that is not what you said he said, not even close

 

Plus there's an "any detectable amount" rule that puts you out of service for 24 hours if you blow anything at all. I can't find that rule, although I found several rule summary sites that repeat it without referring to the chapter and verse in the regs.

 

The law here states you cannot be intoxicated and have "care or control" of a vehicle. In other words, within proximity of the vehicle(not necessarily in it) and have the keys on the person.

 

I have a feeling that the alcohol in trucks while off-duty depends on the state your in, Steve. The things I have heard, despite there being information in the FMCSR (ie a BAC of .04 in a CMV is a DUI, and any detectable amount leading to a 24 hour OOS), indicate to me that different states, maybe even different counties will or will not tolerate drinking in the truck. Some truckstops will sell beer because they have a local market to cater to, but do they also serve alcohol in their diner? I don't recall ever seeing one.

What you heard from the officer is true for when you are in the state of NH, which is a controlled state obviously.

But, if you choose to drink in the truck, do it in the sleeper, and get rid of the container as soon as your done.

And lucky me, I didn't do any running in the truck this week, I worked in the shop all weekend and did one local run before the blitz. The scale up by the TN / KY border was locked up all week, and the KY scale is pratically out of the ground with the construction.

 

The only bad part about drinking for me is that I don't like beer or wine. The older I get the less I can drink. I fall asleep after a few anyways. If I'm near a restaurant that serves liquor I'll have a few Margareta's then hit the hay.