Split sleeper birth!

Ten hour break always equals full clock unless your 70 hour clock is below 11 hours. In that case, you would have 14 hours to drive and be on duty for 8 hours. It takes awhile to learn. Some people never get it.

 

if you do 13 hours straight off duty then you get your full clock back. Actually after 10 hours off duty you get it back.

 

Regarding question #1, any break less than 3 hours (Sleeper of Off-Duty) doesn't freeze your 14. If you anticipate a Spilt Break, make sure your off-duty periods are at least 3 hours. At end of that min 3 hour break (off-duty or Sleeper) your 14 clock still has whatever it had when you started the 3 hour break.

Don't forget, you need to take a 30 min break before you complete 8 hours of driving. Also, don't forget about a Pre-Trip Inspection, if those are still required.
********************************************************************************************************

Regarding question #2, any break period of at least 10 hours gives you a full 14 and 11, unless your 70 would reduce them. If it is the start or middle of a 70 hour period 10 hours or more (Sleeper or Off-Duty) gives you a new 14 & 11. If toward the end of your 70, you have less than 14 On-Duty and 11 Driving, then your 10 hour break only gives you what remains of your 70. Once your 70 comes into play you have the lesser of 14 or 11 or remainder of the 70. The 70 hour (for some drivers it is 60 hours) limit superceedes the 14/11.

One thing that confuses my brain about these situations is once people add in details about WHY they stopped or WHY they switched duty status. The HOS only consider Off-Duty, Sleeper, On-Duty, Not Driving, and Driving. Instead of jamming all the operational details about what, when, how, and why into a description, just ask what of those 4 descriptions (Off-Duty, Sleeper, On-Duty, Not Driving, and Driving) is the thing I am doing? For example of how not to ask this question, IMO: I was going from GA to WA because they had some great freight and I could see my girlfriend who lives in X. We haven't seen each other in a long time, she has a sister with a serious health condition and I wanted to help her....... Anyway, I started my day at 7am because I wanted to get to City #1 before the parking is full, insert long difficult story here with details about everything and everyone and what I think about my boss. Then long complicated story about the 6 hour 23.3 minute drive. Then long rant about blocking fuel pumps and waiting for bad parking attempts to get cleared up, and angry rant about high price of food and low quality, etc.

Instead of doing that, just simplify everything to starting time and how much 14 & 11 you have, driving time, recap of your mid-trip 14 & 11, off-duty or sleeper time, driving time, then time of second Sleeper or Of-Duty period, as you have been doing. The details aren't very necessary, just what status, how long, and attention to 14, 11, 70 hour clocks. The idea with Split Break is the work periods (Drive, On-Duty) on either side of the 3 hour or longer period must never exceed 14 or 11. The Sleeper & Off-Duty periods on both sides of work periods must be at least 10 hours.

The reefer guys have to use Split Break more than other drivers. If you don't know why drivers are using Split Break you probably don't need Split Break. I'll say it again, once you drive your 11 away, nothing but a 10 hour break will let you drive again. So don't drive more than 5-7 hours unless you are certain you will not be using Split Break at the end of your day. Split Break only allows you to drive whatever of your 11 hours you haven't used already. Once you use Split Break a couple of times you will be more comfortable and you will see what your ELD displays while you are working. In my last ELD, it would show me in violation for my 2nd driving period until after my 2nd rest period was complete. Also, it would not accurately show how many work/driving hours I would get back until my 2nd rest period was complete. It was unnerving to see my 14 & 11 almost down to zero and not being sure if it would show an accurate Time Remaining on my 14 & 11 when it hit zero or not.

If you want to do it really old school and stay clear about your various clocks you can use 3 cheap digital watches or timers. Each time you change duty status you start/stop your 14 timer, your 11 hour timer, and your 10 hour timer.

 

Not really related to the OP's question, but I think a lot of people that don't fully understand splits are missing out on the benefits. Of course, there's the pausing your clock with a 2-3 hour break at a customer. But, you can use it even more strategically and cut out the time a 30 min break would take by turning it into a 2 hour split.

Another one is using it at 2am if you're having to do some sketchy parking and then getting up between 4-5am to move to a truck stop.

Usually a 2 hour split is the perfect amount of time to get a tire replaced at a shop.

2 hour split is perfect for doing laundry mid day instead of fighting 17 other people for machines while someone washes 7 garbage bags worth of laundry in every machine at 18:00.

Splits are about the only way to do multi stoppers in a regional radius over the course of a 24 hour span, so better off practicing when it's not crucial.

As someone else said, the main thing is knowing when a split will help and planning on it from the start. Can't go back and edit in a split if you only stopped for an hour and a half. Once you learn how to use them to an advantage, it's very rare that you won't have your full 11 hours worth of driving alotted to you. Makes grocery warehouses a breeze as well when you're getting paid to sleep in the dock on detention while you're knocking out progress of your sleeper berth.

 

If you are Birthing in a Sleeper Berth, I am glad I don't have to clean up the mess.

 

I would think that ANY sleeper (split or not) is a TERRIBLE place to give BIRTH. Really, they are only designed to be a BERTH for you to sleep in! Have your babies in the maternity hospital, fercrissakes....

 

Berth... there, I said it.

Simplest way I've seen it explained is that after the SECOND break, you get back the time before the FIRST break. It's like running your 14/11 clocks on recap.

The primary reason I like the new rules is the ability to stop the clock with a 2 hr nap...... Great at 2 PM after a 5 AM start. Then you don't have to sit there watching the clock click down to the full 10 hrs the next morning, you can just roll at 8. I've started making it a point to make breaks at least 2 hrs for that reason alone. 8 hrs in the sleeper is about as much as I can take anymore.... 10 hrs is torture.