34 Hour Restart

I know the regs and all.

As I said, let the truck get hit when you are out of it properly released from duty.

We will then know that the company feels we are ALWAYS responsible.

I have never changed a log to show off duty when I shower or run in to use restroom or grab food. Never been questioned.

 

I wonder how a driver in a day cab thinks one can log sleeper berth?

From a retired federal DOT official

 

I currently drive a day cab, and I am either on duty or driving all the time, unless I am at home. You cannot even use the sleeper berth line, and I have never done so(that is illegal, since you dont have a sleeper berth). Also if you return daily to the the same base that you left out of and you utilize the 34 hour restart every week, you can legally use 1 16 hour day once a week, as long as you dont go over the 70 hours in the week. Even if you are parked somewhere and you are asleep, you must be on the "on duty not driving" line 4. And if you do happen to be driving a sleeper(which we have several) you can log sleeper time, but it must be a minimum of 8 hours, and if you log off duty time in the 10 hour window it must be at least 2 hours, but of course you could only do that with a sleeper, since with a daycab you could do neither. If you return to base you must log at least 10 hours off duty before you could pull the 14 hour shift again.

 

I have a question. If you are doing a 34hr restart and you switch from line 1 to line 2 when do you log that? i dont mean what time i mean when do you physically pick up the log book and log that? If you logged it when it changed would'nt you be on duty not driving? or is filling out your log not considered job related? if you waited til you was coming back on duty to log it what if you didn't remember the exact time? I guess that was more than 1 ? sorry........

 

If you a doing a true restart wouldn't you be using line 1 the entire time??During your 34 hour restart I agree that you can use line 2 or 1, but why would you? If your company is allowing you to do a 34 hour restart, then that means that they have release you from complete responsibility for the truck, so log the entire restart on line 1 if you want to, you do know that DOT is not around to make sure that you aere doing what you said that you are doing. Obviously if you are doing a restart on the road, you must have no freight with you and/or have been released totally from responsibility for the truck or you are not doing a restart, you are just sitting for a long time. If you are hooked to freight, legally you cannot do a 34 hour restart unless you are unhooked or released from all responsiblity for that freight and most companies wont do that unless you are at 1 of their yards or drop sites doing your 34. If you have not been released from responsibility you cannot legally do a 34 hour restart, you must carry your hours over until you can get to one. So to answer your question-It would be up to your company how they want you to do this, or up to you (if you want to chance it)in reality a 34 hour true restart should always be on line 1, if you are not able to do that, then you are not really getting a 34 hour restart. May look that way as a combination between line 1 and 2, but a true 34 hour restart is 34 hours off duty, in other words line 1. The idea behind this is so you dont have to chase your hours all week like we used to do. Technically if you are responsible for that truck the whole time that you have it, you should NEVER be on line 1 except when you are home or have been releived of all duties concerning it while on the road.

 

That question was more asked to mess with logs or psanderson. but any how. 34hr restart is 34 hrs off duty correct? meaning not on line 3 or 4 so you're saying the only way you can do a legal 34hr is to be at home or 100% relieved of duty. i agree to some extent, but if you took your 10hr breaks the same way you describe taking a 34,which both is off duty then you would never have a legal 10hr break. what ever i am doing for a 10hr break i oughta be able to do for 24 more hours and call it a resart.

 

Can you cite the specific ruling in regard to this? Otherwise I'm going to say you're mis-informed. We do re-starts under freight all the time and there's never been a question raised about it. For example, after unloading, we'll go pick up a reload and then park for the weekend.

From the FMCSA website HOS FAQs:
F-1. Does any period of 34 consecutive hours off-duty automatically restart the calculation of the 60/70-hour on-duty period?

Yes. Any period of 34 consecutive hours off-duty will restart the 60/70 hour calculation.

 

If you are on the road are you sleeping in a hotel or your truck? If you are in the truck you are suppose to be line 1 and 2 for your 34 off. If you get taken into court for something you better have proof that you had a reciept for a motel or proof that someone can testify that they came and got you and you slept elsewhere.

 

That is true it does start the 34 hour restart, I never said that it didnt. But if you are out on the road and you have not been given written specific authority to be no longer responsible for that load, then you technically and legally are not on a 34 hour restart. Any time that you have freight with you and you are hooked to freight, you are responsible for it--if the company has relelived you with a written permission, kinda like the little card that they give you that allows you to do lunch, then you are not authorized to take a 34 hour restart. Ask your lawyer if you dont beleive me. If you have been given authority to be released from any and all reponsibility for that load and their equipment, then you can do a 34 hour restart both using line 1 and 2 or a combination of both, if you are top use line 2, you must log 8 hours minimum on it consecutively or you will be considered not legal on your logbook. If your truck is damaged or your freight is stolen during your 34 hour reset and you are with it, and you are woken up and asked to do anything for the officer investigating it--then legally you have to log that and your 34 hour restart was broken and must start over. That is why most companies want you to be in their yard or on their property or you at home all together, since it is to their advantage to have you do a 34 hour restart at home. If you read the regulations-ANY time you are with the truck, you are responsible for both it and its contents unless your company has given you authority otherwise. If you do a 34 hour restart on the road, then the company should have given you a little card that says you can do so, if they havent you had better get one. Here are several of the questions asked of DOT regarding this:

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]12: If a driver works at another job, unrelated to trucking, during his 34-hour off-duty restart period, and then begins a duty shift for the trucking company, does the 34-hour restart provision apply? [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Guidance: No. Performing compensated work for a person not a motor carrier is considered on-duty time, which would interrupt the 34-hour period. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]13: May a driver spend part of his 34 hours of consecutive off-duty time in a sleeper berth? [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Guidance: Yes, provided the 34-hour period is consecutive and not broken by on-duty or driving activities. [/FONT]
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If you as a driver are required to check on that load for any reason such as being responsible for it, then that is on duty activity
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]15: If a driver is on call, but has not been called in for 34 hours, may those 34 hours be counted as a 34-hour restart? [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Guidance: Yes, provided the carrier has not required the driver to report for work until after the 34-hour period has ended. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]If you read question 15-it says that "unless the carrier has required you to report" if you are hooked to freight and you are on your restart, then you are subject to reporting to the carrier[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Here is more on this:[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]11. What is meant by written authorization to be off duty? [/FONT]



[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Guidance: During a tour of duty, a driver may only log off duty if he/she has been giving written authorization from the motor carrier (employer). The authorization must:

1. Relieve the driver of all duty and responsibility for the care and custody of the vehicle, its accessories, and any cargo or passengers it may be carrying. Indicate that during the stop, and for the duration of the stop, the driver is at liberty to pursue activities of his/her own choosing and to leave the premises where the vehicle is situated.
2. Specify a finite period of time for the off duty period.

Any off duty authorization should state the condition under which a driver may log off duty, i.e., meal, waiting at shippers or customers, waiting for dispatch, waiting for repairs. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]A driver who has be giving written authorization log off duty, must log off duty for each instance the authorization applies. The decision to log of duty is not a driver option unless the motor carrier (employer) grants that option to the driver. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]According to this part of the rules, you could take a full 34 hours in the sleeper and log that as your restart, but any hour taken off duty during that 34 has to be signed off on by the carrier or you are not legally taking the 34 correctly--it says if you read it-"The decision to log off duty IS NOT a driver option UNLESS the motor carrier(employer)grants that option to the driver." Thus being what I said about technically and legally you CAN NOT log off duty as long as you are with that freight or the motor vehicle unless the carrier has given you written approval to do so--so like I said, you should not be on line 1 ever(unless for the time your carrier has alotted for food or breaks, which is usually 2 hours during the 24 hour day) unless you are totally releived of duty on that truck in writing. Obviously if you were at home for 34 hours, the carrier would have given you the option to log off duty since they let you go home. If not then you must log the full 34 in the sleeper minus whatever time the carrier has allowed you for food, shower, breaks, ect. Or you are illegal. This may sound all technical, but these are the rules. I agree that you may have never had a problem and due restarts all the time and have never been questioned about it, it just means that you have not run into the "right " DOT officer yet. When you do and he decides to do the full 9 yards on you then you had better be ready to produce this permission form(releiving you of any and all responsibility of the motor carrier while you are off duty), or you will be held in violation. And the fines arent cheap either.[/FONT]