sleeper berth vs. non sleep: Off-Duty in a Daycab?

Obviously your employer is having HOS compliance problems OR they are looking at work that may/will require a driver to be out over night.

HOS are pretty simple, once you start your day with your first "on duty or driving: task you have 14 hours to finish your day. Out of that 14 hours you can drive up to 11 hours.

 

Unless you Pretrip/Post trip at the same location all the time (or the last 5 days) you can use a 16hr exception to extend your 14hr rule by 2 hours for one day.

Basically with a sleeper (for now I believe) when you are waiting to get loaded/unloaded you are allowed to log sleeperberth for all the time waiting, just have to log 15-30 minutes getting loaded/unloaded. Instead of when you are in a daycab and the customer doesn't have a driver lounge you are technically stuck on logging on duty, not driving.

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You're 14hr continues to click (does not stop) until you take a complete 10 hour break. Doesn't matter how many/how long your breaks are or anything... When the 14 hours are up after your start your PTI, you cannot drive anymore (unless the 16hr rule is used).

 

Cheaper than paying for a hotel!

DOT rules state that if you do not have a sleeper you MUST show hotel/motel receipts in place of sleeper berth time.

For instance, if you are running a day cab you ARE NOT ALLOWED to be "off duty" or "sleeper berth". I went through this whole ordeal not to long ago driving a day cab training another driver. We got stopped at the coop in Knoxville and the officer wanted to see hotel receipts for the times we logged off duty and sleeper. You also are not allowed to run team in a day cab! Well you can but its useless because you have to be either "on duty" or "driving" so unless you are doing it for the companionship its useless running two people in a day cab.

Thought I would share this tidbit, it was always a grey area to me and was finally explained to me by the good ol' TNDOT!

 

Wrong, if I stay @ a friend's place that's where I stayed. I don't have to prove nothing!

You can post a link to prove me wrong IF you can find it>

 

Sleepers also are simpler to re-sell

 

MGFG why don't you post the link if you think you are right!

Course in my case we crossed state lines, if you are running in state it maybe different.

 

mgfg is right. He cannot post a link because he cannot post what does not exist... there is no regulation whereby "DOT rules state that if you do not have a sleeper you MUST show hotel/motel receipts in place of sleeper berth time." If such a regulation exists, then post a link to it.

There is a regulation that states that IF a driver stays in a hotel, then those receipts must be retained. However, a driver is free to spend their OFF-DUTY hours wherever they choose (subject to company policy). A driver can sleep on the ground if they want and that would be in full compliance with the FMCSA regulations if logged as OFF-DUTY.

 

You are allowed to log "off duty" in a daycab. Especially if it is for lunch, breaks on the road, etc...