Passenger-Carrier Hours Before a Late Charter
You are a passenger-carrier driver operating interstate. You reported on duty at 06:30 and drove 3 hours 15 minutes to the first stop. You spent 1 hour 15 minutes helping load passengers and baggage, then drove another 2 hours 30 minutes. You then took a 1-hour off-duty lunch. It is now 14:30. Your dispatcher asks you to take a 4-hour charter that would leave at 19:00. Your records show 56 hours 30 minutes on duty in the last 7 days. You had 9 hours off before reporting at 06:30. The company uses the 60-hour/7-day rule. No other driver is available, the coach is ready, and the customer refuses to delay. Your log is up to date. You are at the terminal.
1. Calculate your remaining driving and on-duty time under the 10-hour, 15-hour, and 60-hour rules. Show each limit and identify which limit controls the 19:00 departure.
Read the worked answer
First total the day so far:
- Driving: 3:15 + 2:30 = 5:45.
- On-duty not driving: 1:15 loading.
- Off-duty lunch: 1:00; this does not count toward the 15-hour on-duty window.
- On duty from 06:30 to 14:30 = 8:00 elapsed.
10-hour driving limit: 10:00 − 5:45 = 4:15 of driving remaining.
15-hour on-duty limit: 06:30 + 15:00 = 21:30. From 14:30 to 21:30 is 7:00, but the charter does not start until 19:00. From 19:00 to 21:30 is only 2:30. The 1-hour lunch does not extend this window.
60-hour/7-day limit: 60:00 − 56:30 = 3:30 of on-duty time remaining in the 7-day period.
At 19:00, the 15-hour limit allows only 2:30 before 21:30, while the 60-hour limit allows 3:30. The 15-hour limit controls the departure, so the 4-hour charter cannot be completed as planned. The 10-hour driving limit is not the binding limit.
2. What options do you present to dispatch, and what would it take to be able to work a full 4-hour charter later?
Read the worked answer
Tell dispatch the arithmetic: starting at 19:00 leaves only 2:30 before the 15-hour window closes at 21:30, and the 4-hour charter would run to 23:00. The 60-hour total also leaves only 3:30 of on-duty time, so even a shorter charter must fit inside that. A 1-hour lunch does not reset anything.
Options:
- Assign another driver who has hours available.
- Split or shorten the charter so it ends by 21:30 and stays within the 3:30 of remaining 60-hour time.
- Delay the charter until after you have had 8 consecutive hours off. That would reset the 10-hour and 15-hour limits, but it would not reset the 60-hour/7-day total. You would still have only 3:30 of on-duty time unless you qualify for a 34-hour restart or the records change.
- Use a 34-hour restart if the operation and schedule allow it; otherwise another driver is required for a full 4-hour trip.
Do not falsify the log or label the lunch as a split that extends the 15-hour window. Document the refusal and the reason.