GAMUT Online : : Chapter 6.5. Motor Carrier Safety * Article 3. General Driving Requirements Drivers' Hours of Service. T13 1212

Chapter 6.5. Motor Carrier Safety * Article 3. General Driving Requirements Drivers' Hours of Service.

(a) General. The rules in this section and Sections 1212.5 and 1213 apply to all motor carriers and drivers, except as provided in paragraphs (b) through (l) of this section.

(b) Adverse driving conditions.

(1) A driver who encounters adverse driving conditions, as defined in Section 1201, and cannot, because of those conditions, safely complete the run within the maximum driving time permitted by Section 1212.5 may drive and be permitted or required to drive for not more than 2 additional hours in order to complete that run or to reach a place offering safety for vehicle occupants and security for the vehicle and its cargo. However, that driver may not drive or be permitted to drive:

(A) Interstate drivers: for more than 12 hours in the aggregate following eight consecutive hours off duty; or

(B) Intrastate drivers: for more than 14 hours in the aggregate following eight consecutive hours off duty; or

(2) Emergency conditions. In the event of a traffic accident, medical emergency, or disaster, a driver may complete his/her run without being in violation of the provisions of these regulations, if such run reasonably could have been completed absent the emergency.

(3) Relief Point. Bus drivers (other than school bus and school pupil activity bus drivers) in urban and suburban service may exceed their regulated hours in order to reach a regularly scheduled relief point, providing the additional time does not exceed one hour.

(c) Driver-salesperson. The provisions of Section 1212.5(b) shall not apply to any driver-salesperson whose total driving time does not exceed 40 hours in any period of seven consecutive days.

(d) Oilfield operations. (1) In the instance of drivers of commercial motor vehicles used exclusively in the transportation of oilfield equipment, including the stringing and picking up of pipe used in pipelines, and servicing of the field operations of the natural gas and oil industry, any period of eight consecutive days may end with the beginning of any off-duty period of 24 or more successive hours.

(2) In the case of specially trained drivers of motor vehicles which are specially constructed to service oil wells, on-duty time shall not include waiting time at a natural gas or oil well site; provided, that all such time shall be fully and accurately accounted for in records to be maintained by the motor carrier. Such records shall be made available upon request of any authorized employee of the department.

(e) 100 air-mile radius driver. A driver is exempt from the requirements of Section 1213 if:

(1) The driver operates within a 100 air-mile radius of the normal work reporting location;

(2) The driver, except a driver salesperson, returns to the work reporting location and is released from work within 12 consecutive hours;

(3) The driver of a school bus, school pupil activity bus, youth bus, or farm labor vehicle returns to the work reporting location and is released from work within 16 consecutive hours;

(4) At least eight consecutive hours off duty separate each 12 hours on duty;

(5) The interstate driver does not exceed ten hours maximum driving time following eight consecutive hours off duty; and

(6) The motor carrier that employs the driver maintains and retains for a period of six months accurate and true time records showing:

(A) The time the driver reports for duty each day;

(B) The total number of hours the driver is on duty each day;

(D) The total time for the preceding seven days in accordance with Section 1213(k)(2) for drivers used for the first time or intermittently.

(7) The permanent record produced by a time-recording device such as a tachograph (Figure 1) may be used as a driver's record for any tour of duty for an intrastate driver that does not exceed 15 consecutive hours or the 100 air-mile radius, provided the intrastate bus driver does not exceed ten hours and the intrastate truck driver does not exceed 12 hours maximum driving time following eight consecutive hours off duty, and the driver enters:

(A) The time the driver reports for duty each day;

(B) The previous day's time of going off duty; and

(f) Retail store deliveries. The provisions of Section 1212.5(a) and (b) shall not apply with respect to drivers of commercial motor vehicles engaged solely in making local deliveries from retail stores and/or retail catalog businesses to the ultimate consumer, when driving solely within a 100 air-mile radius of the driver's work-reporting location, during the period from December 10 to December 25, both inclusive, of each year.

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(g) Sleeper berths. (1) Drivers using sleeper berth equipment constructed and equipped in compliance with Section 1265 or who are off duty at a natural gas or oil well location, may accumulate the required eight consecutive hours off duty, as required by Section 1212.5, resting in a sleeper berth in two separate periods totaling eight hours, neither period to be less than two hours, or resting while off duty in other sleeping accommodations at a natural gas or oil well location.

(2) When two sleeper berth periods are used to accumulate the required eight consecutive hours off duty as permitted in this section, all driving time accumulated between the first and second sleeper berth periods shall be subtracted from the ten or 12 hours, as applicable, of driving time that the driver may drive in the new tour of duty that commences following the second sleeper berth period, and all on-duty and driving time between the first and second sleeper berth periods shall count toward the new 15-hour on-duty limit.

(h) Travel time. When a driver at the direction of the motor carrier is traveling, but not driving or assuming any other responsibility to the carrier, such time shall be counted as on-duty time unless the driver is afforded at least eight consecutive hours off duty when arriving at destination, in which case he/she shall be considered off duty for the entire period.

(i) Utility service vehicles. An intrastate driver employed by an electrical corporation, as defined in Section 218 of the Public Utilities Code, a gas corporation, as defined in Section 222 of that code, a telephone corporation, as defined in Section 234 of that code, a water corporation, as defined in Section 241 of that code, or a public water district, as defined in Section 20200 of the Water Code:

(1) May be permitted or required to drive more than the number of hours specified in Section 1212.5 while operating a public utility or public water district vehicle during the emergency restoration of service and related operations.

(2) Upon termination of the emergency and release of a driver from duty, the total on-duty hours accumulated by the driver during the most recent eight consecutive days shall be considered reset to zero upon the driver's completion of an off-duty period of 24 or more consecutive hours.

(j) Fire fighters. For drivers of vehicles owned and operated by any forestry or fire department of any public agency or fire department organized as provided in the Health and Safety Code:

(1) Section 1212.5 does not apply while involved in emergency and related operations.

(k) Farm products. (1) A driver when transporting farm products from the field to the first point of processing or packing, shall not drive for any period after having been on duty 16 hours or more following eight consecutive hours off duty and shall not drive for any period after having been on duty for 112 hours in any consecutive eight-day period, except that a driver transporting special situation farm products from the field to the first point of processing or packing, or transporting livestock from pasture to pasture, may be permitted, during one period of not more than 28 consecutive days or a combination of two periods totaling not more than 28 days in a calendar year, to drive for not more than 12 hours during any workday of not more than 16 hours. A driver who thereby exceeds the driving time limits specified in Section 1212.5(b)(2) shall maintain a driver's record of duty status, and shall keep a duplicate copy in his or her possession when driving a vehicle subject to this chapter. These records shall be presented immediately upon request by an authorized employee of the department, or any police officer or deputy sheriff.

(2) Upon the request of the Director of Food and Agriculture, the commissioner may, for good cause, temporarily waive the maximum on-duty time limits applicable to any eight-day period when an emergency exists due to inclement weather, natural disaster, or an adverse economic condition that threatens to disrupt the orderly movement of farm products during harvest for the duration of the emergency. For purposes of this paragraph, an emergency does not include a strike or labor dispute.

(3) For purposes of this subdivision, the following terms have the following meanings:

(A) "Farm Products" means every agricultural, horticultural, viticultural, or vegetable product of the soil, honey and beeswax, oilseeds, poultry, livestock, milk, or timber.

(B) "First point of processing or packing" means a location where farm products are dried, canned, extracted, fermented, distilled, frozen, ginned, eviscerated, pasteurized, packed, packaged, bottled, conditioned, or otherwise manufactured, processed, or preserved for distribution in wholesale or resale markets.

(C) "Special situation farm products" means fruit, tomatoes, sugar beets, grains, wine grapes, grape concentrate, cotton, or nuts.

(l) Law Enforcement. Sections 1212.5 and 1213 do not apply to intrastate drivers employed by a law enforcement agency during an emergency or when restoring the public peace.

Authority cited:

Vehicle Code 31401

Vehicle Code 34501

Vehicle Code 34501.2

Vehicle Code 34501.5

Vehicle Code 34508

Education Code 39831

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