Truck driver schedule: the hours, the week and the home time
By Evan DavidsonUpdated Sources checked
The rules that set every schedule
A truck driver schedule is not up to the driver or the boss alone. Federal hours of service rules set the frame for property-carrying drivers 49 CFR 395.3 Maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicleseCFR (Office of the Federal Register), 2026. Checked 2026-10-10.Open the source:
| Rule | Limit |
|---|---|
| Off duty before driving | 10 consecutive hours |
| Driving per shift | Up to 11 hours |
| Driving window | Must fit inside 14 hours from coming on duty |
| Break | 30 minutes after 8 hours of driving |
| Weekly on-duty cap | 60 hours in 7 days, or 70 hours in 8 days |
| Weekly restart | 34 consecutive hours off resets the count |
Drivers with a sleeper berth can split the 10 hours off into two pieces, one of at least 7 hours in the sleeper and the other at least 2, totaling 10 or more 49 CFR 395.1(g)(1) Sleeper berths, property-carrying vehicleseCFR (Office of the Federal Register), 2026. Checked 2026-10-10.Open the source. That flexibility is how drivers fit naps around a dock appointment or traffic.
Since December 18, 2017, most drivers record these hours on an electronic logging device 49 CFR 395.8(a)(1) Driver's record of duty statuseCFR (Office of the Federal Register), 2017. Checked 2026-10-11.Open the source, so the schedule is tracked to the minute.
How many hours a week do truck drivers work?
The weekly cap is 60 hours in 7 days or 70 in 8 49 CFR 395.3 Maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicleseCFR (Office of the Federal Register), 2026. Checked 2026-10-10.Open the source. BLS notes that most heavy truck drivers work full time Heavy and Tractor-trailer Truck Drivers: Work EnvironmentU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025. Checked 2026-10-11.Open the source, and in practice the week often runs long. On-duty time includes more than driving: inspections, fueling, loading, waiting at a dock and paperwork all count.
Here is how a long-haul week can use those hours. This is an EXAMPLE, not a typical or required week:
- Driving
- 5 days x 10 hours
- Inspections, fueling, paperwork
- 5 days x 1 hour
- Waiting at docks
- 8 hours
- Total on duty
- 63 hours
- Room left under 70 in 8 days
- 7 hours
- Next step
- a 34-hour restart before the next week
Notice the dock time. Waiting to load or unload counts against the driver's hours even when the truck isn't moving, which is why detention time matters so much to drivers' days and pay.
How often are truck drivers home?
| Job type | Typical home time | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Local | Most nights | Routes start and end at the same yard |
| Regional | Weekends or every few days | Runs stay inside a few states |
| Dedicated | Often a set pattern | One customer's lanes repeat every week |
| Over the road (OTR) | Out one to several weeks, then home for a few days | Loads go wherever freight goes |
| Team | Varies; the truck rarely stops | Two drivers share one truck around the clock |
BLS puts it plainly: long-haul drivers can be away from home for days or weeks at a time Heavy and Tractor-trailer Truck Drivers: Work EnvironmentU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025. Checked 2026-10-11.Open the source. A recruiter's "home weekly" can mean a 34-hour reset at home, not two full days off, so ask what it means at that company.
The types of truck drivers guide compares these jobs on pay and lifestyle as well as home time.
A week, three ways
Over the road. An OTR driver might leave home on Sunday evening, run a long load across several states on Monday, deliver and reload on Tuesday, and keep going until a 34-hour restart the next weekend, at home if the freight allows and at a truck stop if it doesn't. Our OTR truck driver guide has a day-by-day example.
Local. A local driver might start at 5 AM, run four or five stops in a day cab and be home for dinner. The days are shorter on miles and longer on loading. Tap a day:
Regional. Somewhere between: two or three nights out, then home, with runs of a few hundred miles. Many drivers move from OTR to regional once they have experience, trading some miles for more nights at home.
Nights, sleep and the clock
Freight doesn't keep office hours, so many schedules flip between day and night. A driver might deliver at 6 AM on Tuesday and pick up at 11 PM on Wednesday. The hours rules limit how long a driver can work, but they don't fix the time of day, and switching back and forth is one of the hardest parts of the job for many people.
Drivers who handle it well tend to protect a regular sleep block when they can, use the sleeper berth split to rest before a night pickup, and plan parking early. Long-haul trucks are a sleeping room as well as a workplace, which is why sleeper comfort matters so much to the people who live in them.
Questions to ask about a schedule before you take a job
- How many nights out is a typical week for drivers on this account right now?
- What does "home weekly" mean here: a 34-hour reset at home, or two full days?
- Are start times fixed, or do they move with the freight?
- Is waiting time at docks paid, and after how long?
- How much notice do drivers get for a schedule change?
- Can I see a recent month of a current driver's schedule?
Recruiters describe the best version of a job. Current drivers describe the usual one.
What the hours mean in miles
Eleven hours of driving doesn't mean 11 hours at highway speed. Traffic, weather, fuel stops and the 30-minute break all cut into it. Our guide to how many miles truck drivers drive per day works through what a day of driving usually adds up to.
If you want to check a specific day, the hours of service calculator shows when the 11-hour and 14-hour clocks run out from your start time and breaks.
Schedules for owner-operators
A company driver's schedule is set by dispatch and the freight. An owner-operator's is set by the same rules and the same freight, plus their own choices: which loads to take, when to go home, when to reset. That freedom is real and it has a cost, because a week off is a week without revenue while the truck payment and insurance still come due.
The best schedule for an owner-operator usually comes from planning backward from home time. Pick the day you want to be home, then look for loads that end near home that day, then work out what leads into them. That is how our dispatchers plan a week: home time first, then the loads that fit it, with every load offered to you for a yes or no. See how dispatch for owner-operators works.
More on the job itself is in our truck driver pillar guide.
Sources: eCFR, 49 CFR 395.3 Maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles (2026); eCFR, 49 CFR 395.1(g)(1) Sleeper berths, property-carrying vehicles (2026); eCFR, 49 CFR 395.8(a)(1) Driver's record of duty status (2017); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Heavy and Tractor-trailer Truck Drivers: Work Environment (2025).
Questions people ask
CH 01How many hours a week do truck drivers work?
Federal rules cap on-duty time for property-carrying drivers at 60 hours in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 days, depending on whether the carrier operates every day of the week. A 34-hour break restarts that count. Within those caps, real weeks vary: many long-haul drivers work close to the limit, while local drivers often have shifts closer to a standard workweek plus overtime-length days.
CH 02How often are truck drivers home?
It depends on the job. Local drivers are usually home every night. Regional drivers are often home on weekends or every few days. Over-the-road drivers can be out for one to several weeks before a block of days at home, and BLS notes long-haul drivers can be away for days or weeks. Dedicated routes often have the most predictable home time.
CH 03Do truck drivers work weekends?
Many do. Freight moves seven days a week, and long-haul drivers often spend weekends on the road or resetting their hours at a truck stop. Local and dedicated jobs are more likely to have weekends off, though grocery and retail routes often run Saturdays. If weekends matter to you, ask a recruiter for the actual schedule of current drivers, not the ideal one.
CH 04What is the 14-hour rule for truck drivers?
Once a property-carrying driver comes on duty after at least 10 hours off, they have a 14-hour window to do their driving, and they may drive up to 11 hours inside it. Breaks taken during the window don't stop the clock, with limited exceptions such as a qualifying sleeper berth split. When the 14 hours are up, the driver can't drive again until another 10 hours off.