Can a company mandate using sleeper status during 10 Hour Break

§ 395.2: Definitions.
On-duty time shall include:
(4) All time in or on a commercial motor vehicle, other than:
(i) Time spent resting in or on a parked vehicle, except as otherwise provided in § 397.5 of this subchapter;
(ii) Time spent resting in a sleeper berth; or
(iii) Up to 2 hours riding in the passenger seat of a property-carrying vehicle moving on the highway immediately before or after a period of at least 8 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth;
--------------------------------
[h=3]§ 395.3: Maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles.[/h](a) Except as otherwise provided in § 395.1, no motor carrier shall permit or require any driver used by it to drive a property-carrying commercial motor vehicle, nor shall any such driver drive a property-carrying commercial motor vehicle, regardless of the number of motor carriers using the driver's services, unless the driver complies with the following requirements:
(1) Start of work shift. A driver may not drive without first taking 10 consecutive hours off duty;
(2) 14-hour period. A driver may drive only during a period of 14 consecutive hours after coming on duty following 10 consecutive hours off duty. The driver may not drive after the end of the 14-consecutive-hour period without first taking 10 consecutive hours off duty.
----------------------------------
NOWHERE does it say we need to record how much we are sleeping.

 

And YES, by their very nature Statutory Law IS A WORD GAME.

 

Sleeper berth status DOES NOT exist simply because trucks might have sleeper berths. The status exists to accommodate executing an 8/2 split sleeper condition, allowing a driver to break up a 10 hour break provided 8 hours of continuous sleeper status. Otherwise, according to the DOT officer who spoke at our driver meeting, 10 hours sufficiently satisfies the code.

 

Look what I found !!!


§ 395.8: Driver's record of duty status.
h) (2) Sleeper berth. A continuous line shall be drawn between the appropriate time markers to record the period(s) of time off duty resting in a sleeper berth, as defined in § 395.2. (If a non-sleeper berth operation, sleeper berth need not be shown on the grid.)


Could that be more clear?

 

And no...they don't mean surgery when they state non-sleeper berth operation...they mean if you do not need to show sleeper berth i.e. 8/2 split or team driving.

 

I do hope, Grumpy, you read the post I made just above yours. It really does get specific.