Does 20 hours off duty = two ten hour breaks?

The problem with the "this is the way I log" argument is that the Regulations are so ambiguous, and I believe that to be intentional, that the DOT officers are open to interpreting them in a few ways.

In 5 years on ELogs, I have never had a violation and my logs have been inspected at at least 5 scale houses.

As an example, there are those who will tell you and point to a regulation that specifically says if you are in the bunk, you must log sleeper, not off duty. The argument is that they are not interchangeable statuses.

I counter that with the fact that for a 34 hour reset, it clearly states 34 or more hours off duty. It does not mention sleeper, only off duty.

Now a reasonable person can interprate that regulation to mean 34 hours or more not driving and not on duty, and then the SB status works just fine.

So why is one reg clear that specifically States SB and the other not that specifically States Off Duty? Technically by the precise reading of the Regulation 34 or more consecutive hours off duty, does not include SB.

Obviously the SB does count toward off duty time, and unless I am doing an 8/2 split, I just log off duty even when I am asleep.

I too have never received a log violation on ELogs, and never for that on paper.

There will be those who chime in and quote a regulation telling me I am logging illegally though, and also many of those will be logging SB when doing a 34... So who is right? Who decides? The DOT guy looking at your logs.

 

Unfortunately you are correct. Many moons ago, while i was in orientation, the safety director told us that if we get mistakenly put out of service by a scale or whomever, don't fight with them, let them know, and they will deal with it. The example he used was a driver being put out of service in Kentucky for being over 10 hours of driving (old rules). It seems that no amount of arguing could convince the officer that home terminal time zone (Pacific) was the correct time, and that he had 2 hours left. Safety told him to forget it, take his 8, and they would fight the ticket for him.

I was inspected in Indiana, and they are going that you don't sign your log until the end of the day. Because that was what he was looking for, and saw that I was in compliance with the signature, he didn't notice that I had driven 15 minutes past my 14. Who am I to argue?

 

Your understanding is mistaken.

Sleeper berth is a subset of off-duty, just as driving is a subset of on-duty. All sleeper berth is off-duty, but all off-duty is not sleeper berth. Likewise, all driving is on-duty, but all on-duty is not driving.

That is why sleeper berth is not singled out in your example; because any such time counts as off-duty time.

 

While I agree they are related, please show me the regulation that states what you said.

 

It not my understanding that is mistaken, it is the inherent ambiguity of the regulations that leaves them open to various interpretations.

 

Duplicate

 

I submit the following:

Off-Duty Time
“Off-duty time” is not specifically defined in the regulations. In effect, it is any time that is not “driving time,” “on-duty time,” or “sleeper berth” as defined in § 395.2.

So now,

Apply that to this:

60/70-Hour Limit
May not drive after 60/70 hours on duty in 7/8 consecutive days. A driver may restart a 7/8 consecutive day period after taking 34 or more consecutive hours off duty.

Do you see the ambiguity I am speaking of?

 

No, there is no ambiguity. With the exception of the 8-hour portion of a split-sleeper, sleeper berth time is frequently referenced in the regulations as being equivalent to off-duty, including the 2-hour portion of a split-sleeper.

Sleeper berth time is only specific to a location, not an activity.

 

Then you are able to show me where in the regations it states it is a subset?

 

It is the same philosophy that a square is a rectangle, but a rectangle is not a square.