Hours of Service — the federal rules every driver must know
Lesson 3 of 6 in Pre-Trip Inspection, Hours of Service & ELD · 24 minutes
How long can you drive? How long must you rest? When does a 70-hour cycle reset? The federal Hours of Service rules govern every commercial driver — and breaking them has real consequences. This lesson is the plain-English version.
What you'll learn
- State the three federal daily limits: 13 hours driving, 14 hours on duty, and the 16-hour elapsed window
- Distinguish between Cycle 1 (70 hours / 7 days) and Cycle 2 (120 hours / 14 days), including how to switch between them
- Apply the daily off-duty rules and the Canadian split sleeper-berth provision correctly
- Recognize when crossing into the US changes the rules
From the lesson
Hours of Service (HoS) rules are why your dispatcher pays attention to your log even more than your loads. The federal Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations (SOR/2005-313) set hard limits on how long you can drive, how much off-duty time you need, and how multi-day cycles work. Breaking the rules has consequences: fines that can run from a few hundred dollars to over $1,000 per violation depending on the province, out-of-service orders at roadside, and points on your carrier's safety record. The rules are also designed to keep you alive — fatigue is a leading cause of trucking fatalities. One important note before we start: this lesson explains the federal rules that apply…