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Recap Hours Explained: How the 60/70-Hour Rolling Window Really Works

Your weekly clock never resets on its own — it just keeps sliding. Here is exactly what counts, what falls out, and when.

The two weekly limits

49 CFR 395.3(b) sets two versions of the same rule:

"Consecutive days" are calendar days, and the window rolls: working on day D, the only on-duty hours that count are the ones logged in the prior 6 days (60-hour rule) or prior 7 days (70-hour rule) plus today. Everything older is out of the picture.

What "recap" actually is

Hours never "come back". Counting simply stops including old days. The hours you worked on day D−8 stop counting on day D — so from day D onward you effectively get that day's hours back. Worked example, 70/8 rule:

DayOn dutyEffect on your 70-hour pool
Mon11 hPool: 70 − 11 = 59 h
Tue11 hPool: 48 h
Wed11 hPool: 37 h
Thu11 hPool: 26 h
Fri11 hPool: 15 h
Sat11 hPool: 4 h — you are nearly done
Sun4 hPool: 0 h — no more driving
Mon (next)—Monday a week ago (11 h) falls out: you get 11 h back
Tue (next)—Tuesday a week ago falls out: +11 h more

That is the whole mechanic. It also explains the classic complaint on r/Truckers — "I took Sunday off, why didn't I get hours back?" — because a day off only helps once it is eight days old. Time off today does nothing for today's count.

What counts toward the 60/70

All on-duty time: driving, on-duty not driving, loading, inspections, PC in some carrier policies. Off-duty and sleeper-berth time never counts. The daily 11-hour driving limit and 14-hour window are separate clocks — recap math never adds driving time, no matter how cleverly you split your rest.

The only real reset: 34 hours

395.3(c) lets any 7- or 8-day period end with the beginning of 34 or more consecutive hours off duty. That wipes the count to zero — much faster than waiting for days to age out of the window. It is optional, not mandatory, and one minute of on-duty work breaks the run. See 34-hour reset vs recap for when each strategy wins.

Want the day-by-day forecast without doing it on paper? The 60/70-hour recap calculator takes your on-duty stretches and shows when each chunk returns, plus a 34-hour restart planner.

FAQ

What are recap hours?
Recap is driver slang for capacity that frees up when a day falls out of the rolling 7- or 8-day window. Under 49 CFR 395.3(b) you may not drive after 60 hours on duty in any 7 consecutive days (or 70 in 8). On day D, only the on-duty hours of the previous 6 or 7 days plus today count — when day D-8 (or D-7) drops out of the window, its hours stop counting.
Do recap hours come back all at once?
No. They free up day by day: the hours you worked on the day that just left the window become available again on that specific day. Drivers who worked 11 hours every day this week will not suddenly get 70 hours back — capacity returns in daily chunks.
Do sleeper berth splits affect recap hours?
No. The split sleeper provision only reworks your 10-hour daily reset and 14-hour window. Your 60/70-hour clock counts all on-duty time regardless of how you took your breaks — a split neither adds nor protects weekly hours.
Can recap hours be used if I am already over the limit?
Yes. Once you hit 60 or 70 hours you may not drive, but you may do on-duty-not-driving work. Each midnight that passes, the day dropping out of the window frees capacity again — that is the "recap" drivers wait for.

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Rule basis: 49 CFR 395.3(b)–(c), 49 CFR 395.5 via eCFR.

Basis & sources

Primary sources only — the statute, form or paper this page is built on.

Last reviewed 2026-10-26 · Report a correction

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