Can a company mandate using sleeper status during 10 Hour Break

insulting drivers with many years of experience both on paper and elogs
doesnt make you smarter you know

 

Confused on this one . Why would you worry about explaining to the DOT why you log 15 minutes to load and unload? If it takes you longer then 15 min to back to a dock then I guess yes to this statement. Personally I do not physically load or unload my truck so after I back up in under 15 min I am no longer on duty. Thus I log off duty not driving. Why should I burn my 70 sitting waiting for them to load and unload? In this time I do not have to stay in the truck and most of the time I watch tv go for a walk or just twiddle my thumbs. It does burn your 14hr clock but not the 70. Just my 2 cents.

 

You can go nap while they're bouncing the forklift around in the back if you're the napping type (I'm not), I was merely pointing out the minor logical fallacy (IMO) of the law allowing drivers to log line 2 in those scenarios when line 1 is generally not allowed...being that line 2 is basically just a more specific type of off duty status.

Regs: "You're NOT allowed to be off duty, but you ARE allowed to be unconscious in the back!" Okay gotcha.

 

This question agin? If you are in the sleeper, and your not logging, technics your falsifying your logs, yes your company can mandate it, because the FMCSA mandate it

 

Did you read past the bold section? To continue: at least 10 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth or other sleeping accommodations, or a combination of at least 10 consecutive hours off duty, sleeper berth, or time in other sleeping accommodations, contact the FMCSA, they will gladly answer this for you as well, if your in the sleeper, you must log in the sleeper

 

lol, it's amazing how complicated this subject can get when it's beyond simple.

There is off duty in the sleeper berth and off duty not in the sleeper berth. It's not rocket science and apparently higher education just clouds the issue.

Sleeper berth operation means you're running team or doing the split break? Give your head a shake. Sleeper berth means you're in the sleeper berth.

Again, it's simple. If you're in the sleeper berth while off duty then log sleeper berth, if not simply log off duty.

 

1. Yes a company can ask a driver to log beyond what is required if they want to. You are operating equipment THEY own and they are PAYING YOU to do it. So they can require whatever they like beyond the regulations.
2. What your company is asking is already required by the DOT. See item 26 on this page from the FMCSA website i.e. the people who write the regs. http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/part/395?guidance

Your company is only asking you do what the DOT requires you to do.

 

As others have said, if your company says to log your off duty time as sleeper then log it that way, why make a fight out of it? A company can have requirements that exceed those that the FMCSA has.

As for if it is required by law, no it isn’t anymore.

There was a change in the off duty status a few years ago (it went into effect in Feb of 2012) that seems to be causing some confusion on this. From https://www.npga.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1773...

The rules only require you have 10 hours of off duty between driving shifts, no where do they say you must log sleeper or even that you must sleep.

This change made logging sleeper birth unnecessary for solo drivers as a solo driver will be in a non moving vehicle when off duty. It also allows for drivers running 1 ton dully’s pulling RV’s or whatever to legally sleep in their trucks back seat as sleeping in a space that meets the definitions that the FMCSA has for sleeper births is only required if the truck is moving while you are off duty.

 

Off duty means you have been released from all responsibility for the truck and the load. Sleeper berth does not have this requirement. You can be responsible for the truck and the load, waiting to load/unload, or even be in the process of loading/unloading and be in the sleeper if you only have to remain nearby in case you might be needed. You are not off duty, but your immediate attention is not required at the moment.

 

If you think I'm wrong, prove it! You are free to believe whatever you like, but without solid facts to back up your claim it falls on deaf ears. It has been explained several times by several different individuals where you are misreading the regs, and if you don't like what you have been told, eventually you'll run into a DOT officer who will be more than happy to explain it again. It isn't something that every DOT officer cares about, but they are out there.