Truck Driver Hours Around the World: 5 Regions (2026)

American drivers often hear that the US hours of service rules are the strictest in the world, or the loosest. The truth depends on which limit you look at. We compared the core rules for heavy truck drivers in five regions using the primary regulations: the US FMCSA rules, Canada's Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations, EU Regulation 561/2006, the UK's retained version of those rules, and Australia's National Heavy Vehicle Regulator standard hours. You can download the data as a CSV and reuse it with a link back to this page.

The Headline Comparison

Rule	United States	Canada (south of 60)	European Union	United Kingdom	Australia (standard hours, solo)
Max driving per day	11 hours	13 hours	9 hours, 10 twice a week	9 hours, 10 twice a week	Work limits, not driving limits
Daily window or work cap	14 hour window	14 hours on duty, 16 hours elapsed	Set by daily rest	Set by daily rest	12 hours work in 24
Daily rest	10 consecutive hours off	10 hours off, 8 consecutive	11 hours, can reduce to 9 three times a week	11 hours, can reduce to 9 three times a week	7 continuous hours stationary rest
Break rule	30 minutes after 8 hours driving	Part of the 10 hours off	45 minutes after 4.5 hours driving	45 minutes after 4.5 hours driving	15 minutes in any 5.5 hours
Weekly cap	60 in 7 or 70 in 8 days	70 in 7 or 120 in 14 days	56 hours driving, 90 per 2 weeks	56 hours driving, 90 per 2 weeks	72 hours work in 7 days
Reset	34 hours off	36 hours (cycle 1) or 72 hours (cycle 2)	45 hour weekly rest, can reduce to 24	45 hour weekly rest, can reduce to 24	24 continuous hours in 7 days
Recording device	ELD	Certified ELD	Tachograph	Tachograph	Work diary, paper or electronic

Finding 1: Canada Allows the Most Driving in a Day

Canadian drivers south of latitude 60 can drive up to 13 hours in a day, 2 more than US drivers and up to 4 more than European drivers. The catch is that Canada also caps on duty time at 14 hours and elapsed time at 16 hours, and requires 10 hours off each day. Cross border drivers have to follow the rules of the country they are driving in, which is why many ELDs offer both rulesets.

Finding 2: Europe Has the Tightest Daily Driving Limit

EU and UK drivers get 9 hours of driving per day, extendable to 10 hours no more than twice a week. Over a fortnight, total driving cannot pass 90 hours. A US driver running 70 hours on duty in 8 days, with a 34 hour restart, can log far more driving over two weeks than that.

Finding 3: Breaks Come Sooner Outside the US

Region	Break required after	Minimum break
United States	8 hours of driving	30 minutes
EU and UK	4.5 hours of driving	45 minutes, can split 15 then 30
Australia (standard hours)	5.25 hours of work in 5.5	15 minutes

The US 30 minute break rule is the least frequent of the group. A European driver needs a break almost twice as often.

Finding 4: Australia Regulates Work, Not Driving

Australia's standard hours count all work, including loading and paperwork, rather than just driving. A solo driver can work up to 12 hours in any 24, with at least 7 continuous hours of stationary rest, and up to 72 hours in 7 days with a 24 hour continuous rest. Longer schedules are possible under Basic Fatigue Management or Advanced Fatigue Management accreditation.

Finding 5: Recording Rules Differ the Most

The US and Canada both use ELDs, with Canada requiring third party certified devices rather than the self certification used in the US. Europe and the UK rely on tachographs, now mostly smart tachographs that record location. Australia uses work diaries, either paper or approved electronic work diaries. If you run a fleet across borders, our Canada ELD guide covers the US and Canada differences in more detail.

Methodology

We used the primary rules for heavy truck drivers carrying property in each region as of October 23, 2026. For Canada we used the south of 60 rules. For Australia we used NHVR standard hours for solo drivers of fatigue regulated heavy vehicles. Exceptions such as US short haul, Canadian deferral of off duty time, EU ferry rules and Australian fatigue management schemes are not in the table. Check the sources below before relying on any figure for compliance.

Use the data freely in articles or training material. Please credit EldFocus and link to this page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which country lets truck drivers drive the most per day?

Of the five regions compared, Canada south of 60 allows the most, with up to 13 hours of driving per day.

How many hours can a truck driver drive in Europe?

9 hours per day, extendable to 10 hours twice a week, with no more than 56 hours a week and 90 hours over two weeks.

Does the UK still follow EU driver hours rules?

The UK kept the EU rules in its own law after Brexit, so the core limits are the same.

Sources

All prices, terms and registration details were checked October 2026 on the pages below. Providers change pricing often, so confirm before you buy.