HoS ?

If on duty is defined as (below) you'll want to have the card.

On duty time means all time from the time a driver begins to work or is required to be in readiness to work until the time the driver is relieved from work and all responsibility for performing work. On duty time shall include:
(1) All time at a plant, terminal, facility, or other property of a motor carrier or shipper, or on any public property, waiting to be dispatched, unless the driver has been relieved from duty by the motor carrier;
(2) All time inspecting, servicing, or conditioning any commercial motor vehicle at any time;
(3) All driving time as defined in the term driving time;
(4) All time, other than driving time, in or upon any commercial motor vehicle except time spent resting in a sleeper berth;
(5) All time loading or unloading a commercial motor vehicle, supervising, or assisting in the loading or unloading, attending a commercial motor vehicle being loaded or unloaded, remaining in readiness to operate the commercial motor vehicle, or in giving or receiving receipts for shipments loaded or unloaded;
(6) All time repairing, obtaining assistance, or remaining in attendance upon a disabled commercial motor vehicle;
(7) All time spent providing a breath sample or urine specimen, including travel time to and from the collection site, in order to comply with the random, reasonable suspicion, post-accident, or follow-up testing required by part 382 of this subchapter when directed by a motor carrier;
(8) Performing any other work in the capacity, employ, or service of a motor carrier; and
(9) Performing any compensated work for a person who is not a motor carrier.

 

Or this....


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Part 395

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Hours of service of drivers

§395.2 Definitions.

Question 2: What conditions must be met for a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) driver to record meal and other routine stops made during a tour of duty as off-duty time?

Guidance:1. The driver must have been relieved of all duty and responsibility for the care and custody of the vehicle, its accessories, and any cargo or passengers it may be carrying.

2. The duration of the driver's relief from duty must be a finite period of time which is of sufficient duration to ensure that the accumulated fatigue resulting from operating a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) will be significantly reduced.

3. If the driver has been relieved from duty, as noted in (1) above, the duration of the relief from duty must have been made known to the driver prior to the driver's departure in written instructions from the employer. There are no record retention requirements for these instructions on board a vehicle or at a motor carrier's principal place of business.

4. During the stop, and for the duration of the stop, the driver must be at liberty to pursue activities of his/her own choosing and to leave the premises where the vehicle is situated.

Question 3: A driver has been given written permission by his/her employer to record meal and other routine stops made during a tour of duty as off-duty time. Is the driver required to record such time as off-duty, or is it the driver's decision whether such time is recorded as off-duty?

Guidance: It is the employer's choice whether the driver shall record stops made during a tour of duty as off-duty time. However, employers may permit drivers to make the decision as to how the time will be recorded.

 

While it says that there is no requirement for record keeping on the vehicle, without the record then you are assumed "On duty".

So, this is still a back door regulation that requires you to keep the record even though the regulation says your not required to.

Get the letter granting permission to log breaks as off duty and keep it with your log book. The regulation DOES SAY IT HAS TO BE IN WRITING.

Thanx Meltom

 

There is a new rule change also, where after 3 hours of driving and before you drive 8 hours its mandetory you take a 30 minute minimum break. Good time to park for a bit and walk around.

 

Yep I saw that. I am trying to get a new printed edition of regs, but have not got one yet.

 

It's on the fmcsr website. What's funny though if I'm waiting to be dispatched I log that off duty even if I'm in the truck, speacially this time of year when freight slows down I might go do something else.

 

What this is saying is that there does not need to be any record of any such "permission" carried in the vehicle, nor at the place of business. In other words, it does not need to exist...because nobody will ever have to show it, because nobody is required to keep it.

Now lets look at "On Duty" time:

This lists very specific criteria. Essentially, if you are at a shipper or receiver, terminal, or any public property (i.e. parked upon the shoulder of the road outside of the shipper/receiver) waiting to be dispatched, then you are "On Duty" unless you have been relieved from duty by the motor carrier. If you are on PRIVATE property (i.e. a truck stop), this does not apply and you may show "Off Duty" time.

In other words, don't get caught polishing those wheels & tanks while attempting to take your 34....because you are technically "On Duty"

Pretty self explanatory. You're driving, you're not "Off Duty".

If you are in the restroom, in a store doing some grocery shopping, or just killing time at any location NOT specifically named in #1, you are "Off Duty".

#1 covered waiting for a dispatch. #5 covers waiting to load or unload, as well as the actual loading & unloading time. During that time, you are "On Duty".

Break down? You're "On Duty" for as long as you are in attendance of that disabled CMV.

"On Duty" during drug & alcohol testing.

You are not performing any work for any motor carrier if you are in the rest room, doing your personal grocery shopping, sitting down in a restaurant eating dinner, or kicked back beneath a shade tree killing time. Therefore, you are "Off Duty".

You are not performing any compensated work for anyone else if you are in the rest room, doing your personal grocery shopping, sitting down in a restaurant eating dinner, or kicked back under a shade tree killing time, therefore you are "Off Duty".

Like I said, the regulations are VERY clear in their definitions stating when you must be "On Duty", when you must log "Driving", and when you are in the "Sleeper". ALL OTHER TIME is "Off Duty"....and there isn't a #### thing they can do about you logging your time as such, so long as that time doesn't fall under any of the other definitions. The burden of proof is on THEM to show that you did not qualify for the "Off Duty" time that you logged by proving that you were, in fact, "On Duty" during that time. If the inspectors cannot prove that you met one of the 9 specific "On Duty" criteria, they cannot do a #### thing in regards to the "Off Duty" time that you have logged. You don't have to have written permission with you. The carrier does not have to have a copy of that written permission on file. In other words, the written permission does not have to exist, because NOBODY is required to keep it in order to be able to show it if asked for it.

If you are "On Duty", log it on line 4.
If you are "Driving", log it on line 3.
If you are in the "Sleeper Berth", log it on line 2.
ALL OTHER TIME goes on line 1...because you are "Off Duty".

 

This is the #### we get when we allow lawyers to write the laws... it's just more government control over our lives...

And so many of us follow like sheep to the slaughter.

 

I agree with you that the regulations are worded as you posted. I also agree that the regulation states you need not carry a record indicating you have permission to take breaks off duty. However, when a driver gets stopped by DOT the driver is wrong until he/she proves their right.

In the case of proof, written evidence at the earliest time prevents needless escalating processes, such as out of service / citation and redress. Why suffer the fight with DOT if you can avoid it altogether. And also, once you are stopped by DOT and they check your logs and inquire as to why you log "Off duty" six times a day for periods of 10-15 minutes, they are going to ask if your carrier permits you to take such breaks off duty, even though most do, it would be beneficial to be able to have the "Written permission" instrument as evidence.

The rules clearly dictate that such permission need to be in writing and without the written instrument, how can you prove it at that point and time. Is a phone call to your carrier sufficient? Also, how much additional time and energy is going to be spent? The decision is each carriers to grant permission. The decision to carry or not carry the evidence is the drivers. However, it is the DOT officers decision whether or not to place a driver out of service or to cite the driver.

You may fight it and defeat it, but did you really win?