34 hour rest questions!

That's ridiculous. I ALWAYS stay in my sleeper for EXACTLY 10 hours. I log exactly 15 minutes for pretrip. How many people park at a truck stop, go to line 2, take a shower, eat, get back in the sleeper and go to sleep? Many people. The officers are being crazy paranoid about the exactitude of one's position to their truck. Might as well put a camera in the 'sleeper' berth to insure I'm getting a healthy amount of sleep according the some scientists opinion. I get less than six hours of sleep many times but I'm sure in that sleeper during all of it.

So, I'm at a rest area, step out to take a brisk walk to the bathroom, I have to be on line 1 because of some idiotic technicality that makes ZERO difference to anything other than a bureaucrats obsessive compulsive need for exactness?

I know your just a messenger, but this stuff drives me crazy.

 

It's really about control. Those who have power to control over those who do not. We as truck drivers have common sense but we are not allowed to use it if there is some regulation in the book that runs counter to common sense.

This was well illustrated with Hours of Service for decades, drivers got the job done through common sense regardless of the fouled up HOS regs. Same thing now with Sleeper/Off Duty time is happening. With the ELD, falsifcation and form and manner tickets are almost nonexistent for states; they have lost that cash cow. So now they are digging deep into the regs for little tiny ticky tack items to hang on a driver.

 

i call bs. thats TA round table talk. i do 10 hours in the sleeper every night. how you thank i get my 11 and 14

 

I ran paper logs. Unless I was on home time or staying in a hotel I never went to line 1. My 10 hour break was ALWAYS on line 2. I can't ever remember being asked about how I conducted my off duty time by the DOT or my safety dept. They were only concerned that I took the time off duty.

 

I know I know, you did it for 35 years and never got busted so it (DOT officers busting drivers for log falsification) must not exist. I showed you an inspection sheet violation from a driver who posted on this very site who was busted for falsifying his 10 hour break between Sleeper and Off Duty-- he did not log it correctly. Trust me this stuff is coming in June 2018, prepare for a tsunami of drivers coming in here complaining of log falsification failed inspections and skyrocketing CSA points for their carriers.

11 and 14 can be had back by off duty or sleeper or any combination thereof. I'm just saying if an officer sees you logged 10 solid hours in the sleeper be prepared for questioning. They're going to want to know where you used the restroom or had some food. Best thing is to keep quiet. They are fishing-- for CSA points! Logbook violations fall under the Fatigued Basic and they can and will shut you down if they suspect you are fatigued, one definition would be if they determined the driver falsified their logs, they did it probably because they were tired/fatigued so that officer will give you a 10 hour opportunity to get your full rest.

The carrier will drop the hammer on drivers who are busted for falsification violations because they share in the punishment now too under CSA. Trust me, you don't want to fight City Hall (the government in this case) you. will. lose.

 

I know you right. They're out for blood this year. Haven't experienced it yet but I've heard tales.

 

I can’t stress this enough. Cops aren’t your friends, and a cop whose job it is to write tickets is looking for anything to hang you on. Don’t say anything more than absolutely necessary, and don’t feel compelled to talk if they don’t say anything. It’s a tactic to make you uncomfortable and slip up.

 

It is even more then this. IF you can get a cop to answer honestly they will even tell you. Most law enforcement agencies through state law mandate continuing training. Some of this is classroom and some of it is things like the gun range. One thing taught is how to skirt the protections afforded by the bill of rights and court precedents. An example? A cop is not required to tell you that you are free to go. In fact some cops laugh at people and make fun of this. Drug dogs? Right, a good handler can make a dog alert just by the changes in their voice. The decks are stacked against you the minute those lights start flashing for you to pull over. Then the first thing a motorist does is start trying to reason with the cop. You can not reason with a cop hell bent on finding something to cite you over. This is why almost every criminal attorney will tell you that YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT, DO IT! Open that piehole at your own peril.

 

That’s right. I was a cop for a long time, and there is nothing wrong with answering as little as possible.