The number of days a truck driver works each week is variable, governed by federal mandates and the distance of their routes. The schedule balances maximizing productivity with complying with strict safety regulations designed to prevent driver fatigue. While some drivers maintain a predictable five-day work week, most operate on a cycle involving five to seven consecutive workdays, followed by a mandatory, extended rest period. Understanding these legal limitations is necessary to grasp how different job types, such as local delivery versus long-haul trips, translate into distinct weekly schedules.
The Legal Maximum: Federal Hours of Service Regulations
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) establishes the legal boundaries for a driver’s workday through its Hours of Service (HOS) regulations. These rules define the maximum amount of time a commercial driver can be on duty and behind the wheel within a single shift. The core daily constraint is the 11-hour driving limit, which dictates that a driver can operate a commercial motor vehicle for no more than 11 hours following 10 consecutive hours off duty.
This driving time is contained within a larger 14-hour duty window, which begins when the driver first comes on duty. The driver must complete all work, driving or non-driving, within this 14-hour period. Off-duty time taken during the day does not pause this countdown, making the window a hard limit on the workday’s length. Once the 14-hour window closes, the driver must take 10 consecutive hours off duty before starting a new shift.
Scheduling by Job Type: Local, Regional, and OTR Driving
The application of HOS rules results in different weekly routines depending on the type of freight transportation. Local drivers operate within a short radius and often experience a schedule similar to traditional employment. They typically work five days per week, frequently Monday through Friday, allowing them to be home every night and enjoy weekends off. However, their shifts often utilize the full 14-hour duty window.
Regional drivers cover routes that span multiple states but are generally short enough to allow them to return home every few nights or at least by the end of the week. This type of work often translates into a schedule of five to six consecutive days on the road. These drivers strategically manage their hours to ensure they hit their destination and make it back to their terminal before exhausting their weekly time limits, balancing driving time with the need for a weekend reset at home.
Over-the-Road (OTR) drivers, who specialize in long-haul freight, operate on a schedule designed to maximize the legal limits of work time, often resulting in the longest stretches of consecutive workdays. An OTR driver may work seven consecutive days, or close to it, to move freight across the country as quickly as possible. Since OTR drivers rarely return home during the week, their mandatory time off is typically spent at a truck stop or terminal away from their residence, resetting their work clock before the next long trip begins.
Understanding the Weekly Limits and Required Reset
Daily work limits are further constrained by cumulative weekly limits, which ultimately determine how many consecutive days a driver can work. The FMCSA enforces a 60/70-hour rule, which limits a driver to a maximum of 60 hours on duty in any seven consecutive days or 70 hours on duty in any eight consecutive days. Once a driver reaches these cumulative limits, they are prohibited from driving until their hours drop back below the threshold.
To fully reset their weekly clock and start fresh with 60 or 70 hours available, a driver must utilize the 34-hour restart provision. This provision requires at least 34 consecutive hours off duty, which effectively serves as the driver’s extended break after maximizing their work time.
The 34-hour restart allows the driver to begin a new 7- or 8-day cycle immediately. Without this minimum rest period, the driver must wait for the hours worked earlier in the week to cycle out of the 7- or 8-day calculation. This mechanism dictates the number of non-working days a driver has in their rotation.
The Reality of Non-Driving Work Time
A driver’s workday is not solely composed of time spent behind the wheel, which complicates the calculation of their effective driving days. Any activity performed for the motor carrier counts against the 14-hour duty window, including mandatory pre-trip and post-trip inspections, fueling the vehicle, and completing necessary paperwork. These non-driving tasks consume valuable time that could otherwise be used for moving freight.
A significant portion of non-driving time is spent waiting for cargo, known as detention time, particularly during the loading and unloading process at shipping and receiving docks. This time can often last for several hours, yet it subtracts directly from the 14-hour duty window and cannot be extended. Consequently, a driver might only log eight actual driving hours during a 14-hour shift because six hours were spent on non-driving, on-duty tasks.
Non-driving work has a direct impact on the number of calendar days required to complete a long-distance trip. A route that might theoretically be completed in three driving days could easily stretch into four or five calendar days due to hours lost to loading delays and mandatory rest breaks.