Hours of Service Trip Planner
This hours of service trip planner works out a legal arrival time by adding a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving and a 10-hour rest whenever the 11-hour or 14-hour limit runs out, then compares it with your appointment.
Figures and rules checked October 29, 2026
This hours of service trip planner estimates when you'll arrive if you drive a trip legally under the federal rules for property-carrying drivers. Enter the miles, your average speed, when you start, the hours you have left and the delivery appointment. It adds the 30-minute breaks and 10-hour rests the rules require and tells you whether you'll make the appointment.
It's built for the question every driver asks before accepting a load: can I get there on time without breaking my clock?
Hours of service trip planner
Days count from the day you start. The example is a made-up two-day run.
Legal plan arrives 4 h 48 min before the appointment.
How to use the trip planner
- Trip miles. From your routing tool, using truck routes. Add the empty miles if you're starting away from the shipper.
- Average speed. Not the speed limit. Your real average including traffic, construction, scales and city miles. Your ELD history on similar runs is the best guide. Many drivers average 45 to 55 mph over a long trip.
- Start time and stops. When your 14-hour window starts, and the on-duty time for loading, fueling and inspections. The planner puts that time at the start of the trip.
- Your clock. Copy the hours left from your ELD. If you're coming off a 10-hour break, that's 11 driving and 14 window hours.
- The appointment. Pick the day and time from the rate confirmation.
The rules the planner applies
These are the main limits for property-carrying drivers in 49 CFR 395.3, summarized by FMCSA in its hours of service summary:
| Rule | Limit | What the planner does |
|---|---|---|
| 11-hour driving limit | 11 hours of driving after 10 hours off duty | Stops driving at 11 and adds a 10-hour rest |
| 14-hour window | No driving after the 14th hour since coming on duty. Off-duty time doesn't extend it | Counts stops and breaks against the window, then adds a 10-hour rest |
| 30-minute break | Required after 8 hours of driving without a 30-minute interruption | Adds a 30-minute break after each 8 hours of driving |
| 60/70-hour limit | No driving after 60 hours in 7 days or 70 in 8 days, until a 34-hour restart | Adds a 34-hour restart if your cycle runs out on the trip |
It doesn't use the sleeper berth split, the adverse driving conditions extension or the short-haul exception. Those can sometimes get you there sooner, but they have conditions you have to meet. Our guide on planning loads around your hours of service explains when each one helps.
Worked examples
All made-up trips. The first is the calculator's example.
- 1,180 miles at 52 mph, starting 6:00 AM on day 1. About 22 hours 42 minutes of driving. After 1.5 hours loading, the driver runs 8 hours, takes a break, runs 3 more and hits the 14-hour window. After a 10-hour rest, it's 8 hours, a break and 3 more, then another rest. The truck arrives early on day 3, ahead of an 8:00 AM appointment.
- Same trip with only 20 cycle hours left. The cycle runs out on day 2, so a 34-hour restart goes in the middle. The legal arrival slides well past the day 3 appointment. That's a load to turn down, or to move the appointment before booking.
- 450 miles at 50 mph, starting at 2:00 PM after a long morning. With 5 window hours left and no stops, the driver gets 5 hours of driving before the window closes at 7:00 PM, then a 10-hour rest, then drives the last 4 hours the next morning. A load that looks like "one shift" turns into two days.
How to read your result
| Result | What to do |
|---|---|
| Arrives with 3 or more hours to spare | Book it. You have room for traffic and weather |
| Arrives with under 2 hours to spare | Tight. One slow dock or a closed road and you're late. Ask for a later appointment or a wider window |
| Misses the appointment | Don't plan to make it up by pushing your clock. Ask the broker to move the appointment, or pass |
| A 34-hour restart in the plan | Your cycle is the problem, not the miles. Look for a shorter load that fits the hours you have |
Long waits at the shipper eat your window too. If you're already at the dock, the detention pay calculator shows what the wait is worth, and this planner shows what it does to your arrival.
Common mistakes
- Using the speed limit as your average. Nobody averages 65 over 1,000 miles. Use your real history.
- Forgetting the loading time. Two hours at the shipper are two hours off your 14.
- Forgetting the empty miles to the shipper. They count as driving time, so add them to the trip miles.
- Assuming a break pauses the window. It doesn't. Only the split sleeper berth provision can, under its own rules.
- Ignoring the cycle. The 70-hour limit catches drivers on the fourth or fifth day of a busy week.
- Treating the plan as exact. It's an estimate. Your ELD is the record that counts.
Planning loads around your clock
Hours are money. A load that fits your clock lets you deliver, reset and reload on schedule. One that doesn't means a missed appointment, a broker who won't call back, or a rushed trip. That's why our dispatchers check your hours before offering a load, along with the rate and the reload. See what a dispatcher does all day or how we work with owner-operators.
To see whether a load that fits your hours also pays, put it through the load profit calculator, which shows profit per hour, and the rate per mile calculator. Reefer loads with tight delivery windows are where this check matters most, which is why it's built into our reefer dispatch. The glossary entry on hours of service has the short version of the rules.
A planning aid, not a log. It covers the federal property-carrying rules only. State rules for intrastate driving and any exemption you use can change the answer.
Trip planner questions
Does the trip planner use the sleeper berth split?▾
No. It uses straight 10-hour rests. A valid split can sometimes get you there sooner, but it has conditions you need to plan for yourself.
Does a 30-minute break stop my 14-hour clock?▾
No. Off-duty time inside the window doesn't extend it. Only the split sleeper berth provision can pause it, under its own rules.
What average speed should I use for trip planning?▾
Your real average from past trips, including traffic, scales and city miles. Many drivers average 45 to 55 mph over a long run.
What if the planner shows a 34-hour restart?▾
Your 60 or 70-hour cycle runs out during the trip. Look for a shorter load or a later appointment that fits the hours you have.
Ready to get your truck loaded?
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