US rules

When does my driver need a 34-hour restart?

A 34-hour restart is 34 hours off duty in a row. It clears the US cycle. A driver only needs one when they are out of US cycle hours, or will be before the run ends.

What drivers say

“You always need a 34 before you go into the States.”

What the rules say

No. A restart is only needed when the US cycle is used up. If the driver has cycle hours left for the whole run, no restart is needed. A restart that is cut short does not count at all.

Run a free checkTry this example

How it works

The restart must be 34 hours in a row, off duty or in the sleeper. Any work in the middle starts the count again.

A restart does not reset Canada's cycle. Canada needs 36 hours off in a row for Cycle 1 and 72 for Cycle 2.

BorderHOS does not return this as its own result. When a run breaks the US cycle, the result names the cycle limit and gives the time the restart ends as the earliest legal departure.

The rule

  • 34 or more consecutive hours off duty restarts the 7 or 8-day period.

    49 CFR 395.3(c)

Rule values checked against the regulations and verified by CVORReady Inc.

A worked example

A southbound run that needs a restart. The fix on the result is the restart.

Direction
Canada to US
Hours read at
08:00 EDT on Mon Oct 5
Came on duty at
06:00, after 10 h off
This shift so far
2 h driving, 2 h on duty, 2 h driving since the last break
Canadian cycle
Cycle 1 (70 hours in 7 days)
US cycle
70 hours in 8 days
On-duty hours
68 h in the last 7 days, 68 h in the last 8 days
24 hours off in a row in the last 14 days
Yes
The run
Leaves at 08:00, drives 30 m to the border, then 3 h after it

This is the answer the free check gives for these hours.

NO-GO

Not legal as planned. The run breaks the US 70-hour, 8-day cycle.

Why

Binding limit: US 70-hour, 8-day cycle (49 CFR 395.3(b)(2)). Hours worked on both sides of the border count toward it.

Read how this limit works

What makes this a GO

34 h off duty from 08:00, then depart at 18:00 EDT on Tue Oct 6 or later. The rest of the run stays the same.

At the border, under US rules

Driving left8 h 30 m
14-hour window left11 h 30 m
70-hour cycle left1 h 30 m
Driving before the 30-minute break5 h 30 m

Where the hours came from

Hours entered by hand.

BorderHOS is a planning aid. It does not replace your ELD, the driver's judgment, or the regulations. Results depend on the hours used.

How this was worked out
  1. Hours read at 08:00 on Mon Oct 5: 2 h driving and 2 h on duty this shift. Hours count under both countries' rules; only the rules change at the border.
  2. Departs 08:00, drives 30 m in Canada, crosses at 08:30, then 3 h in the US.
  3. At the border under US rules: 8 h 30 m of driving left, 11 h 30 m of the 14-hour window left, 1 h 30 m of the 70-hour cycle left.
  4. First limit broken: the US 70 hours in 8 days at 10:00, in the US.
  5. Earliest legal departure, resting off duty from 08:00: 18:00 on Tue Oct 6.
What this check does not cover
  • Sleeper-berth splits are not modeled.
  • Canadian deferral of daily off-duty time is not modeled.
  • Adverse driving conditions are not modeled.
  • Team drivers, north of 60, oil-well permits and short-haul exemptions are not modeled.
  • Border wait is not added. Time waiting in line counts as on duty.
  • The date of the driver's last 24 hours off was not given. It is assumed to fall within the last 14 days for the whole run.
  • Cycle hours are entered as totals, so hours that drop off day by day are not counted. With the driver's daily log the earliest time may be sooner.

Engine 1.0.1. Rule values 1.1.0, verified by CVORReady Inc.

Open this example in the free check and change the hours

What fixes it

  • Plan the restart before the US leg, counted from when the driver actually goes off duty.
  • Use the earliest legal departure on the result. It already includes the restart.

Related

The rules in full