[Molson]

Another question I had as a newbie is...

It goes without saying not to drink and drive, but at the end of the night after a long haul or once you hit your 36hr. break, do you guys stop and get a beer or is it against the rules? I just know at my current job (not trucking) at the end of a long day or week, I love to crack a cold one.

So whats the deal?

[Rockjockey]

Better get a hotel room if you get a beer. Most states can give you a dui if you are in your vehicle legally drunk, even if it is not running. This does not even take into account your companies policy if you are not an O/O. Not worth the chance, as far as I am concerned. Wait till you get home to have a cold one.

[Useless]

Rather trickey there, Molson!!

There is no law against a driver drinking beer when he is shut down.

HOWEVER:

Many companies do have policies which forbid bringing beer into a truck, and some have policies against imbibing at all when you have the truck keys on your person, or in your immediate possession. Not bad rules when you consider a co.'s liability exposure.

If DOT sees you carrying a brewski into your truck, (shut down or not!!) you'd best be ready to do some serious "splainin' ", be ready to fork over some hard earned cash, and be ready to look good in a McCrappy uniform.

Think: "Would you like to have that order supersized"??

As for parking at a tavern, your safety dept. is going to be wanting to know why he received calls from people who took pics or vids of your truck & truck number after sighting you in the tavern parking lot.

As for taking a taxi during a shut down??

As long as all of the brew is out of your system when it's time to fire up again, and as long as you don't get into any trouble at the saloon, you should be okay.

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by Useless

There is no law against a driver drinking beer when he is shut down.

Not necessarily.

Many companies do have policies which forbid bringing beer into a truck,

The FMCSA has a nice little "policy" about it too.

[Useless]

Originally Posted by Rev.Vassago

Not necessarily.

Educate us here, Rev.!!

I've been out of driving for a while now; I thought that as long as you were not bringing beer into your truck, and as long as it was out of your system before you returned to duty, that you were okay;

No??

The FMCSA has a nice little "policy" about it too.

Re: FMCSA, I thought it was more of a state by state issue. I'm no expert in this area.

Preach, Rev!!

[dennis in se pa]

Why not just pitch a tent at the truckstop? If you have a weekend layover, driving while under the influence is not an issue. If alcohol "in the truck" is the issue, pitch a tent! Have a campfire too! Is that feasable?
respects,
uninformed newbie

[mudpuddle]

You may go into a restaurant or bar and drink when you are off duty.

You may not drink within four hours prior to driving a CMV.

You may not operate a CMV with a blood alcohol level above .04 (states may have lower limits).

You may not have any alcoholic beverage in a CMV unless it is part of a manifested shipment.

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by Useless

Re: FMCSA, I thought it was more of a state by state issue. I'm no expert in this area.

Preach, Rev!!

§392.5 Alcohol prohibition.

(a) No driver shall—

(a)(1) Use alcohol, as defined in §382.107 of this subchapter, or be under the influence of alcohol, within 4 hours before going on duty or operating, or having physical control of, a commercial motor vehicle; or

(a)(2) Use alcohol, be under the influence of alcohol, or have any measured alcohol concentration or detected presence of alcohol, while on duty, or operating, or in physical control of a commercial motor vehicle; or

(a)(3) Be on duty or operate a commercial motor vehicle while the driver possesses wine of not less than one-half of one per centum of alcohol by volume, beer as defined in 26 U.S.C. 5052(a), of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, and distilled spirits as defined in section 5002(a)(8), of such Code. However, this does not apply to possession of wine, beer, or distilled spirits which are:

(a)(3)(i) Manifested and transported as part of a shipment; or

(a)(3)(ii) Possessed or used by bus passengers.

(c) Any driver who is found to be in violation of the provisions of paragraph (a) or (b) of this section shall be placed out-of-service immediately for a period of 24 hours.

The interpretations clarify it a bit:

Question 3: Does the prohibition against carrying alcoholic beverages in §392.5 apply to a driver who uses a company vehicle, for personal reasons, while off-duty?

Guidance: No. For example, an owner-operator using his/her own vehicle in an off-duty status, or a driver using a company truck or tractor for transportation to a motel, restaurant, or home, would normally be outside the scope of this section.

So, given the fact that the FMCSA interpretations specifically state there is a prohibition against carrying alcoholic beverages, and if you are in your CMV, there is the potential that you could go on duty at any given time. Let's say you were parked in a truck stop, drinking in your sleeper, and someone bumped into you, and you got out to investigate. You just went on duty, and are in violation. If you are even sitting in your driver's seat, you are considered on duty, and would be in violation if you had alcohol in the truck.

So, if you can figure out a way whereby you do not go to the controls of your CMV (this would include starting the truck to idle it, going to the restroom, getting out for any reason whatsoever), then you can have alcohol in your CMV. I would love to know, however, how you managed to get the alcohol into your CMV without being at the controls.

[ben45750]

Originally Posted by Useless

He will give some definition of what shut down means and assume what you think shut down actually means compared to his definition of shut down. Then by that time the actual post will be so twisted it has nothing to do with consuming alcohol when your shut down.

But your right Useless, If your shutdown there is no law that says you can't drink alcohol. Just don't drink in the the truck and stay out of it till your sober.

[inmate1577]

I'll have a beer if I'm on a reset, hell I'll have two :lol:
But not in the truck. If I'm on a reset I get a hotel room, order a pizza, get some beer and channel surf.