Passenger Rule Violation

I've spent a few years as a team driver. I think you may be under the impression that if the truck stops if you are in the sleeper berth, then there is some sense of obligation to get out and stretch your legs. There isn't. Once I established a biological clock for my sleep cycle it didn't matter if my teammate was taking a break or doing a drop and hook, if I was in the sleeper berth and sleeping, that's pretty much what I was doing. I always split the day in 12 hour shifts, so if I was in the sleeper berth and not sleeping it was a great time for binge watching Breaking Bad.

Sure, sometimes I had to drain the kidneys, but never logged it as anything but continuous sleeper berth.

As for needing to be in the passenger seat for two or more hours, I'm not following the logic. When I'm on the road or on call I always sleep when I can, where I can. The point that when I get behind the wheel I'm alert and ready to pull a full and productive shift.

I think you are over thinking this whole thing. Get in the sleeper berth and log it as such. Quit quibbling over whether you have to change duty status if your big toe touches the passenger seat.

 

First thing you do when you come up to a scale is tell your passenger to get back in the sleeper and hide.

You are more likely get pulled around and when you do they immediately go to the passenger side and ask for your logbook.

 

That's what my trainer and I did. Whenever we got to a scale, the one who wasn't driving hit the bunk.

 

I dealt with McLane Distribution drivers when I worked at Walmart. They drove team. Sometimes they both unloaded and other times just one. It depended on what their log said. When they got to a stop, if the driver in the sleeper was able to go on duty, he'd get out and log on duty and they would both unload. If he still needed to be in the sleeper, then he stayed logged in sleeper and the on duty driver unloaded.

 

Were they on e-logs or coloring books?

 

I'm guessing e logs. McLane seems to be a big enough operation that they would use them.

 

Not sure if my point is getting across here.

OK let's start over. Let's say both team drivers are coming off a 34+ hour hometime. Does driver 1 need to go into the logs and edit them to show 8 hours in the sleeper before driving? No? Why not? Is it because of this thing called Common Sense? So what about 17 hours Off Duty or following the same logic because I cannot find any regulation stating that a 34 hour break exempts an 8 hour sleeper berth time before driving, it holds that 10.25 hours Off Duty/Sleeper/any combination thereof for driver 2 would then and therefore exempt that driver from showing 8 hours consecutive in the sleeper.

In other words the Passenger Rule seems to only hold true for those teams who adhere to a strict 10 hour break for driver 2. Those drivers 2 who exceed 10 hour breaks would be exempt.

Say my time runs out at 0600 in Flagstaff AZ and my teammate takes over to drive to final in Las Vegas and drop hook and done by noon. I arrange for us to get a large 2 room suite at the Rio where we check in by 1245.
At 2030 we get the call for an emergency repower. it is my turn to drive but I haven't been in the sleeper since 1230 which is only 6.5 hours for my 10 hour break which by 2000 is 14 hours off. It would seem to me that I would be exempt from showing 8 hours sleeper consecutive just by the virtue of exceeding the minimum of 10 hours break for commercial drivers.

Well let's say we didn't do the hotel thing, let's say the driver 1 dropped hooked and parked, waiting for next load assignment, well driver 2 is legally allowed to be Off Duty in a *PARKED* commercial vehicle which also negates and loopholes the Passenger Rule in my book.

Scottie, you're overthinking it, just falsify your logs like the rest of us do....

 

If you are both coming off of a 34 hour reset, by definition the truck isn't moving. Ergo, there is no reason the passenger rule could possibly be violated. The passenger rule only applies to a moving truck. You can both be off duty for 34 hours and driver 1 logs on duty for pretrip while driver 2 logs into either sleeper berth or a maximum of two hours off duty before getting in the sleeper.

 

Put yourself in the sleeper,whenever possible,to save your 70 clock.
Off duty,both 14 and 70 are running.

 

no they are not. 14 yes but not 70. 70 only burns on on duty or driving.