South Texas Truck Accident Attorneys

Hours-of-Service Rules: 11/14/70 Explained

Federal hours-of-service rules limit truck drivers to 11 hours of driving in a 14-hour window, with a 70-hour weekly cap. Here's how each rule works and how violations become evidence in Texas truck accident cases.

By Editorial Team Published 9 min read

What are the FMCSA hours-of-service rules?

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s hours-of-service (HOS) rules, codified at 49 CFR Part 395, limit how long commercial truck drivers can be on the road before resting. The rules exist to prevent fatigued driving — which FMCSA research consistently identifies as a major factor in large-truck crashes.

Three numbers define the core rules for property-carrying drivers: 11, 14, and 70. Eleven hours of maximum driving in a single day. Fourteen hours as the outer window in which that driving must occur. Seventy hours as the maximum on-duty time in an 8-day period. Violating any of these limits is a federal regulatory violation — and in a South Texas crash case, that violation becomes evidence of negligence.

These rules have applied to trucks operating in interstate commerce for decades. The ELD mandate, effective December 2017, replaced paper logbooks with electronic records that are harder to falsify, making HOS violations easier to detect and prove.

The 11-hour driving rule

Under 49 CFR § 395.3(a)(3)(i), a driver may not drive more than 11 hours after coming off 10 consecutive hours off duty. The 11 hours is a cap on actual time spent driving — not on-duty time, not sleeper-berth time, not time spent loading or fueling. It counts only the minutes and hours the driver is physically operating the vehicle.

Why 11 hours? FMCSA research and the National Transportation Safety Board have consistently found that crash risk rises sharply after approximately 8 hours of continuous driving. The 11-hour rule is the regulatory compromise between safety research and industry operating needs.

In South Texas, the Laredo-to-San Antonio corridor on I-35 is roughly 150 miles — a 2.5-hour drive under normal conditions. Drivers making longer hauls to Dallas, Houston, or beyond, or making multiple short-haul deliveries across the Rio Grande Valley, can accumulate driving hours quickly. An ELD showing 11 hours of driving in the day of a crash, with no record of the required off-duty break, is a clear HOS violation.

The 14-hour on-duty window

The 14-hour rule is separate from — and in practice often more restrictive than — the 11-hour driving limit. Under 49 CFR § 395.3(a)(2), once a driver comes on duty after 10 consecutive hours off, a 14-hour clock starts running. When that 14-hour window closes, the driver cannot drive — even if they have unused driving time remaining under the 11-hour rule.

The 14-hour clock does not stop. Taking a 2-hour break for loading does not pause it. Sitting in traffic does not pause it. The window runs continuously from the moment the driver comes on duty until 14 hours have elapsed.

This rule catches drivers who start their day early. A driver who comes on duty at 4:00 AM cannot drive after 6:00 PM, regardless of how many hours of actual driving they have used. If a crash happens at 6:30 PM and the driver came on duty at 4:00 AM, the 14-hour window had already closed. That is a per se violation.

The 10-hour off-duty requirement

The 11-hour and 14-hour rules reset only after the driver takes at least 10 consecutive hours off duty. Under 49 CFR § 395.3(a)(1), a driver may not drive after being on duty for the amounts described above until taking that 10-hour break.

Consecutive means uninterrupted. A driver cannot split 10 hours into two 5-hour breaks. The sleeper-berth provision at 49 CFR § 395.1(g) provides a limited exception allowing drivers to split their off-duty time into a combination of at least 7 hours in the sleeper berth and at least 2 consecutive hours off duty or in the sleeper berth — but the rules are specific and any misapplication is itself a violation.

In practice, pressure from dispatch to meet delivery windows pushes drivers to shortchange rest. An ELD showing a driver who “rested” for only 8 hours before returning to duty is documenting a violation in real time.

The 70-hour / 8-day rule

Under 49 CFR § 395.3(b)(2), a driver may not be on duty for more than 70 hours in any period of 8 consecutive days. Carriers that do not operate vehicles every day of the week may instead use a 60-hour / 7-day limit under § 395.3(b)(1).

The 70/8 rule is cumulative. A driver who works 10 hours per day, every day, will hit the 70-hour cap on the morning of day 8 — before completing a full shift. Drivers who push through the cap are violating federal law.

The 34-hour restart provision under 49 CFR § 395.3(c) allows a driver to reset their 70-hour clock by taking at least 34 consecutive hours off duty. For a driver who has been running hard for a week, the restart is the only legal way to get back to full duty hours.

Tracking weekly hours requires reviewing multiple days of ELD data, not just the day of the crash. In South Texas cases involving long-haul drivers coming up from Mexico or running continuous Texas routes, the weekly picture often reveals a driver who was already running on depleted hours before the day of the crash.

The 30-minute break requirement

Under 49 CFR § 395.3(a)(3)(ii), drivers must take a 30-minute break after 8 cumulative hours of driving since their last qualifying break. A qualifying break is a period of at least 30 minutes off duty or in the sleeper berth.

Simply stopping to fuel, load, or eat while remaining on duty does not satisfy the break requirement. The driver must log the time as off duty or sleeper berth. An ELD showing 8+ hours of driving with no logged off-duty break in between is a 30-minute break violation.

This rule is frequently violated on short-haul and regional routes, where drivers may make multiple stops and never formally log an off-duty break. In South Texas oilfield operations — where drivers run loads between well sites and central facilities — the 30-minute break rule is commonly missed.

How HOS violations become evidence in a Texas truck case

In Texas, an FMCSA hours-of-service violation is evidence of negligence under the negligence per se doctrine. When a driver exceeds the 11-hour limit or drives after the 14-hour window closes, they have violated a federal regulation enacted specifically to prevent fatigued-driving crashes. If that fatigue-related behavior causes a crash, the violation establishes the negligence element.

Courts and juries understand HOS violations. The numbers — 11, 14, 70 — are concrete. An ELD showing a driver was on hour 13 when the crash occurred, or that the 14-hour window closed 45 minutes before impact, is not a subtle argument. It is documented fact.

HOS evidence is also useful for establishing pattern violations. A carrier whose drivers consistently log violations — detected through CSA inspections and FMCSA enforcement history — supports claims of negligent supervision and negligent retention. If the carrier knew its drivers routinely exceeded HOS limits and did nothing, that knowledge is evidence of gross negligence and potentially supports a punitive damages claim under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 41.003.

How to verify a driver’s HOS compliance

To verify HOS compliance in a South Texas crash investigation:

  1. Request the ELD event file immediately. Send a spoliation letter to the carrier on the day of or the day after the crash. ELD records older than 90 days may be purged.

  2. Compare ELD data to independent records. Fuel receipts, toll records (TxTag, TollTag), weigh station transponder logs, and cell phone location data are all corroborating or contradicting sources.

  3. Check for manual edits. ELD systems log every manual edit to duty status, along with the reason code. Excessive manual edits — especially near hours limits — are a red flag for falsification.

  4. Review unassigned driving events. FMCSA requires ELDs to record all driving activity. Unassigned driving periods (where no driver is logged in) may indicate a driver who logged off early to stop the clock.

  5. Obtain multiple weeks of records. The crash may be the result of cumulative fatigue over the preceding 7–8 days. Reviewing the full 70-hour period reveals the complete picture.

  6. Request the carrier’s driver dispatch records. These show what the carrier knew about the driver’s schedule and what pressure, if any, was applied to meet delivery windows.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many hours can a truck driver drive in a day?

Up to 11 hours of actual driving, but only within a 14-hour on-duty window that begins after 10 consecutive hours off duty. Once the 14-hour window closes, the driver cannot drive again regardless of how many hours of actual driving they have used.

What is the 70-hour rule?

A truck driver cannot be on duty for more than 70 hours in any 8 consecutive days. Carriers that do not operate every day of the week may use a 60-hour / 7-day limit instead. The 34-hour restart provision allows a driver to reset their 70-hour clock by taking at least 34 consecutive hours off duty.

What is the 30-minute break requirement?

Under 49 CFR § 395.3(a)(3), drivers must take a 30-minute break after 8 cumulative hours of driving since their last off-duty or sleeper-berth period of at least 30 minutes. The break must be off duty or in the sleeper berth — simply stopping to fuel does not count.

Can ELD data prove an hours-of-service violation in court?

Yes. Electronic logging device records are automatically generated and time-stamped by the truck's engine. In South Texas crash cases, ELD data showing a driver exceeded the 11-hour or 14-hour limits — or drove without the required 10-hour off-duty break — is admissible evidence of the violation.

What exemptions exist to the hours-of-service rules?

Several exemptions exist. The short-haul exemption applies to drivers operating within a 150 air-mile radius who return to the same reporting location each day. The oilfield exemption under 49 CFR § 395.1(d) provides some flexibility for drivers transporting oilfield equipment — relevant to Eagle Ford operations in South Texas. The adverse driving conditions exception allows up to 2 extra hours of driving. None of these exemptions eliminate all HOS requirements.

How long must ELD records be kept?

Under 49 CFR § 395.8(k), electronic logging device records must be retained for a minimum of 6 months. After 90 days, many carriers overwrite or purge older data. A spoliation letter demanding preservation of ELD data should be sent immediately after a crash.

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