Your freight is moving along, across the highways, en route to a very tight delivery appointment window at your destination. Everything is on track — until the driver has to stop and spend the night at a truck stop because they’ve exceeded the number of hours they can drive in a given window. While the driver rests, your freight is at a standstill.

Regulations from the FMCSA keep drivers and those they share the roads with safe by making sure they are getting adequate rest. But the rules are complicated and ever-changing. There are exceptions, exemptions, and other factors that make figuring out these rules and when to apply them confusing:

Drivers can drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty
Drivers must not drive beyond 14 consecutive hours after coming on duty, following 10 consecutive hours off duty
Drivers must take a 30 minute beak after 8 straight hours of driving
Drivers cannot drive after 70 hours on duty within 8 consecutive days without first taking a 34 consecutive hours off
Provisions for adverse driving conditions and sleeper births exist, as do short-haul exceptions

Fortunately, when you trust Shaker Logistics with your freight, you don’t have to learn all these rules and stay on top of the changes — our expert team does that for you. We’re constantly reviewing these regulations and when we book loads that have a tight timeline, we know to ask and understand whether a driver can make it in one swoop before needing to stop, or how to build stop and break time into total transit time.

Whether our own fleet is hauling your freight (and thus of course abiding by these guidelines), or our brokerage team is arranging for a shipment with one of our partner carriers, we’re always making sure the transportation options we provide for customers are in compliance with the law while still meeting your needs for timing.

Reach out to us if you need help navigating complex transportation situations — we can help you MOVE AHEAD!