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Level 1: Getting started · Lesson 4 of 17

Planning with the clock

The most common question on the desk is simple: can this driver make it? Answering it well takes four numbers: the miles, the driver's available driving hours, the 14-hour window left and the appointment time.

Start with miles. Most desks plan on about 50 miles per hour of driving on open interstate, less through cities, mountains and bad weather. That's an average that includes slowdowns, not the speed limit. So 11 hours of driving is roughly 500 to 550 miles a day, and a truck with one driver covers about 2,500 to 3,000 miles in a good week.

Then add the stops the rules and the truck need: a 30-minute break, about 30 minutes for each fuel stop, time at the shipper or receiver, and a 10-hour break each day. A 1,000-mile run with one driver is two driving days, not one long one.

Work it from the appointment backward. If delivery is 8 a.m. Thursday, 600 miles away, the driver needs about 12 hours of driving, which means a 10-hour break somewhere in the middle. Count back: when does he need to leave to drive, rest and still arrive with a little slack?

Always leave slack. Traffic, weather, a slow scale or a long fuel line will eat an hour without asking. A plan that only works if everything goes right is a plan that fails one day in three, and the driver is the one who gets blamed at the dock.

On the desk

A driver is 440 miles from the receiver. Planning at 50 mph, about how many hours of driving is that?

More info

Terms in this lesson

Planning speedAbout 50 mph average on open interstate, including slowdowns.
Available hoursWhichever is smallest: driving left on the 11, time left on the 14, or hours left on the 60/70.
SlackSpare time in a plan for traffic, weather and delays.
Door to doorTotal time from pickup to delivery including breaks and stops, not just driving.

The scenario answers

  1. A driver is 440 miles from the receiver. Planning at 50 mph, about how many hours of driving is that? About 9 hours. 440 ÷ 50 = 8.8, so about 9 hours of driving. Add a 30-minute break and a fuel stop and it's close to 10 hours door to door.
  2. A driver has 4 hours of driving left on her 11, but only 2 hours left on her 14. How long can she drive? 2 hours. She's bound by whichever limit runs out first. With 2 hours left on the 14-hour window, she has 2 hours of driving no matter what the 11 says.
  3. A driver with a full 11 hours is 650 miles from a delivery due tomorrow at 7 a.m. It's 3 p.m. now. Can he make it? No: 13 hours of driving needs a 10-hour break in the middle, so he'd arrive hours late. 650 miles at 50 mph is 13 hours of driving, more than his 11. He needs a 10-hour break somewhere, so 13 driving hours plus 10 off plus breaks lands him well after 7 a.m. Tell the planner now so the appointment can be moved or the load swapped.
  4. A driver has 18 hours left on her 70 and wants to know if she can run 2,000 miles this week before her restart. What's the problem? 2,000 miles is about 40 hours of driving, far more than 18 hours on duty. At 50 mph, 2,000 miles is about 40 driving hours. With 18 on-duty hours left, she can run maybe 800 miles, unless she takes a 34-hour restart first or her recap gives hours back.
  5. Why should a plan include slack time before an appointment? Because traffic, weather and fuel stops rarely go exactly to plan. A plan with zero slack fails whenever anything goes wrong, and then you're asking a driver to rush. An hour or two of slack on a long run is normal.

General training, not legal or compliance advice. Rules are the US federal ones (FMCSA) as of 2026; check the current text and your company’s policies.