If you are finding this page and wondering where in the CDL manual the hours of service section is you can stop looking. The last time I checked it was not in there. The DOT hours of service information is not on the CDL test but if you are studying to get your CDL this is one of the things you will be required to know as a driver.
You can find the current new hours of service regulations and study the information here. After you think you have it all down come back to this site and test your knowledge. As a truck driver you will be governed by these Hours of Service Regulations each and every day whether you are working or not. The new hours of service regulations are one of the most important things a new truck driver can learn.
What makes these DOT hours of service so important? Try to think about it like this. If you get into trucking and you break these rules you will be fined heavily. That is not the biggest risk for a truck driver though, going to prison is. Imagine that you are an hour away from getting home on for your weekend for Christmas. The wife and kids are waiting for you and you promised them all you will be there. You know you can make it but you will be out of time on your log book to do it legally by about an hour. You are going to go anyway because you have done it many times before and never had a problem.
What happens if some dumb teenager drives up under your truck while they are screwing around? Long story short, you are going to prison. Truck drivers are frowned upon by the public in general and an accident while driving over the hours of service limits is viewed the same as being intoxicated and the sentences can be even more sever in most cases. Learn the hours of service regulations and understand the penalties. Do not ever let some dispatcher or the desire to be home on time put you in a situation where you could be spending half the rest of your life in a state penitentiary. The DOT hours of service regulations are that important!
