Can a company mandate using sleeper status during 10 Hour Break

People should know and understand what the regulations actually state. Whether they choose to follow a loose interpretation of the regulations or abide by a strict compliance perspective is up to them at that point...but they need to know what the regulations actually state in order to make an informed decision on the matter.

What bugs me is when people who don't know any better try telling somebody that it is OK or perfectly legitimate to do something that is clearly prohibited by the regulations claiming that it is a "gray area". Sure, you might be able to get away with it for 40 years without any issues....or you could be pulled over by a strict-compliance cop and fined heavily for it next week. Ignorance isn't always bliss....it can turn quite expensive in a hurry.

When you are instructing or training, it should be "by the book". When they are out on their own, they can figure out where they are willing to fudge it, and at that point it is on them. The cop ain't gonna care that "that's the way my trainer told me to do it"...and the trainer ain't gonna be paying your fine, either.

 

even old dogs like us can learn new tricks lmao....but I guess that was the point is that when some of us went to school from the minute you start school they teach you to do it by the book, so when i guess I am discussing with others on how to do things well i turn to by the book.

as for the learning curve well, we all know there are ways to log and get away with things so hours isn't a big deal, etc...etc... but we also know the risk we take when we choose to start using crayons on our books.

would i want to teach a newbie how to use crayons in order to get around when the newbie hasn't even got his ears wet? that sounds crazy to me, granted its not always the newbies that get into accidents even some of us old timers slip up once in awhile.

glad to see that we at least on the same page of things, but as you can see still some just cannot get it....lmao....which is great as i needed something to do today....

 

lol, you miss the point . the rules don't state every minute has to be logged on duty when at a shipper, that's is just ridiculous. common sense goes a long way.

you can do everything by the book while using common sense. as I posted when a guy gets jerked around because of something like this, there is more to the story. its the entire picture that comes into question.

some of you are just ridiculous in these scenarios and are take things to the extreme.

I have been checked many many times over the years, never a problem. when ya keep everything in its entirety clean, neat, and in its place you wont encounter problems.

many of the problems encountered are probably from lack of using common sense

 

No it doesn't.. That's not a good example. I am not working as a yard dog. I am on OTR driver.

If I am operating the CMV as part of the loading/unloading process, it is ON-DUTY (NOT DRIVING) because I am loading or unloading.

 

Man. One time I was in a door 25 hours (don't ask). According to this thread I was supposed to be on duty the whole time?

Then obviously I needed to take a 10 hour break after loading was done right?

I'm such an outlaw

 

I'm calling the Marshall's on you mister law breaker man!

 

First of all, a yard dog would fall under the 100 air-mile exemption and be punching a time card to keep a record of hours worked instead of a full-on record of duty status. The question stems from somebody who keeps a RODS during the week and yard dogs on the weekends, in which the time spent at the controls driving the yard dog ON PRIVATE PROPERTY is still to be logged as drive time (line 3). It could be a mountain mack hauling coal from the pit to the processing plant on mine property, it is still line 3 time if a RODS is required. Even your OTR truck, from the time you pass through the customer's gate until you are backed in and parked at the dock, you are at the driving controls of a commercial motor vehicle in operation and therefore should technically be on line 3.

...but you don't believe me, so once again let's turn to the regulations and guidance provided by the FMCSA to get their opinion on the matter:

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If you are driving around on private property, you are on duty driving (line 3).

If you are stuck in traffic that isn't moving, you are on duty driving (line 3).

If you are operating the CMV from behind the wheel as part of the loading/unloading process, you are on duty driving (line 3).

If you're just parked at the loading dock while somebody else manages the load/unload process (the CMV is NOT in operation), then you are on duty not driving (line 4) while sitting behind the wheel or anywhere else on/in the truck...except for the sleeper, which would be logged as sleeper berth (line 2) time.



It really isn't all that difficult. I'm just pointing out the way the FMCSA regs say to do it. You could log it differently for your entire career and never have any problems....or you could log it differently and run into that 1 cop who will make a federal case out of it. I really don't care HOW you log it....just don't pretend that logging it differently is "correct".

 

If you had a sleeper berth, it would be perfectly legitimate to have used that available space to save hours and be ready to roll when they were done with you.

 

None of us do either. But as long as one is parked and doing a log, whether it be this duty, that duty or some other doodie, and leaves the place at a specified time, not say 30 minutes to 1 hour earlier, then one will not be at the wrong place at the wrong time. As long as tolls, match, or stops match, one should not have any worries. Sounds almost like your co-worker left too soon? Wait till the time is like exact on the minute, or maybe even a minute of two later. Leave too soon? Then yeah, one did not belong there at that time, that seems simple enough. Could even get a speeding ticket on that log as well. (at the time of the accident).