Get fined for being in sleeper too long?

That's an assumption on your part. And the sleeper is not part of the truck by law. If you book off duty your scenario is moot. Even you said it's OFF duty. I don't get it.

 

I think even in that scenario you would be okay. Off duty is Off duty. Only reason to log sleeper is if you want to do the split sleeper berth rule. FMCSA really should provide some clarification of this.

 

Nope, it is defacto log falsification period. Definitely not OK.

The main reason to log Sleeper Berth is 1. having a sleeper berth. 2. Being physically in the Sleeper. 3. Code of Federal Regulations require it (proper logging of last change of duty status truly, correctly and currently)

They do clarify it in the CFRs (green book).

 

Show me a green book reference where it says you are required to log time in sleeper Berth as sleeper berth time and cannot log off duty time there.

 

Ok, here goes.
This is all from eCFR — Code of Federal Regulations
§395.8 Driver's record of duty status.
(b) The duty status shall be recorded as follows:
(1) “Off duty” or “OFF.”
(2) “Sleeper berth” or “SB” (only if a sleeper berth used).

(h) Graph grid preparation. The graph grid may be used horizontally or vertically and shall be completed as follows:
(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, is not required to be in readiness to work, or is not under any responsibility for performing work.

(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.)

§395.2 Definitions.
Sleeper berth means a berth conforming to the requirements of §393.76 of this chapter.

And bugger all if you want me to define exactly what is seen as SB. It's that space with the bed behind the drivers seat....

 

Thank you but nothing on that says you have to record sleeper berth time as sleeper berth It just says you can only use sleeper berth when you have one and are using it.

 

WOW, the mental agility to type that.

Sorry, I'd highlight exactly where it says must, but since you are using your brain pan to be willfully ignorant no one can help you...

 

§395.8 Driver's record of duty status.
(b) The duty status ***shall*** be recorded as follows:
(1) “Off duty” or “OFF.”
(2) “Sleeper berth” or “SB” ***(only if a sleeper berth used).***

(1) Off duty.*** Except for time spent resting in a sleeper berth***,

so you can see right there with that entry, FMCSA requires you to log Sleeper Berth for all time spend resting in the sleeper berth, right there in black and white. Off Duty shall be recorded as OFF DUTY except for time spent resting in the Sleeper Berth which shall (MUST) be recorded as SLEEPER BERTH on the Record of Duty Status Logs.Failure for the professional commercial driver to obey these regulations would be falsifying a federal document which falls under the Fatigued Basic within the CSA environment carrying negative safety points against the driver's carrier and the driver's PSP report. Continuing to falsify federal documents might cause the driver to be labeled an imminent hazard to public safety and cost the driver their CDL .


OK
@Truckermania I want to point your attention to the three bolded, underlined, asterisked and italicized word and sentences above.

OK first it they use the word SHALL. That does not mean it is up to the driver's discretion or choice or option. Shall is very close in meaning to MUST.

Next up we have the wording that the driver shall record their time in the sleeper berth (if it is used). I suppose a nitpicker would say they need the FMCSA to write that off duty only if the sleeper berth is Not used lol.

Finally it explains how to log off duty status. Specifically tells the driver that all time is off duty EXCEPT time in the Sleeper Berth which shall be recorded as such.

What I had to do is trim out the fluff words around the regulation to make it easier to understand. So there you have it, you shall log Sleeper Berth when your body is occupying the Sleeper Berth, no exceptions. To do otherwise is a big time falsification and CSA violation. You can be certain in the new ELD era coming next year DOT inspectors will be looking very hard at Off Duty and Sleeper Duty status changes because their normal goldmine of form and manner tickets will dry up so they will have to dig deep into the regs to find the tiny minutia to bust drivers on.

 

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/Drivers Guide to HOS 2015_508.pdf

page 14 paragraph 1 specifically

 

How Does the Sleeper-Berth Provision Work? If you drive a truck that has a sleeper berth that meets the requirements of the safety regulations, you may use it to get the required off-duty time in three ways: 1. You may spend time in your sleeper berth to get some, or all, of the 10 consecutive hours of off-duty time. When getting your 10 consecutive hours of off-duty time, what is most important is that you do not go on duty or drive during those 10 hours. At the end of the 10 consecutive hours of combined sleeper and/or off-duty time, your 11-hour driving and 14-hour duty-period limits would completely restart. 2. You may also use the sleeper berth to extend the 14-hour limit. Any period in the sleeper