Sleeper Birth while being loaded or unloaded

I suppose if you aren't getting paid enough, I can see where you'd want to scrimp & save on your hours so that you can work some more. The way I look at it is that if I cannot earn enough in 5 days to support my life outside of the truck, it is time to seek out another career. 5 days is enough...and if I don't have the hours to run the other 2, the carrier cannot complain when I refuse a "hot" load they want me to drop everything to go do.

My life doesn't revolve around that truck anymore....it's paid for.

 

Condo, you are correct, and are showing the correct regulation.

If your carcass is in the sleeper, you can log sleeper berth, whether you are sleeping, swinging from the ceiling, or doing the horizontal mambo.

I have no idea what advantage it would be to your carrier to have you log on-duty for that.

Having said all that, in this age of quaalcom and electronic communications you should look at 395.2 interpretations:

 

by that logic, answering the cell phone then is doing the same thing.

In this day and age of instant communication, it's going to happen. That #### bird chirps, you are gonna go ..."what is it, what is it, what is it." until you find out.

 

But Scalemaster there is also a guidance, that answering a phone call or QC message DOES NOT change ones duty status. Short communications. Interruption of 10 hour break to answer QC.

 

With or without music?

 

I take exception to the comment that "any time you are at a shipper or receiver's facility". The reg does not say that. Quite frequently, I arrive the evening before to a shipper or receiver, I take my break, and then go on duty in the morning when I check in and get unloaded/loaded. Or, I have even got loaded or unloaded at a customer, showed On Duty for time I was doing something related to the job, then took a full break there prior to taking off again. The regs say nothing about the location I take the break. It only addresses what is being done.

Now, if I am not "responsible" for the loading/unloading. And I am doing like others mentioned... surfing the web, watching a TV show, playing a video game, etc, the time is going on OFF DUTY or SLEEPER, depending on where I am in or out of the truck. I am doing nothing related to readiness to drive, servicing equipment, dealing with customer, supervising loading or unloading, handling paperwork related to the load, etc.

 

You refer to:

Question 30 pertained to sleeper berth time only and if "a driver is required repeatedly to respond to satellite or similar communications received during his or her sleeper berth period".

In their response FMCSA defined "repeatedly" as:

Question 31 covers the same topic in reference to "off-duty" time, with the same definition of "repeatedly".

It seems like FMCSA sees "brief telephone calls" as "momentary interruptions." Those would not change the duty status.

However, "repeated" interruptions, or "a pattern or series of interruptions" requiring a driver to communicate via whatever means would require a change in duty status.

I say that is what voice mail is for.

 

Thank you scalemaster... I could not find the guidance quickly. Voice mail, or turn the dang beep off on the QC, until the break is over.

 

My safety director has us log 15 min on duty when we arrive and 15 min on duty when we leave for "paperwork". Passed a level 3 and level 2 doing that.

 

Are there any otr companies that pay enough?