16 hour rule

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The letter is not required.

You can take breaks as desired, but take them in 30-minute blocks so they count towards the Daily Off-Duty Time.

Logging off-duty while waiting depends on whether you're waiting to get loaded, or taking a break. Let your conscience be your guide

The above quotes are from "National Safety Code for Motor Carriers STANDARD: 9 HOURS OF SERVICE", I added additional bolding for the pertinent part.

 

Are you waiting in a drivers lounge, or sitting in the truck in line at the scrapyard?

 

You can be with your truck and off duty. I log most of my wait time off duty and I'm still getting paid.

 

I was going to ask the OP if he is getting paid. It doesn't affect duty status (as you know ) it's just the right thing to do.

 

Anytime I pull the yellow button, I count that as off duty time(unless of course waiting in a line and moving ahead every couple of minutes kind of thing). I figure if I can make a tasty sammich, catch up on text message/emails, Im on break. Like someone above said, make sure you note them in 30 min increments so it will count towards your off duty time. With that, you can have a 16 hour work day but then you must have 10 hours(correct me if Im wrong) consecutive off duty before doing your next work day. Been awhile since I've had to play with highway log book rules..

 

No you only need 8 hours off duty consecutive if you have 2 hours off duty during the day