• For drivers of property-carrying commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) who drive locally, the 16-hour “big day” short-haul exception extends the driving window beyond the 14-hour limit by up to two hours once per week under certain conditions.
• The exception does not affect the 11-hour driving limit, the need to have 10 hours off, or the need to use a log and comply with the 60/70-hour limit and 30-minute break requirement. (395.1(o))

Key definitions

Duty tour: While not defined in the regulations, the term “duty tour” is generally accepted to mean the period from the time the driver begins to work until the time he or she is released from work. It can also be referred to as the driver’s workday.

Normal work-reporting location: While also not defined in the regulations, the term “normal work-reporting location” is generally accepted to mean the location at which the driver normally goes on duty at the start of his or her workday.

Overview

To lessen the impact the 14-hour limit may have on drivers who operate only locally, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration allows those drivers to extend the 14-hour on-duty period (but not the 11-hour limit) by up to two hours once per week, under certain conditions. This is known as the 16-hour or “big day” exception, as found in 395.1(o) (not to be confused with the 16-hour 150-air-mile exception for non-CDL drivers).

Key points

• A driver can drive a CMV after the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty, but not after the 16th consecutive hour, if he or she:
  • Was released from duty at the normal work-reporting location for the previous five duty tours, and
  • Returns to the normal work-reporting location and is released from duty within 16 consecutive hours, and
  • Has not used this exception in the previous six consecutive days or since the driver’s last 34-hour restart if the driver had a restart in the previous six days.
• Drivers are subject to the 11-hour driving limit but have an extra two consecutive hours in which to complete that driving.
• Short-haul drivers who normally use the 150-air-mile exception and do not complete a standard grid log will have to complete a log on days when they use this exception, because they are working beyond the 14-hour limit.
  • Drivers using the 150 air-mile exception for drivers of CMVs that do not require a commercial driver’s license (CDL) in 395.1(e)(2)MAY NOT use this exception.
• A 34-hour restart allows a driver to use this exception more than once every six days, but that does not change the requirement that the driver must have returned to the work-reporting location for the previous five duty tours.

Note that the exception does NOT affect:

• The 11-hour driving limit,
• The need to have 10 hours off before and after the “big day,” or
• The need to use a log and comply with the 60/70-hour limit and 30-minute break requirement.