Hours of Service Exceptions

Hours of Service Exceptions

§395.1 Scope of the rules in this part.  

Guidance Q&A
Question 33: If a driver using either short-haul exception in § 395.1(e) finds it necessary to exceed the exception limitations for unforeseen reasons, is the driver in violation of the § 395.3 rest break provision if more than 8 hours have passed without having taken the required rest break?

Guidance: No. A driver using a § 395.1(e) short-haul exception who finds it necessary to exceed the exception limitations for unforeseen reasons is not in violation of the § 395.3 rest-break requirements if 8 or more hours have passed at the time the driver becomes aware of the inability to use the short-haul exception. The driver should annotate the record-of-duty-status to indicate why the required rest break was not taken earlier, and should take the break at the earliest safe opportunity.