
Restart	34 or more hours off duty starts a new 7- or 8-day period	395.3(c)

Eleven hours of driving, fourteen hours of clock

The 11-hour limit counts time behind the wheel. The 14-hour limit counts time on the clock, from the moment the driver comes on duty. Loading, waiting at a dock, fueling and paperwork all use up the window. None of them adds driving time.

Take an example. A driver ends a 10-hour break and comes on duty at 6 a.m. The window closes at 8 p.m. If the driver has driven only 8 hours by then, the 3 unused hours do not carry past 8 p.m. A meal stop does not pause the window either. Only a qualifying sleeper-berth rest, covered below, is left out of it.

The 30-minute break works on driving time. After 8 hours of driving, the driver must stop driving for 30 minutes in a row before driving again. Off-duty time, sleeper-berth time or on-duty work other than driving all count.

So “the driver had not used 11 hours” settles nothing on its own. A full timeline sets the start of duty, each driving period, each break and the weekly total side by side.

Exceptions a carrier may point to

Three exceptions come up often in crash cases. A carrier that relies on one should have records to back it.

• Adverse driving conditions. Snow, ice, fog or unusual traffic that the driver and carrier could not have known about at the start. The driver may drive up to 2 more hours than the limits allow, to finish the run or reach a safe place (49 CFR 395.1(b)(1)).
• Short haul. A driver who stays within 150 air miles of the work reporting location and is released within 14 hours does not need a log. The carrier must keep time records for 6 months instead (395.1(e)(1)).
• Sleeper-berth split. The 10 hours off can come in two periods, one of at least 7 hours in the sleeper berth and the other at least 2 hours, for 10 hours or more in total. The qualifying rest does not count against the 14-hour window (395.1(g)(1)).

What the log records, and what sits behind it

Unless an exception applies, a carrier must have its drivers record duty status on an electronic logging device, or ELD (49 CFR 395.8(a)(1)(i)). At each change of duty status, the ELD records the date, time, location, engine hours, vehicle miles and the driver, truck and carrier IDs (395.26). While the truck moves, it adds a record at least once an hour.

Logs can be edited, but not quietly. Each edit or addition must carry a note that explains it, and the carrier must not alter or erase the original data (395.30(c), (f)). Ask for the edit history along with the final log.

Supporting documents test the log. They include bills of lading, dispatch records, expense receipts, fleet-management messages and payroll records (395.11). A fuel receipt stamped 2 p.m. should match where the log puts the truck at 2 p.m. Keep each record’s original time stamp. Do not shift time zones to make a timeline fit.

How long the logs last

A carrier must keep the logs and supporting documents for at least 6 months from receipt (395.8(k)(1)). The ELD back-up copy has the same 6-month minimum (395.22(i)(1)). Georgia gives an injured person 2 years to sue (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). On a routine schedule, the logs can be gone 18 months before that deadline.

Our guide to the spoliation letter explains how a written demand asks the carrier to keep them, and why Georgia’s duty to keep evidence can start even earlier.

Post-crash drug and alcohol tests

The hours rules cover the workday. A second federal rule covers testing after a crash (49 CFR 382.303). The carrier must test its driver for alcohol and drugs after any crash that kills someone. It must also test after a crash where someone is treated away from the scene, or a vehicle is towed away, if the truck driver gets a citation for a moving violation. The citation must come within 8 hours for the alcohol test and within 32 hours for the drug test.

The testing clock is tight. If the alcohol test is not done within 2 hours, the carrier must record why. At 8 hours it must stop trying. For drugs, it stops at 32 hours and records why. Papers on each decision to test or not to test must be kept for 2 years (382.401(b)(2), (c)(1)). A missing test does not prove impairment, but it is a question the records must answer.

What this means after an Atlanta truck crash

1. Fix the time. Note when the crash happened, as exactly as you can. Photos and your phone’s call log help. The log is read against that minute.
2. Name the carrier. Photograph the cab door. The carrier’s name and USDOT number must be on both sides (49 CFR 390.21). The crash report should list them too.
3. Move before six months. Ask for the logs, the ELD data, the edit history and the supporting documents together.
4. Keep it in proportion. A log over the limit shows the driver should not have been driving. It does not prove on its own what caused the crash. Speed, lane changes, brakes and other drivers matter too, and Georgia’s 50% fault bar (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33) makes the full account count.

If you were hurt, a truck accident attorney in Atlanta can request the logs and the test records before the six-month minimum runs out.