Logging Sleeper/off duty, can I get a violation?

No. They removed the wording stating all time in or on a CMV is on duty. It applies to all CMV's, not just day cab tractors.

Basically it was changed to reflect on duty to be what one is doing, not simply where one is at

 

I think you're right but you're suppose to be "off duty" or in the sleeper. The whole mess is a joke.

 

Old fashioned log book rules still apply:

• Line 2 is off-duty when your carcass is actually IN the sleeper berth
• Line 1 is off-duty everywhere else.

Both are off-duty. I have never shown a violation for a driver being in the sleeper and showing line 1 off-duty. I have, however, explained to many drivers that IF they were actually in the sleeper it benefits them to show line 2 sleeper berth - because of the sleeper split option.

 

I once had a dot officer to tell me to quit logging off duty while in truck, log sleeper, they don’t know, you could’ve been watching tv.
That was during paper log days when dot officers could read the book, not go from some other dots officers word that thinks he’s the law instead of representing the law.

 

6 years and almost never logging sleeper, closest I've come was one officer, I think in Wyoming, complaining about it, but she didn't give me a ticket for logging it wrong.

Her basic explication was that if I'm logged off duty and something happens that causes an injury while I'm in the truck, than the log can be used against me. By logging off duty instead of sleeper I'm claiming to not be in the truck.

Would apply more to company drivers than owner ops.

 

Well they have to be petty now. Since elogs, id imagine theres a lot less logbook violations to write . now they go searching for technical stuff and make drivers life miserable.

I was at the peteo in spokane couple months ago at the resturant getting dinner and a landstar driver sit next to me and starts complaining about dot just wrote him a ticket for logging off duty instead of sleeper...

 

I've honestly never thought of it being a big deal. If I'm in the truck. I hit sleeper. If I'm out of it. I hit off duty. Yes I know you can be off duty in the truck. But no one is going to ding you on it.

 

Agreed. I've always operated similarly. However, when the DOT wants to find something you can bet your keyster they'll get exactly what they want. The fact that so many of the regs are written in a contradictory fashion is of no coincidence.

 

They recently updated our Peoplenet to where it logs down to the second. I can see down the road an officer will write a warning for a 10 second violation because you came out of the sleeper, sat in the drivers seat and it took you 10 seconds to get thru the menu to change status from sleeper to off duty.

I personally still do things like I use to. After shutting down for the night, I give it a little time off duty, then go to sleeper. Then in the morning, I give it 45-60 minutes of off duty before start showing any on duty time for my pti.. I am old, so I'm not going off duty every time wee-willy needs a walk, and then back to sleeper when he's done. I accumulate all my off duty time together, and sleeper time together while I am parked. On a 34, I show a couple hours in the middle of the day for any time I spent milling around the truckstop. And if questioned about it, I just say that if it's logged that way, that must be the way I did it, and it's the officer's job to prove any different.

 

Ummm, HOS, Volvos, and elogs are racist.
Ban em!