Explain like I'm five the 10 hour break rule in the sleeper?

dont try to understand it. just get the big picture.

 

just log sleeper berth and dont worry about it. just live in the real world.

 

Any consecutive 10 hour combination of off/sleeper will reset your 14.

 

Hand, I was going to place something funny, however I decided not to. YOU DO NOT have to change your log status if you leave the sleeper period! In fact keep your status on that sleeper line until you finish that break.. Until someone posts an actual FMCSA regulatory guidance and/or an inspection form showing otherwise as this as a violation i'm calling it pure hogwash. However under the circumstances what I am going to do is tell you to contact someone in your safety dept and ask them. Then go by what they tell you.

 

^I think that is the right answer.

Materiality: relating to the importance/significance of an amount. For example from business. An expenditure of ten cents on paper is generally immaterial, and, if it were forgotten or recorded incorrectly, then no practical difference would result to the business.

More of an issue if you take a split break and need to be in the sleeper 8 hours. If you take a quick bathroom break and return directly to the sleeper it has no material effect on your break. You have effectively spent the proper amount of time on sleeper break.

 

You do not have to be in the sleeper for 10 hours straight. Like @Longarm said, any 10 hour combination of off duty and/or sleeper will reset your 14 hour clock. Here are some examples:

1 hour off duty for dinner + 8 hours sleeper + 1 hour for breakfast = 10 hour break

10 hours off duty in a hotel room = 10 hour break

The thing about going off duty to get out of the truck and go to the bathroom in the middle of the night is that if your ELog device is powered by your truck then it won’t be on all the time. Mine shuts down after 2 hours of being parked to conserve the truck’s batteries. I’m not gonna wake up, turn my truck on, wait 10 minutes for my logs to boot up, change duty status, go inside for 3 minutes, then come back and change duty status again. My 3 minute bathroom break would turn into a 20 minute process. It’s much more realistic to just log by common sense and reasonable real life expectations.

That being said, you do need to keep your logs legitimate. If you always log 10 hours straight in the sleeper then at some point during an inspection DOT may question why you never get out of the truck. If you had breakfast at McDonald’s this morning before you started rolling but you show sleeper the entire time you were stopped then that would be a log violation even though it wouldn’t change the fact that you still completed your 10 hour break.

 

It's simple you log sleeper when you in sleeper and Off Duty when you not in sleeper. You can have any combination of Off Duty and sleeper time together to meet the 10 hour break requirement.

So log it anyway you want. Log it as you do it. If stop for the night log off duty until you go to bed. Then sleeper berth till you get up in the morning, then Off Duty until you start driving for the day.

I usually stop for 10 hour break and log Off Duty and go take shower and eat. Then go to bed that sleeper time get back up in the morning log Off duty again till I finish my 10 hour break and ready to start my driving day.

 

If you are asked about your logs YOU HAVE THE RIGHT (actually highly advisable) to stay QUIET! DO NOT under any circumstances get into a logbook discussion with a cop. Just give the cop the log book or access to the e log and step quietly away. There is no need to be a dick when you do this. Just stay nice and let the officer know you are declining to answer these questions.

 

One more word on this staying quiet. There has been no changes in the HOS rules that mandate changing status while on break. I also have no doubt that drivers that are reporting being asked about this is telling the truth. The thing is cops undergo hours and hours of classroom time in the law and how to do these inspections. They are also trained in how to ask a series of questions and cause you the driver to get tripped up. It is important to remember to NOT be a dick to the cop. They are only doing their jobs and carrying on about their duty as they have been trained to do. I have friends that are cops. It is just how they are. The last thing you as a driver want to do is get involved with talking about your logs or how you inspected your truck. You can get your point across with most cops and keep the encounter low key. I also HIGHLY recommend that ALL truck drivers install a voice recorder app on their smartphone. Record these guys so you will have a record. The quiet but prepared trucker is the best one in dealing with law enforcement. It is a dang shame it has got to this point, but it has.