Am I wrong?

Couple years back I ended my week back at the terminal about 69.75 hours totalled up. I knew I was going home for a few days so let the Line 4 run a couple more hours. Next week the girls at the office were calling in a tizzy about violating the 70 hour clock lol.

 

Can't find a source that says what you're saying.

Here's what Keller says...

If a driver won’t be driving after the 8th hour, does he or she need a break?
No, not under the federal HOS rules. The rules only restrict drivers from driving a property-carrying CMV after 8 hours without a break. If a driver will be working but not driving a CMV after 8 hours, then no break is required.
https://www.jjkeller.com/learn/hours-of-service-faqs

 

The FMCSA doesn't give two craps about the hours you work, only that you aren't DRIVING without proper rest. All of the breaks required by the regulations stipulate that you cannot DRIVE unless you have had your break.

You can work past the 8th hour, you just cannot DRIVE again until you've taken your 30.

You can work past the 14th hour, you just cannot DRIVE again until you've had your 10.

You can work past the 70th hour in 8 days, you just cannot DRIVE again until you've rested long enough to either pick up hours on your recap or reset your 70 with 34 consecutive hours off.

I've had similar disputes with safety where I'm at. I arrived home at the 14th hour, then went to line 4 for a short while to take care of a few things...extending my work day past the 14th hour. No problems, because I didn't DRIVE. The problem came 3 days later when I used the 16 hour exception to get home...didn't get home again until 15-1/2 hours after I left. Company claimed I wasn't eligible to use the 16 hour exception a second time that week, and I made the case that I only used it once. The first time I exceeded 14 hours, I did not drive and therefore the 16 hour exception wasn't used thereby keeping it available to me. You are only allowed to use it once per week, unless you've had a 34 hour restart since the last time you used it. (And yes, I got home every day on the previous 5 days I worked, which is another requirement). They looked into it, and dropped the issue when they saw I was correct.

Bottom line, the regulations only dictate when you can DRIVE, not when you can work. You can be on line 4 for a week straight (or until you pass out from exhaustion) without ever taking a single break, and you are not in violation of ANY FMCSA regulations as long as you take the required breaks before getting behind the wheel and putting yourself on line 3.

 

Does a truck driver need a 30-minute break every 8 hours of driving?
The 8 hours are consecutive hours, so they include driving and all other time (including any breaks that are less than 30 minutes). The rules say you have to stop driving CMVs once you reach 8 consecutive hours past the end of your last break of at least 30 consecutive minutes.

If a driver won’t be driving after the 8th hour, does he or she need a break?
No, not under the federal HOS rules. The rules only restrict drivers from driving a property-carrying CMV after 8 hours without a break. If a driver will be working but not driving a CMV after 8 hours, then no break is required.

 

He said he didn't drive after being on duty for 8 hours.

No violation occurred.

 

The OP did say he did not drive after his post-trip.

 

We have, even some posted them. If you are so sure why not post the regulation yourself. Heck, I'll even make it easier. Post one single regulation that limits time worked in any case (property carrying, not passenger carrying). I'm not talking how on-duty time affects driving, but any fmcsa regulation that limits on-duty time.