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Due to the specialized nature of their operations, commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers in the oilfield industry can take advantage of three exceptions to the federal hours-of-service rules in Part 395:
24-hour restart
Drivers of CMVs that are used exclusively to transport oilfield equipment for an eight-consecutive day (or shorter) period can reset accumulated on-duty time by taking a break of 24 consecutive hours, at any time. (395.1(d)(1)). The exclusive transportation of oilfield equipment includes, but is not limited to, stringing and picking up pipe used in pipelines, and servicing the field operations of the natural gas and oil industry. “Oilfield equipment” is not specifically defined and may encompass a spectrum of equipment ranging from an entire vehicle to hand-held devices.
Waiting time
For specially trained drivers of CMVs that are specially constructed, complex equipment used to service oil wells, time spent waiting (and performing no other work) at a natural gas or oil well site can be:
The waiting time must be accurately logged as “off duty” along with additional remarks to show which specific off-duty periods were spent waiting, or through use of a 5-line log that has a fifth line to record waiting time. All other off-duty time must be recorded on Line 1.
Drivers of CMVs used to transport supplies, equipment, and materials such as sand and water to and from the well sites do not qualify for the “waiting time” exception even if there have been some modifications to the vehicle and some training was required to run pumps for example.
Caution:
Equivalent of 10 hours off
A specially trained driver who operates a CMV that is specially constructed to service natural gas or oil wells can accumulate the “equivalent” of 10 consecutive hours off duty in two ways:
The 14th hour is calculated by:
The driver may not return to driving subject to the normal limits under 395.3 without taking:
Due to the specialized nature of their operations, commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers in the oilfield industry can take advantage of three exceptions to the federal hours-of-service rules in Part 395:
24-hour restart
Drivers of CMVs that are used exclusively to transport oilfield equipment for an eight-consecutive day (or shorter) period can reset accumulated on-duty time by taking a break of 24 consecutive hours, at any time. (395.1(d)(1)). The exclusive transportation of oilfield equipment includes, but is not limited to, stringing and picking up pipe used in pipelines, and servicing the field operations of the natural gas and oil industry. “Oilfield equipment” is not specifically defined and may encompass a spectrum of equipment ranging from an entire vehicle to hand-held devices.
Waiting time
For specially trained drivers of CMVs that are specially constructed, complex equipment used to service oil wells, time spent waiting (and performing no other work) at a natural gas or oil well site can be:
The waiting time must be accurately logged as “off duty” along with additional remarks to show which specific off-duty periods were spent waiting, or through use of a 5-line log that has a fifth line to record waiting time. All other off-duty time must be recorded on Line 1.
Drivers of CMVs used to transport supplies, equipment, and materials such as sand and water to and from the well sites do not qualify for the “waiting time” exception even if there have been some modifications to the vehicle and some training was required to run pumps for example.
Caution:
Equivalent of 10 hours off
A specially trained driver who operates a CMV that is specially constructed to service natural gas or oil wells can accumulate the “equivalent” of 10 consecutive hours off duty in two ways:
The 14th hour is calculated by:
The driver may not return to driving subject to the normal limits under 395.3 without taking: