14/15-day rule

Scope

This requirement applies to intrastate drivers and motor carriers who occasionally operate in interstate commerce.

Regulatory citations

• 49 CFR 395.3 — Maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles
• 49 CFR 395.5 — Maximum driving time for passenger-carrying vehicles

Key definitions

• Commercial motor vehicle (CMV): Any self-propelled or towed motor vehicle used on a highway in interstate commerce to transport passengers or property when the vehicle:
  • Has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating, or gross vehicle weight or gross combination weight, of 4,536 kg (10,001 pounds) or more, whichever is greater; or
  • Is designed or used to transport more than 8 passengers (including the driver) for compensation; or
  • Is designed or used to transport more than 15 passengers, including the driver, and is not used to transport passengers for compensation; or
  • Is used in transporting material found by the Secretary of Transportation to be hazardous under 49 U.S.C. 5103 and transported in a quantity requiring placarding under regulations prescribed by the Secretary under 49 CFR, subtitle B, chapter I, subchapter C.
• Interstate commerce: Trade, traffic, or transportation in the United States:
  • Between a place in a State and a place outside of such State (including a place outside of the United States);
  • Between two places in a State through another State or a place outside of the United States; or
  • Between two places in a State as part of trade, traffic, or transportation originating or terminating outside the State or the United States.
• Intrastate commerce: Commerce within a single state that is not otherwise interstate commerce.

Summary of requirements

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has jurisdiction to regulate the hours of service of intrastate CMV drivers who cross into interstate commerce, even if only one time or occasionally. Such drivers must follow the federal rules — to some degree — before, during, and after their interstate trips, before going to back to following state rules.

The FMCSA applies a 14/15-day policy as found in the official interpretations to 49 CFR 390.3, Question 24, as outlined below.

• Before the trip. Seven days before drivers begin a trip in interstate commerce in a CMV, they must begin preparing records of duty status (logs), unless they are exempt from logging under a short-haul exception in 395.1(e).
  
  On the day the interstate trip is to begin, drivers must have in their possession logs for the previous 7 consecutive days, as required by 395.8(k)(2) (unless a short-haul exception is used). This is required even if the driver operated only in intrastate commerce during that 7-day period.
  
  During the 7-day period prior to the interstate trip, the driver may follow state hours-of-service limits concerning driving and on-duty time, rather than federal rules. Before the interstate trip begins, however, the driver must have the appropriate amount of off-duty time (8 or 10 consecutive hours) as required under 395.3 or 395.5 and must be in compliance with the 60- or 70-hour limits specified in those sections.
• During the trip. During the interstate trip, the driver would be subject to roadside enforcement of the federal hours-of-service rules. The driver would not be allowed to follow alternative state-specific hours-of-service rules for any part of the trip.
  
  FMCSA investigators will cite drivers for violations of the 11- or 14-hour rules (for property-carrying vehicles), the 10- or 15-hour rules (for passenger-carrying vehicles), or the 60- or 70-hour rules that are committed while on the interstate trip.
• After the trip. Any driver who begins a trip in interstate commerce must continue to meet the requirements of Part 395 through the end of that day and the next 7 to 8 consecutive days, depending on which rule the motor carrier operates under (i.e., the 60- or 70-hour limits).
  
  Drivers must continue to comply with the requirements of Part 395 even if they operate exclusively in intrastate commerce for the remainder of the 60/70 hour period (i.e., 7-8 day schedule) at the end of the interstate trip. Note that the 14/15-day policy was enacted before truck drivers were allowed to get a 34-hour “restart,” so the policy does NOT say that getting a restart will eliminate the need to continue complying with federal rules for the 7/8-day period after returning to intrastate operations.
  
  FMCSA investigators will cite drivers for violations of the federal rules that are committed during the 7 or 8 days after completing the interstate trip.