OK my trainer and I were having a discussion and even asked the company and are getting conflicting answers about off duty status. My trainer believes that off duty status means you are free to do whatever you want (within reason obviously) as long as your truck is parked. By this definition if you are parked at the truck stop on your 10 hour rest, reset, or off duty for whatever other reason, you are still off duty even if you are sitting in one of the front seats. We have also been told anytime you are in a front seat you are to log on duty even if the truck is parked. To me this does not make sense but then again I know a lot of laws that dont make sense.
I bring this up because we both have laptops. When on a break we place our laptops on the steering wheel clipboard or glove box door depending on where we happen to be sitting. It is much easier to use a computer sitting down than laying in the bunk. Keep in mind we are PARKED with the brakes set and not going anywhere.
Also I was wondering about sleeper berth time. If you have a curtain that goes across the cab windows, the sleeper and cab are all physically the same part of the truck. You are not required to be sleeping to log sleeper berth time. Who says where the sleeper ends? What if me and my girlfriend are both in the truck and I happen to be standing between the seats while she makes the bed, am I not longer in the sleeper? I know I am picking nits with some of this, with the curtain pulled who knows where I am standing. Just curious for curiousities sake.
Also please no truckstop answers. Please back up your answer with a reg, would love to hear DB's opinion.
I am not good with understanding the legaleze and usually need it explained. I tried reading the regs as written and the top of my head almost exploded.
Off duty status question
Discussion in 'Trucking Industry Regulations' started by gravdigr, Jul 12, 2011.
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The FMCSA does not define off-duty, but they do explain what it is.
They do define what on-duty and driving time are.
They also give further explanation of how to determine off-duty time as well as outlining the fact that just because you might be paid, it does not necessarily mean you are on-duty.
So, now that you've recovered from reading all that...
I would not live in fear of using the entire truck interior when stopped for a break and logging off-duty or sleeper berth.
Only the narrowest and most anal of interpretations would look at it any other way.dieselbear and rookietrucker Thank this. -
if you are in the truck or at the truck stop, Log SLEEPER. If you are home, in a hotel room, or on hometime log OFF DUTY.
Techicly you should do what was quoted above, but there is no reason to. DO NOT go back and forth from line 1 and 2 all night at a TS every time you go inside
American TruckerlostNfound Thanks this. -
If you are inside the truckstop and someone hit your truck and the cops look at YOUR logbook, how would you explain that?
Not to sound like a d%$k, but that is what our safety director said to a driver at a safety meeting when he brought that up.
Safety use to love my logs when I ran a sleeper. Line one and two throughout my break They said to log like you did it, so I did
scottied67 Thanks this. -
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which driving school did you go to????????? Almost EVERYTHING you post about HOW to do something is WRONG very very wrong
I would sugest you get some road exp before you start trying to tell exp drivers how to do their jobs....
American Trucker
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