After a U.S. Court of Appeals decision left most of the new requirements of the “Hours of Service” rules in place, it was revealed that short haul drivers would be exempt from the rule that required drivers to take 30-minute breaks. There are two ways that you can be considered a short haul driver.
The first way is to stay within a 100 mile radius of a home terminal. If you fall under this category, you can get out of the 30-minute break rule. The only other way to be considered a short haul driver is to be a driver of a truck that does not require a CDL who stays within a 150 mile radius of a home terminal. Any truck with a gross rating between 10,000 and 26,000 pounds does not require the driver to carry a CDL – making those drivers exempt from the rule as well.
While the court’s decision does not take effect until September 23, these new short haul exemptions are already in place. If you want to get out of the 30-minute break rule and you meet either of these two criteria to be a short haul driver, go ahead and do so. This ruling will give a little flexibility to the drivers that have short, tight schedules near a home terminal.
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