Off Duty or Sleeper Berth

jjoerger · Sep 8, 2012

The FMCSA rules for HOS now allow the non driving team driver to ride in the passenger seat for up to 2 hours before or after an 8 hour sleeper berth rest period.

From the FMCSA web site--On Duty time: Does not include any time resting in a parked vehicle (also applies to passenger-carrying drivers). In a moving property-carrying CMV, does not include up to 2 hours in passenger seat immediately before or after 8 consecutive hours in sleeper-berth.

Should this 2 hour period, if used, be logged as off duty or sleeper berth?

TeamCaffee · Sep 8, 2012

Bob in log books said to log as off duty with a note that goes something like this "off duty riding" to clarify call Bob in logs and he can tell you exactly what it needs to say.

zorry · Sep 8, 2012

Another thing to be careful of.
The "Off Duty-Driving".
I have had the hardest time understanding this.
We delivered at 08:00. Reload at noon at same address. We go OD-D to go to breakfast. We return to on duty at noon.
This is WRONG !

Second scenerio,
We unloaded Fri 08:00. We are predispatched for Monday.

We are NOT allowed ANY off duty driving this weekend because we are " under dispatch ."
Since we are generally predispatched we can seldom use the off duty driving provision.

Seems wrong to me and many people I've discussed it with.
The carrier can interpert things the way they want and/ or set there own rules.
My job is to follow them once I understand them.
I think I finally do.
This post applies to FEDEX ONLY.

jjoerger · Sep 8, 2012

Thanks for the replies. I should have known FedEx would have there own policy.

Dynamite 1 · Sep 9, 2012

that is a very silly company policy fedex has. you all should be screaming at the top of your lungs. the way the fed likes to dispatch loads days in advance then expect you to come on duty to do personal errands while waiting is, well, stupid. i mean come on, will you take this load we offer you on friday that doesnt pick up till monday but remember if you go shopping or to the mall or a movie or out to dinner make sure you log it on duty. its not a huge deal for a team but if its not a huge deal then why. what is their reasoning behind overstepping what dot allows. i understand overstepping by carriers on certain safety issues but this.

anyways, i take it by your sig. line that you two went back to fedex. best of luck and hope all works out well. flat rate or % this time. keep us informed of how its going and once again best wishes to you two.

runrunner · Sep 9, 2012

I left straight truck in March 2011 so have not logged since but then Qualcomm EOBR had a 40 minute off duty driving for each driver before your 14 hr clock started has that changed?

jjoerger · Sep 9, 2012

Dynamite 1 said:
that is a very silly company policy fedex has. you all should be screaming at the top of your lungs. the way the fed likes to dispatch loads days in advance then expect you to come on duty to do personal errands while waiting is, well, stupid. i mean come on, will you take this load we offer you on friday that doesnt pick up till monday but remember if you go shopping or to the mall or a movie or out to dinner make sure you log it on duty. its not a huge deal for a team but if its not a huge deal then why. what is their reasoning behind overstepping what dot allows. i understand overstepping by carriers on certain safety issues but this.

anyways, i take it by your sig. line that you two went back to fedex. best of luck and hope all works out well. flat rate or % this time. keep us informed of how its going and once again best wishes to you two.

LEAM does not have any off duty driving time. You move it, you log it.
At FedEx if you are predispatched you can use off duty driving time to go to the store or out to eat. You just can't improve your position as in getting closer to the freight.
We went back to FedEx a few weeks ago on the percentage program. So far so good.

cannedmeat27 · Sep 9, 2012

The way I understand it is if you are under dispatch with any company you can't move for personal use.

BigCat · Sep 9, 2012

The only gripe I have with FDCC is the checkin when you are dispatched on a load picking 24 hours from the last drop. We were 40 miles out and they kept sending messages that we needed to checkin anytime the truck moved while shopping. What is the point of the checkn anyway? Isn't that what our gps tracking unit they have on the trucks is for?

zorry · Sep 9, 2012

JJ,re-read my post. Improving your position has nothing to do with it.
The Fed does not allow using it once you accept your next load.
I had the hardest time understanding it. I called logs and went over it.
For a team we basically have one drive on duty Sat,the other Sun,if needed on a layover W/E.
Labor Day W/E we did PTI,drove 5 miles,and did PTI, to get a truckstop with better food.
If you are predispatched Fed says NO off-duty driving.

zorry · Sep 9, 2012

We can sit around and criticize Fed's policy.
When you think LEAM has NO policy,then Fed's very limited policy is better and even make's more sense.

highway star · Sep 9, 2012

cannedmeat27 said:
The way I understand it is if you are under dispatch with any company you can't move for personal use.

You can't do personal use if you have freight in the truck. It would be O.K. if you're dispatched but not yet loaded.

zorry · Sep 9, 2012

At Fedex,once predispatched,loaded or unloaded,you are not allowed to use off- duty driving.
Fedex considers it log falsification,a fireable offense.
Terry, can you say it in english for me ?

highway star · Sep 9, 2012

I was just speaking to what the regulation says, not the policy of a specific company.

zorry · Sep 9, 2012

I understand what you're saying Star. Fedex's policy seems overboard. I imagine totaly a liability issue.
Seems less overboard when you look at LEAM having no policy.
I have had this discussion at dinner and at breakfast have had to re-explain it to the same people.

Doggie Daddy · Sep 9, 2012

Dynamite 1 said:
that is a very silly company policy fedex has. you all should be screaming at the top of your lungs.

Yeah, that'll make them change their minds.

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moose · Sep 9, 2012

as for the first question, my carrier tells team drivers that jumpseat time is off duty.
My TL carrier allow for BT/PU on line one. as explained in question 26.
obvious restrictions are that the driver dose not 'move freight', have allowed drive time 11/14/70 as well as meet all rest requires AND that he return to the original location.

when it comes to TL carriers, the FMCSA cannot be more bluer with its wording.
most of all solo OTR truckers take a restart OTR away from home BABYSITTING A LOAD.
they are NOT allow to drop a loaded trailer, nor to move their freight, yet they are looged 'off duty' thanks to the allowed letter from the carrier reliving them from all work related DUTY.
the new proposed HOS makes this flowed rule WAY more complicated.
on the XM radio show, Larry (something) director of regulatory affairs with the FMCSA (or some other bureaucrat title) bluntly refused to answer this question leaving it to the carriers, insurance and ambulance chasers to fight over.

back to the JumpSeat question, time spent there under the new rule, regardless of logging statue or company policy abidance - is an ambulance chaser best win.
ANY work related action taken there will reset the rest period.
my thinking is simple, i would like to be able to prove to the court that my rest period was not interrupted.

jjoerger · Sep 9, 2012

This has brought up another question.
Here's the scenario: Both drivers are sitting in a truck stop, not dispatched and both have completed a 10 hour rest period. They decide to go to the mall for a few hours. One driver logs in off duty driving and starts driving. What does the other log?

Doggie Daddy · Sep 9, 2012

Off duty.

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dletheridge · Sep 9, 2012

jjoerger the way I had this explained to me by Panther logs, was that the driver that is driving logs it on line 5 (OD - D), the other driver would stay on the sleeper line until they get to the destination. Once there they both log into line 1 (OD).

My experience with line 5 has been different with each of the companies that i've been with. One absolutely would not allow it. Others would allow it as long as you were not loaded with freight. Others would allow it if you were dispatched on a load but still empty.

I pretty much stopped using line 5 after an incident where I was driving to a walmart while on line 5. It was going great until just right after starting driving and the destination was almost in sight - we got dispatched on a load.