Georgia Truck Drivers Must Adhere to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Regulations
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), established on January 1, 2000, serves to improve roadway safety by regulating the activities of the commercial trucking industry.
The two key safety areas addressed by FMCSA regulations are hours of service rules and driver’s daily logs.
Required Daily Log Book Hours for Truck Drivers
To make sure that commercial truck drivers are adhering to state and federal hours of service regulations, they must maintain logs that track detailed information about the amount of time they spend behind the wheel. Authorized government inspectors may inspect logs at any time to see if drivers comply with the hours of service regulations. Drivers who violate the rules may be fined or placed out of service.
Electronic Logging Devices
As of December 2019, Electronic Logging Devices are required in many commercial vehicles, including semi-trucks.
These Electronic Logging Devices integrate with the truck’s engine system to record driving activity and other information such as engine hours, ignition status, GPS location and miles driven to ensure truck drivers adhere to Hours of Service requirements.
Hours of Service Rules for Commercial Truck Drivers
In an effort to combat driver fatigue, the FMCSA enacted a federal regulation limiting hours of service. In addition to the federal hours of service rules, commercial truck drivers may also have to comply with certain state regulations.
10-Hour Rule
In general, the regulation prevents commercial truckers from logging more than 10 consecutive hours or 11 cumulative hours in a single day.
14-Hour Rule
Georgia truck drivers may not drive beyond 14 consecutive hours after coming on duty, following 10 consecutive hours off duty. It is important to note that off-duty time does not extend the 14-hour period.
60/70 Hour Rule
Current laws prohibit commercial truck drivers from logging more than 60 hours in any rolling 7-day period. Truck drivers may not drive after 60/70 hours on duty in 7/8 consecutive days. Truck drivers are able to restart a 7/8 consecutive day period following a period of at least 34 consecutive hours off duty.
Mandatory 30-Minute Breaks
Once they have driven for a period of 8 cumulative hours, Georgia truck drivers must take a mandatory 30-minute break from driving.
Sleeper Berth Provision
The sleeper berth provision relates to the time that truck drivers take extended rest in the sleeper berth compartment of their truck. The provision allows drivers who transport cargo to split the required 10 hours of off-duty time, so long as they spend at least 7 consecutive hours in the sleeper compartment and the other chunk of off-duty time is no less than 2 hours. All sleeper berth time MUST add up to at least 10 hours.
Exceptions to Hours of Service Regulations
While the FMCSA’s regulations on hours of service are stringent to increase safety on the roads, there are some exceptions to the rules.
Adverse Driving Conditions Exception
Drivers are allowed to extend the 11-hour maximum driving limit and 14-hour driving window by up to 2 hours when adverse driving conditions are encountered.
Short-Haul Exception
Georgia truck drivers are exempt from FMCSA’s requirements of §395.8 and §395.11 when the driver:
- Operates within a 150 air-mile radius of the normal work reporting location
- Does not exceed a maximum duty period of 14 hours
