Hours of service questions and answers

Uh, you'll want to re-read the regs. Split can be used at any time, there are no qualifications (other than the specific requirements of the split itself). The split does not extend your driving time in any manner (meaning making more than 11 hours available), all it does is move the clock. Properly done, the split is your 10 (or its equivalent ... as it is known by its formal name at FMCSA). I split almost every day.

 

Good Info.

 

I'm pretty sure this is an example of how not to split my sleeper.

Day 1


Day2


Please tell me where or when I went wrong on this log

 

I was pulled over by Eloy "Commercial Enforcement" in Eloy, AZ for a roadside inspection. I've been split breaking since the HOS changes in '04 (when any combo of 10 hours was legal as long as it was in the sleeper) and continued after the '05 change (the good 'ol 8/2 split). I studied these rules for days and whenever I had a question or doubt, I'd VOLUNTARILY pull into a scale (I must be NUTS!!) and strike up a conversation with commercial officers to ensure I had it right. After 4 years of doing it right, this "officer" told me I was wrong and split breaking was not legal. She cited me and placed me out of service. I took the case to court, proved the officer wrong and had the citation AND the inspection vacated and expunged (removed) from my record and my company's MVR profile. NOTE TO ALL DRIVERS: if you choose to fight a citation which resulted from a roadside or scale inspection and win, make sure to follow up with that state's DOT and Federal DOT to have the inspection updated to show you were not in violation or have the report removed completely. This does not always happen automatically and will affect your safety rating for things like BIT, PrePass credentials and many other factors if it stays on. If you work for a large company, simply inform your Compliance Dept. of your win and they will usually do this as it affects the company rating. Check out the FMCSA website as it has several logging examples to look at (both right and wrong) and why they're right and wrong.

 

Hopefully they moved her from Commercial Enforcement to Stray Cat Patrol.

 

I havent even got this far yet lol. But it sounds like something I'll havta know so I saved. Oh yeah thank you very much

 

Yep, double checked and put a week of back to back splitzies in my DDL and it works. It's probably an old company reg I am thinking about.

 

I think the biggest problem is that many people in a training capacity haven't taken the time to learn it properly, so they just tell drivers not to split. I agree the wording I have seen usually isn't very straight-forward, but once learned it is easy as pie.

The irony? I got pulled into a scale last night and got a violation (among several CS violations) for 0.75 hrs over on the 14-hour clock with a split. However, the scale master was counting the periods before and after the 8-hour portion when that eight was the end of my previous 14-hour. Whatta dope. Anyhow, he wasn't so sure of himself that he could write a citation, but this is an aggravation I'll have to fix nonetheless.

 

I hear that. I've never actually heard a straightforward explanation that matches anyone else's version until this thread even from a DOT officer which is also pretty much why I avoid using it.

 

Dear LogsRus (or anyone),

I have a question about my logs. I need to know if I am splitting my sleeper correctly:





So, what I'm trying to figure out is how many driving hours do I have on day 2? If I understand correctly- I counted 22 hours past the end of my 2hr break on day 1 and calculated that my driving time for day 2 ended at 12:noon. Then... what do I need after that point to continue driving? Will a 2hr break at noon on day 2 let me drive at least 2 more hours?

I feel like my head is going to explode trying to figure all of this out!
Thanks