Pacific Southwest Region

Driving Regulations

Incident Operations Driving

These standards address driving by personnel actively engaged in wildland fire or all-risk response activities, including driving while assigned to a specific incident or during initial attack fire response (includes time required to control the fire and travel to a rest location). In the absence of more restrictive agency policy, these guidelines will be followed during mobilization and demobilization as well. Individual agency driving policies shall be consulted for all other non-incident driving.

  1. Agency resources assigned to an incident or engaged in initial attack fire response will adhere to the current agency work/rest policy for determining length of duty day
  2. No driver will drive more than 10 hours (behind the wheel) within any duty-day
  3. Multiple drivers in a single vehicle may drive up to the duty-day limitation provided no driver exceeds the individual driving (behind the wheel) time limitation of 10 hours
  4. A driver shall drive only if they have had at least 8 consecutive hours off duty before beginning a shift.
    5. Exception: Exception to the minimum off-duty hour requirement is allowed when essential to:
    • accomplish immediate and critical suppression objectives, or
    • address immediate and critical firefighter or public safety issues
  5. As stated in the current agency work/rest policy, documentation of mitigation measures used to reduce fatigue is required for drivers who exceed 16 hour work shifts. This is required regardless of whether the driver was still compliant with the 10 hour individual (behind the wheel) driving time limitations

Emergency Incident Hours of Driving

For all incidents requiring the response of a fire protection organization's attack or support units:

  1. No driver will drive more than 10 hours (behind the wheel) within any duty-day
  2. Multiple drivers in a single vehicle may drive up to the duty-day limitation
    3. provided no driver exceeds the individual driving (behind the wheel) time limitation of 10 hours
  3. To manage fatigue, every effort should be made to conduct mobilization and demobilization travel between 0500 hours and 2200 hours
  4. Fatigue counter measures beyond those required by this policy should be employed when conditions require them. These may include, but are not limited to:
    • Providing additional drivers operating within the appropriate duty-day limitations
    • Reducing duty-day limitations
    • Expanded rest requirements
    • Alternate travel methods
  5. Non-CDL: For non-Commercial Driving License (CDL) driving, current national interagency 2-to-1 work-rest policy applies. Duty-day will NOT exceed 16 hours
    6. Exception: Exceptions to work-rest and duty-day limitations in this category are allowed ONLY IF in response to initial attack, AND where essential to:
    • accomplish immediate and critical suppression objections, or
    • address immediate and critical firefighter or public safety issues, and ONLY IF prior approval is granted and documented by the Agency Administrator responsible for the incident. Mobilization, other than for initial attack, and demobilization are neither immediate nor critical activities
  6. CDL: All driving requiring CDL will be performed in accordance with applicable Department of Transportation regulations found in 49 CFR 383 and 390-397
    • No driver of a vehicle requiring a CDL will drive the vehicle after 15 hours on duty during any duty-day
    • Exception:An additional 2 hours of driving time may be added if: a driver encounters adverse driving conditions, unforeseen emergency situations(breakdown), or to ensure the safety of personnel. Drivers are responsible to follow these policies and it is the supervisor's responsibility to ensure that employees adhere to the proper driving limitations and monitor employee fatigue

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