The Hours of service (HOS) of commercial drivers are regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety. Drivers must maintain a daily 24-hour logbook Record of Duty Status documenting all work and rest periods. Hours-of-service rules could affect everything from a driver’s weekly paycheck to when a shipment from A arrives in B — and the origin-to-destination cost of that shipment for the shipper.
Truck drivers are paid according to many different methods. These include hourly salary. Piece work methods may include both a base rate and additional pay. Base rates compensate drivers by the mile or by the load. Mileage calculations vary from carrier to carrier. Hub miles pay the driver for every mile. Many of the largest long haul trucking companies pay their drivers according to short miles. Short miles are on average about ten percent less than actual miles but in some cases the difference can be as large as 50 percent.
Paid by the hour. Companies that traditionally paid by the mile have switched to hourly wages. Typical percentage among owner-operators pulling flatbed trailers is between 85-90 percent of line haul being paid to the driver. Additionally the driver may receive 100 percent of fuel surcharges and fees for extra pickups or drops or for tarping loads. Percentage of load is the simplest way of calculating what a driver and his truck will earn.
Paid by the hour. Regional and local drivers are usually paid by the hour.