Hours of Service Violations in Arizona

Other Hours of Service Rules

49 CFR 395.3 container other rules regarding hours of service:

A commercial driver carrying property may not drive if “more than 8 hours have passed since the end of the driver’s last off-duty or sleeper-berth period of at least 30 minutes.” There are some exceptions to this rule if the driver is engaging in short-haul operations.

And

A commercial driver carrying property may not drive if he has “been on duty for 60 hours in any period of 7 consecutive days if the employing motor carrier operates motor vehicles every day of the week.”

And

A commercial driver carrying property may not drive is he has “been on duty 70 hours in any period of 8 consecutive days if the employing motor carrier operates commercial motor vehicles every day of the week.”

An hours of service violation will usually be discovered when a commercial driver is pulled over by law enforcement. The law enforcement officer will ask to see the driver’s logbook and will look carefully for violations of this rule.

Penalties for an hours of service violation in Arizona

In Arizona, a conviction for an hours of service violation is a class 2 misdemeanor according to A.R.S. 28-5240, which states:

A. In addition to civil penalties imposed under this chapter, a motor carrier, shipper or manufacturer who operates or causes to be operated a commercial motor vehicle in violation of this chapter or who knowingly violates or knowingly fails to comply with any provision of this chapter or with any rule adopted pursuant to this chapter is guilty of:

1. A class 2 misdemeanor for a first offense.

2. A class 1 misdemeanor for a second offense.

3. A class 6 felony for any subsequent offense.

For a first offense, which would be charged as a class 2 misdemeanor, there is the potential for up to a $750 fine plus surcharges of $630, up to 4 months in jail, and probation. In practice, jail time and probation are unlikely.

We have seen instances where this is charged as a civil violation. In that case, the violation number is preceeded with an “FMC” rather than a “CFR”.

Most hours of service violations carry 7 CSA points as well.

Defending against an hours of service violation in Arizona

First, we are looking for a legal argument. In other words, was the driver actually in compliance with the hours of service rules? During a criminal case, we have the opportunity to review the evidence against the driver and interview the police officer.

If there is no legal argument, sometimes we can still negotiate an improved outcome. This could mean negotiating the charge from a criminal charge to a civil charge, or negotiating the charge to something that is not reportable. Sometimes we can resolve a case through diversion or deferred prosecution. Diversion means the prosecution pauses prosecuting the case and the driver jumps through some hoops like taking a class and not getting any new tickets for a period of time. Then if the driver successfully does those things, the prosecution dismisses the case.