Compliance
HOS (Hours of Service)
HOS rules limit how many hours a commercial driver can drive and be on duty before mandatory rest. They're enforced via the ELD.
Hours of Service are the federal driving and rest limits set by the FMCSA for property-carrying commercial motor vehicles. The core rules: 11 hours of driving after 10 consecutive hours off, a 14-hour on-duty window, a mandatory 30-minute break after 8 cumulative hours of driving, and a 60-hour/7-day or 70-hour/8-day cycle.
Modern flexibility provisions include the split-sleeper berth (7/3 or 8/2), the adverse driving conditions exception (+2 hours), and the short-haul exception. Drivers in passenger-carrying CMVs are on a separate, slightly different cycle.
Carriers should monitor HOS in real time — a single 'driving over 11 hours' violation in a CSA Unsafe Driving review can severely raise insurance and put a fleet into intervention.
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Hayes combines a DOT-aware ATS, dispatch, EDI, and document compliance — built for carriers who don't want five logins.
Related terms
Compliance
ELD (Electronic Logging Device)
An ELD is the FMCSA-mandated device that automatically records a commercial driver's hours of service from the truck's engine.
Safety
CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability)
CSA is the FMCSA's safety scoring program. It rolls roadside inspections and crashes into seven BASIC categories that shape audits and insurance.
Compliance
DOT Number
A DOT number is the unique identifier the FMCSA assigns to every interstate commercial motor carrier in the United States.