Explain like I'm five the 10 hour break rule in the sleeper?

You do this on your first change of duty status. When you start working again. No reason to do it before.

 

There is no rule mandating a driver be on duty to change duty status. You can go from line 1 to line 2 and back 100 times during that 10 hour break and not be considered on duty. If you are saying otherwise I am going to respectfully ask you to support this by linking to the rule.

 

I will tell you how I do it and how it went with DOT officer on I-65N, Ardmore, TN, wheight station. So I always log my 10 as off duty, and I use it as 1hr Dinner, 1hr Breakfast, 1,5hr Book or Movie, 6,5hr sleep. The Dot officer asked me how come I always go 10hr off duty and what I do in that time. I simply said that I am required by the law to these 10hr and that what ever I do then, I am not on duty and I am not driving. He smiled and kept doing his papers. I got clean level 1 inspection that day. And I am still doing 10hr off duty, no matter what I do in those 10hr

 

Leave it to truck drivers to turn 1+1 into

 

As a team, when truck is rolling, the person not driving must log 8 continues hrs in sleeper. The other 2 he or she can log off duty up front. The 2 can be before the 8 or after(look under 395.1 Specific requirements). Also logging more than one day per paper log was up to company. FMCSA doesn't care if you log more than one day per paper log. But, saying that, the FMCSA says you cant have more than 13 days? ( look under Filing driver's record of duty status) original logs on your possession. You must send in original logs to your company within 13 days, talking paper logs here.

 

Check with your safety department. Guaranteed they will tell you to log it like you do it. If your truck is equipped with a sleeper they will require you to log Sleeper if you are in and and Off Duty when you are out of it (for your 10 hour breaks for example). Why? Because Hours of Service fall under the FATIGUED BASIC under CSA.

This means not only you may incur logbook violations, but your carrier as well. A log book falsification violation can spell huge fines for you and your carrier. Not to mention out of service (OOS) , if the officer does that to you, it is an additional 2 points under CSA.

It's all spelled out in the green book how to log properly and legally. 101% chance your carrier gave you a brand new shiny green book in orientation with all the answers in it.

Do not trust your career to a guy who retired before CSA got totally on its feet and today has no skin in the game.

 

Absolutely!! What you do while you are OFF DUTY is NOT anybody's business especially the DOT. This is how you handle these kind of questions designed to trip you up. When that cop goes on a fishing expedition you should toss the hook back out of the water.

 

395.8(1) Off Duty. Except for time spent resting in a sleeper berth, a continuous line SHALL be drawn between the appropriate time markers to record the period(s) of time when the driver is not on duty...

395.8(2) Sleeper. 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....

The FMCSA is saying the sleeper time itself is off duty, just in a specific place.

395.8(f)(1) Entries to be current. Drivers shall keep their records of duty status current to the time shown for the last change of duty status.

Right there it tells you if you change your duty status by leaving the Sleeper to get out of the truck, that is a change and must be recorded in the Record of Duty status as a change. To do otherwise is falsification period.

395.8 (C) (2) (e) (1) No driver or motor carrier may make a false report in connection with a duty status.

Under CSA a log falsification will hurt the driver and the carrier who employs that driver. Fines to the driver about $2750 and up to $16,000 to the carrier. Are you sure you want to risk that and get fired? Maybe not be able to get another driving job for months with that mess on your PSP report; no carrier would risk hiring you and paying $16,000 bucks because you don't know how to legally log as a professional truck driver.

The big 2018 June Safety Blitz this year is focusing on Hours of Service, I suggest you read your green book and protect yourself.

 

395.11 Supporting documents. (4) (g) Supporting documents at roadside. (1) Upon request during a roadside inspection, a driver MUST make available to an authorized Federal, State, or local official for the official's review ANY supporting documents in the driver's possession.

The officer has the power to check your SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS. The regulations say so. But they also say "in the driver's possession". So the smart move if you want to log Sleeper time while swiping your ATM card to buy those chips is to throw away the receipt.

But understand, your carrier holds onto your logs for 6 months back at the office and if you are involved in a fatality crash within that time, the lawyer for the other party will have discovery access to your last 6 months worth of logs. Trust me, they will meticulously comb over your logs and compare your Sleeper time to your financial transactions. This is called Financial Forensics.

When they find you swiped your card when you were logging Sleeper, you have just given them the keys to multimillions in civil court. They will sue you and your carrier, perhaps even your shipper or receiver if they see you signed for your load paperwork while logged Sleeper.

Log it like you do it, do it like you log it. Stay out of prison and protect your customer and carriers from being sued into oblivion.

 

East of I-75 I trip planned at 55 MPH. West I trip planned at 60. Always seemed to work out. Some carriers will send you a letter if you log more then 60 MPH.