Staying In Compliance With Meal And Rest Breaks – The Qualms Of A CDL Tanker Driver

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Rest and Meal breaks as a #hazmat #tankerdriver can get hectic to manage, especially when faced with #DOT parking protocols, limitation of distance a driver can travel away from the truck, ELD and GPS time and movement, and a handful of other restrictions, not to mention commitment actions such as loading and unloading.


According to California Labor Law[1], a commercial driver[2] may be 'REQUIRED' to take up to 2 Meal periods and 4 Rest periods during a typical 12-16 hour work day.

Break #1 must be taken inside of the window of Clock-in to 4 hours and 00 minutes.

Break #2 must be taken inside of the window of hour 4 and 01 minute to hour 8 and 00 minutes.

Break #3 must be taken inside of the window of hour 8 and 01 minute to hour 12 and 00 minutes.

Break #4 must be taken inside of the window of hour 12 and 01 minute to hour 16 and 00 minutes.

Meal #1 must be taken inside of the window of hour 3 and 30 minute to hour 5 and 59 minutes.

Meal #2 must be taken inside of the window of hour 10 and 30 minute to hour 12 and 59 minutes.

However, there's help to sort this mess out and avoid NON-COMPLIANCE and possible corrective action since we are all self supervising.

Download the handy LOAD TRACKER sheet for #GasolineTankerDrivers[3]. Available as a free printable PDF.

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The #BreakTimeCalculator can be found as an online form[4]

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Be sure to use these resources to increase your productivity and reduce risk during your day.


Be well, stay safe and keep your hands dirty!


[1] https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_mealperiods.htm


[2] “Commercial driver” means an employee who operates a vehicle described in Section 260 or 462 of, or subdivision (b) of Section 15210 of, the Vehicle Code.


[3] http://www.safetyninja.us/


[4] http://www.safetyninja.us/

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