34 Hour Restart

If you are out of your truck for an extended amount of time(off duty, line 1) and you dont have written permission from your carrier to do so, you are not legally taking your 34 hours either. This is what I am saying, read the explanation I wrote in the post right before this one. You have to log most of the 34 hours on duty in the sleeper in order to be legal if you are doing it on the road, unless your carrier has given you written proof to do otherwise.

 

Line 2 is not on duty.

 

I never said it was, line 2 is sleeper berth, but you are still with the truck and responsible for it. Line 1 is off duty and you dont have to be anywhere near the truck. Once again unless your carrier has written off on this, you must do your entire 34 hour break(minus the time they allow for meals, breaks, ect) on line 2. If they have signed off on the off duty(as the rules say) you can do your 34 hours however you choose to. I dont know about you, but 34 hours in the sleeper--maybe you can do this, but most people cant.

 

Yes you did.

 

Sounds like you are saying line 2 on duty.

 

I meant off duty in sleeper, sorry. BTW--I consulted the FMCSA on this and they say that legally and technically Im right, but then again--the logbook is all about the honor system, and usually they wouldnt question it, but they can and you must have the documentation if they do. You do know that technically anytime you are with the truck you are technically "on duty" whether in the sleeper or not, if you were not, this would not even be an issue. The only line that truly makes you "off duty" is line 1. This of course in the FMCSA/DOT read on this.

 

So you are saying in order for me to legally do a 34hr restart on the road i have to be in the sleeper for the whole 34hrs? Horse pucky....So in order to take a legal 10hr break out on the road i have to spend that whole time in the sleeper as well? I think not. 34 consecutive hrs off duty is just that 34hrs off duty hence a 34hr restart. How can you have different rules for what is considered off duty for 10hrs as opposed to what is off duty for 34hrs. and if you don't have different standards for said time off then it is a restart.

 

Almost ... but not quite.

While there is a requirement for such exemption to be provided in written form, there is no requirement for it to be retained either in the truck, or at the carrier's terminal. I wish I could provide the quote as I just read it (again) today, but I can't remember where (which is making me crazy, so I will continue to search for it and will post it when I find it). Also, many companies provide such a blanket authorization for drivers to act at their discretion.

 

As long as you have written permission from the carrier that you work for, you may consider time outside the sleeper as part of your 34 hour restart, if not you cannot. read the rule. Same thing goes for the ten hour break--at least 8 hours must be in the sleeper if you are doing it on the road and 2 hours can be done in either the sleeper or on line 1, or you can do the whole amount outside the sleeper, if your carrier allows this or you go home or what ever. The rule specifially states "the decision to log off duty is NOT a driver option UNLESS the motor carrier(employer) grants that option to the driver". So the rules are the same--as long as your carrier has authorized you in writing that you may give up any responsiblity concerning the truck and load, then yes you may log off duty hours, but no more than your carrier authorizes. If your carrier authorizes you 2 hours a day for meals, then when you get to your 34 hour restart you cannot take 34 hours off duty, since the carrier has not authorized that, you can only log 2, unless you are authorized to do something else--and I have not run into a carrier yet that authorizes their drivers to do up to 34 hours off duty while on the road and under responsibility for their equipment and freight. That is the letter of the law, like I said we at our company have clarified this with DOT and this is the legal way of doing it.

IF my home base is say in Boise, Idaho and I am under dispatch, but I pull into say Farmington, NM on Fri night and my load isnt due til Monday and the company only authorises my 3 hours per day for meals and off duty for personal reasons or whatever, I legally can only log 3 hours on Sat and 3 hours on Sun, on the off duty line 1,(I have to log the rest of the time on Line 2) but I still can get a 34 hour restart and have a fresh start on 70 starting Mon.

If you want, you can take a 34 hour restart if you want to, but if you get the right DOT officer as I have said and he starts poking the hours and sees that you have more hours off duty line 1 than what the company is authorising you to do then he can give you a logbook violation if he chooses to. Same thing for your 10 hour break and any other time during the day if you want to log line 1 off duty-the company HAS to authorize it, or you are illegally working your logs. No company authorization and you must have the entire 34 in the sleeper line 2--legally that is. A lot of DOT guys would overlook that, but some wont--question is DO you want to chance it?

 

actually you do have to carry it with you and be able to show it to DOT if asked for it, it saved me once up in NY. The FMCSA rules actually state that you do have to carry it, if your company authorises it. I even included the question on the statute in the post. Here is the form as prescribed by FMCSA:
=======================================================

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]This letter authorizes our driver ______________ to be Off-Duty during meal and other routine stops. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The purpose of the Federal Department of Transportation Hours of Service Regulations[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif](Part 395) is to keep tired drivers from operating vehicles. Under certain circumstances,[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]however, it appears that enroute stops for meals or other routine purposes may serve to[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]lessen a driver's fatigue.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Therefore, this letter is authorization for you to record your meal or other routine stops on[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]your logs as Off-Duty, rather than On-Duty Not Driving as would normally be the case.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]However, this may be done only under all of the following circumstances.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1. Your vehicle must be parked in a safe and secure manner so as to prevent[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]obstruction of traffic and theft or damage to the vehicle and cargo.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2. The off-duty period must be no less than 30 minutes and no longer than 60[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]minutes.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]3. During the off-duty period, you are relieved from responsibility from your vehicle[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]and cargo.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]4. During the off-duty period, you are free to leave the premises on which your[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]vehicle is parked and to pursue activities of your choosing, as long as your ability[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]to safely operate your vehicle is not impaired as required by Part 392, "Driving of[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Vehicles", of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Driver Supervisor _____________________[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Date _______________________________ [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]===============================================================[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]BTW, this form is directly off of the FMCSA forms. The FMCSA does not recognize any time as off duty unless the carrier has authorized it in writing as according to the rule. You are correct in saying that a lot of carriers have blanket policies, but the policy must be issued in writing to the driver and be carried by the driver. Or you are violating the regulation. According to FMCSA this is absolutely correct, consult with them if you so choose to. Here is the regulation:[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]===============================================================[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=TimesNewRoman,Bold]Off Duty Time: [/FONT]

Three conditions must be met for a driver to be considered off duty:

1. The driver must be relieved of all duty and responsibility for the care and custody of the

vehicle, its accessories, and any cargo or passengers it may be carrying.
2. The duration of the driver's relief from duty must be for a specific period of time and of
sufficient duration to ensure that the drive can obtain rest.
3. During the off duty period, the driver must be at liberty to pursue activities of his/her own
choosing, and be free to leave the premises on which the vehicle is situated.
Examples of off duty time: Driver on vacation; time driver spends driving to and from work; at a meal
stop (if the driver has written authorization from the carrier in order to record that time as off duty; the
written authorization is not required to be carried by the driver but must be made available if the driver is asked).​

[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Bold]===============================================================[/FONT]
[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Bold]This regulation also pertains to the 34 hour restart if the driver were to use any of the restart as off duty line 1. I will agree that you dont necessarily have to carry it(the authorization), but if asked for it, you must be able to produce it--so I would gather from that, that even though you dont have to carry it, you are expected to have something to prove that you can use the off duty line1 and for how long. According to #3, if you were under dispatch and were hooked to freight, legally you could not log off duty line 1, because you could not leave the truck for extended time and "pursue activities of your own choosing" since you are responsible for the load you are under at all times unless you are no longer under it, so if you are parked on the company yard, I would think that would be different, but parked down at the TA or Petro, I wouldnt stake my job on it.[/FONT]​

[/FONT]