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You sleep every other night in the top bunk.

 

You've started your 14 hour clock, it's ticking down, right? You're working a few hours. If you take a 2 hours off duty, when you wake up you will see on your ELD that your 14 clock has now been extended by those 2 hours. Now you're not in such a hurry. Later you must complete 8 more hours in sleeper for the required daily 10 hour rest break. Your company must have ability to have 8/2 split setting turn on in your ELD.

 

You have 4 time periods to log.
1sr Drive/ 1st sleeper or off duty
2nd drive/ 2nd sleeper or off duty.

1st drive and 2nd drive equal 11 hours.
1st and 2nd sleeper or off duty equal 10 hours.

The shorter 2-3 hour break period can be either off duty or sleeper.
7-8 hour break has to be sleeper.

Don't forget your 14 hour clock. If your logging is correct. You won't need a 30 minute break.

Good luck

 

Actually, good luck understanding that mish-mash.

 

If you use up your daily 11 hour drive time you need a 10 hour break. There is NO ALTERNATIVE to a 10 hour break once you use up your 11 hours of drive time.

Most emergency requests about split break are desperate drivers looking for a shortcut around a 10 hour break after using up their 11 driving. There is no shortcut in that situation. Split Break requires you stop driving with several hours REMAINING of your 11 Driving. If you take 2 or more hours off-duty or sleeper, your 14 hour clock is restored but your driving time is still what remained before you took your several hours off-duty or sleeper.

 

They can try

 

And we wonder why there is so many wrecks these days.

 

As you can already see from previous comments here, there are plenty of misconceptions and confusion surrounding the split sleeper rule, which is why some companies don't allow their drivers to use it. This video gives the best explanation I've come across, and it's what I used in class when I was a CDL instructor.



I'll admit the video is oversimplified and also a bit outdated as it was made before the rule was changed to 7 and 3 instead of 8 and 2, but it still explains the basic framework quite well.

You should note that as the rule stands now, it's 7 and 3 instead of 8 and 2, though 8 and 2 does still work (the smaller break has to be at least 2 hours, and the larger break has to be at least 7 hours, but both have to add up to at least 10 hours.) In addition, BOTH breaks now pause the 14 hour clock instead of just the 8 hour break in the old rule. The main thing to keep in mind is that between both sides of each of the break periods, your driving hours can never exceed 11, and your duty hours can't exceed 14.

Personally, I love the flexibility the split sleeper option gives you, and I've made use of it many times over the years. It can come in particularly handy if you get detained at a shipper or consignee for seven hours or so, and I can't overstate how much easier it is with e-logs doing the math for you.

 

Ha I have come to hate the split sleeper rule because my company makes me take advantage of it nearly every other day now. The easiest way to learn how it works is to remember one thing, it will pause your driving clocks if you need to sit for two or more hours. If you see your clock pausing after two or more hours of off duty time, then just remember to end your shift for the day in sleeper birth, instead of off duty.