Can someone explain this to me? In English? I have just started studying for my CDL permit and keep seeing this on forums and stuff. So what IS a 34 hour restart?

 

after 34 hours off (no paid work) you have all your hours back to move the truck.

 

is it like a mandatory thing? Or just when you have AHT for a day+10 hours, you just start over? Im confused. LOL. i guess Ill learn it all eventually.

 

The 34 hour restart is not mandatory, it is an option.

Once you start doing the job and filling out log books for real it all becomes easier to understand, and you will see most of the time the 34 consecutive hours needs for a 70 hour restart ends up taking care of itself or 90% of it does before you would get any hours back on the 70 hour rule to allow you to drive again.

 

The very basics of the Hours of Service Rules for a 7 day a week operation are:

After a 10 hour break:

You can not drive more than 11 hours.
You can not drive after the 14th hour since coming on duty.
You can not drive after having accumulated more than 70 work hours in 8 days.

If at any time you are completely off duty (no paid work of any kind for anyone) for 34 or more consecutive hours you may claim a reset of the 70 hour rule. The reset drops your 70 hours in 8 day total to 0. You do not have to use all 70 hours before claiming a reset.

Your 10 hour break may be taken:

All off duty
All in the sleeper berth
Or any combination of the two. The hours can not be broken by any periods of driving or on duty.

If you spend time in the sleeper berth that must be logged as Sleeper berth.
All other time spent off duty must be logged as Off Duty.

There is a "split" sleeper option, but do not worry about it at this point. Learn the above rules well. The split option is confusing and can easily cause you to be in violation if you are not very careful.

 

A 34 hour restart is a combination of lines 1 & 2 (being off duty means you are free to do what you want and not on the truck/short version & sleeper means your body is in the sleeper) then you reset your 70 hour to 70 hours available.

So you can not do any work such as fueling, loading/unloading,scaling, randoms, repairs (while your truck can be in the shop, just don't deal with it, let them have it for 34 hours and then pick it up) etc.

DOT is auditing just for this Randoms etc to make sure you are 1) logging it & 2) not interrupting any breaks such as the 10/34 while working.

They know drivers are trying not to log line 4 when they should be so that's the prime target today in the DOT field. So be carefull!

But yeah any 34 hours off duty/sleeper will reset you, however you still gain the hours you worked the 1st of your last 7 days on your 8th day (being midnight).

To do your recap after your restart just make it all zero's or you could put
R
E
S
T
A
R
T

If you have the 7 day recap on your log sheet that is.

box 1 "0"

box 2 " 70

box 3 "hours you worked that day once you finished the day that is"

 

vacation at the house

 

Practical 34hr restart;

means 34 consecutive hours of 0 production= 34hrs of 0 $$$$.

most companies don't want you doing 34hr restarts; because that's 34hrs of
no utility serving THEIR pursuit of profit or their customers needs.
It's far easier for them to plan and dispatch you 400miles a day. So you only
log 8.75hrs each day max/ this way you will always be "available" at least 8.75hrs EVERYDAY.

Companies that are not running you LONG HAUL--and putting dollars in your pocket---DO NOT get in the habit of doing "resets" for them AWAY from home. If they aren't scratching your back---don't reset "for" them---they
will take advantage of you---You'll set somewhere (while/where) there's "NO
FREIGHT" then when you have 70 hours again// They'll utilize you in a manner that you could have easily achieved just by "picking up" some hours at Midnite.

This is 34hr Business 101

(1) reset at home
(2) only reset on the road-if there's a certain "high odds" of a good pay-off by doing so.
example for: You've just been dispatched on a long run to the west coast---once you get out there---you know you're coming back across the country---this means MILES out there & back--you NEED hours for this.

example against: you're in Ohio, your company usually only dispatches you on Short- Medium hauls, and usually only short from OHIO.
It's Friday- you're almost out of hours today, tomorrow you're picking up
7hrs, Sunday 5hrs, Monday- 0 hrs. Don't look ahead at that 0 and figure-
I need a reset now. You'll still only be in Ohio when you come off that reset. And you could have moved many miles

Back to the west coast run;

you usually take a 10hr break each day; that means you only need to add 24 to it- and you got a fresh 70hrs to make money.

You drive for Shaffer-Your load of Hershy's candy delivers to Redlands, Ca on Friday, you're probably gonna reload right back out of there as soon as you drop/hook.. So you run your hours out early: IE- you run on
the front end of the schedule, early to rise run the miles- shut down for your 10's----that way you reach redlands early friday say 11am central time(you've just did that day's 11hrs driving---now is when you start your reset- you'll be coming off that reset at 10pm Saturday night.

Ok, here's another example: now usually under real conditions--you can't just pick and choose when/if you're gonna do a reset---ALL LOADS MUST DELIVER ON-TIME( you have to have the time to do the reset(34hrs) and still deliver the load.

So, I'll give you some hours here; tell me which combination of days is a good candidate for a reset.

Sun- 4.25
Mon- 8.25
Tues- 3.25
Wed- 9
Thru- 9.75
Frid- 7.75
Sat- 7.5 49.75 20.25
Sun ?????
Mon ????
Tues ????
Wed ????
Thru ????
Friday ????
Sat ???
__________________________________________________

 

Sun- 4.25
Mon- 8.25
Tues- 3.25
Wed- 9
Thru- 9.75
Frid- 7.75
Sat- 7.5
the last 7 days totals = 49.75

I have 20.25 hours availablke for today so there is no need to restart and I have every option to take a load. I will onlyl gain 4.25 hours tonight, however them hours will only help me on the "next" days total and the night after I gain 8.25 hours. So I feel I could keep going on runs .
Yeah me I am making money!

 

Correct me if I'm wrong......didn't they do away with the 34 hour restart after it was appealed? If so, when do we go back to the old rules?

I've haven't been keeping up, so that was the last news I have heard about this.

Thanks for the info.