Ready-mix concrete 30-minute break rule.

The rule in 395.1(t)

Paragraph (t) of 49 CFR 395.1 is headed "Ready-mixed concrete delivery vehicle." It reads: "A driver of a ready-mixed concrete delivery vehicle subject to the requirement for a 30-minute rest break in § 395.3(a)(3)(ii) may use 30-minutes or more of time spent while waiting with the commercial motor vehicle at a job site or terminal to meet the requirement for the 30-minute rest break, providing the driver performs no other work during the break."

It does not remove the break requirement. It lets a certain kind of idle time count toward it. A concrete driver who waits for the crew to be ready would otherwise have to find a separate 30 minutes; (t) says that waiting can be the break.

Which vehicles

Section 395.2 defines the term: "Ready-mixed concrete delivery vehicle means a vehicle designed to deliver ready-mixed concrete on a daily basis and equipped with a mechanism under which the vehicle's propulsion engine provides the power to operate a mixer drum to agitate and mix the product en route to the delivery site." A pump truck or a flatbed hauling blocks does not fit that definition, so the paragraph is not written for it.

The four conditions the checker applies

First, the vehicle fits the definition above. Second, the time was spent "waiting with the commercial motor vehicle at a job site or terminal," not driving or in a different place. Third, the wait is "30-minutes or more," so a 25-minute wait does not qualify as a whole break. Fourth, "the driver performs no other work during the break." If the driver washes out the drum, fuels or does delivery paperwork during the wait, the condition fails for that wait.

What the break rule itself requires

Section 395.3(a)(3)(ii) says: "Except for drivers who qualify for either of the short-haul exceptions in § 395.1(e)(1) or (2), driving is not permitted if more than 8 hours of driving time have passed without at least a consecutive 30-minute interruption in driving status." It adds that the interruption "may be satisfied either by off-duty, sleeper berth or on-duty not driving time or by a combination of off-duty, sleeper berth and on-duty not driving time." So in general the 30 minutes can already include on-duty time that is not driving. What 395.1(t) adds for a mixer driver is that time spent waiting with the truck counts as the break, on the condition that the driver performs no other work. Use the HOS clock calculator on this site for the driving window itself.

Worked example

A mixer driver arrives at a job site and waits 40 minutes with the truck while the crew finishes a form. The driver sits in the cab and does nothing else. The vehicle fits the definition, the wait was with the vehicle at a job site, it is over 30 minutes and no other work was done, so the wait can serve as the 30-minute break. If the driver spent 10 of those minutes washing the chute, the no-other-work condition fails and the checker says the wait does not count. If the wait is only 20 minutes, it is 10 minutes short, and the checker shows that shortfall.

Limits of this page

The rule does not define what counts as "other work," and the checker treats any yes as failing. It does not model the 11-hour or 14-hour limits, it does not decide whether time spent in the cab counts as on duty for another purpose, and it does not cover state rules. The text was read on November 2, 2026. For a disputed roadside or audit case, confirm with FMCSA or a qualified compliance professional.

Sources

• eCFR: 49 CFR 395.1, paragraph (t), ready-mixed concrete delivery vehicle (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR: 49 CFR 395.2, definitions (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR: 49 CFR 395.3, maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)