How This Planner Handles Your Day
Deadhead miles need no special field. Hours of Service clocks run identically
whether the trailer is loaded or empty, so enter the driver's current ZIP as the origin and the
first pickup as Stop 1 — the opening leg is your deadhead, calculated with the same exact
Google Maps road miles as every other leg. That covers every deadhead between known points.
For the load you haven't booked yet, use the Next-Load Lookahead field: the plan keeps the
clocks running over your estimated empty miles and shows when the driver can be on site.
The Drivable Miles Left figure is the quick version — how far out you can shop the load
boards right now. Treat it as an upper bound: a required 30-minute break can shave it when
the 14-hour window is the binding clock.
Service time counts differently than driving. On-duty stop time (loading, unloading,
lumper work) consumes the 14-hour driving window and the 70-hour cycle, but not the 11-hour driving
limit — and under the FMCSA's September 2020 rule, any 30 or more consecutive non-driving minutes,
including dock time, satisfies the 30-minute break requirement. Working past the 14th hour is legal;
driving past it is not, so the planner inserts the mandatory 10-hour reset before the next leg.
Not modeled in this version: sleeper-berth splits (8/2, 7/3), the 60-hour/7-day cycle,
the 34-hour restart, adverse driving conditions, and the short-haul exception. Verify any borderline
plan against the FMCSA Hours of Service regulations at
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/hours-of-service.
Related freight tools: For a simple point-to-point ETA, use the
HOS Trip Planner.
To split this route's mileage per leg for invoicing and stop-off charges, use the
Multi-Stop Route Mileage Splitter.
If a shipper holds your driver past free time, bill it with the
Detention & Layover Fee Calculator.