With split logging you can divide that single consecutive 10 hour break into one 8 hour (or more) sleeper berth break that must be logged on line two as sleeper berth; and one 2 hour (or more) break on either line one off duty or line two sleeper berth. The two hour break can be logged on either line, or a combination of the two, but it must be AT LEAST 2 hours. (Please note that you may log any increment of time on any line, but it has to be at least 2 hours to qualify for the split sleeper provision. I have had people think incorrectly that they must take 2 hours off if they are going to take a minute and that is not true.) It used to be that you could split the sleeper berth in any fashion, such as 5 hours and 5 hours, but now ONLY the 8 and 2 split is valid.
The regulations regarding split sleeper berth time are listed in section 395.1 (g)
available at
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regul...mcsr/395.1.htm
For a truck that is equipped with a sleeper berth a driver
Quote:
(g)(1)(i)(A) Must, before driving, accumulate either
(1) At least 10 consecutive hours off duty; or
(2) At least 10 consecutive hours of sleeper-berth time; or
(3) A combination of consecutive sleeper-berth and off-duty time amounting to at least 10 hours; or
(4) The equivalent of at least 10 consecutive hours off duty if the driver does not comply with options (1), (2) or (3) above.
(g)(1)(ii)(A) The term “equivalent of at least 10 consecutive hours off duty” means a period of
(1) At least 8 but less than 10 consecutive hours in a sleeper berth, and
(2) A separate period of at least 2 but less than 10 consecutive hours either in the sleeper berth or off duty, or any combination thereof.
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This means what I went over above. Your breaks have to be at least 8 hours and 2 hours. They can be longer. You can also take shorter breaks but they won’t qualify for the split sleeper provision. I think everything above is quite simple. If you have any questions feel free to ask.
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Now that you have your 8 hours in the sleeper and another 2 hours off duty how do you count your 11 and 14? This is where the government made it complicated.
First we have this rule:
Quote:
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(g)(1)(i)(D)Must exclude from the calculation of the 14-hour limit any sleeper berth period of at least 8 but less than 10 consecutive hours.
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This means that you count your 14 hour limit as usual including any off duty time UP TO 8 hours. IF you have 8 hours off duty THEN you skip that in your 14 hour calculation. More on this in a few minutes, and I’ll explain with pictures.
Then comes the key to figuring the hours:
Quote:
(g)(1)(ii)(B) Calculation of the 11-hour driving limit includes all driving time; compliance must be re-calculated from the end of the first of the two periods used to comply with paragraph (g)(1)(ii)(A) of this section.
(g)(1)(ii)(C) Calculation of the 14-hour limit includes all time except any sleeper-berth period of at least 8 but less than 10 consecutive hours; compliance must be re-calculated from the end of the first of the two periods used to comply with the requirements of paragraph (g)(1)(ii)(A) of this section.
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These means that you start counting for both the 11 and 14 hour rules from the END of the FIRST break. It does not matter which order you take the 8 or 2 break in, since one will always be before the other. You may also sometimes need to use the end of a ten hour break as the "previous break."
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Calculating the 14 hours with visual aid.
If the picture does not come through very good then get your logbook out and follow along. :lol:
I have assumed that we start at midnight the first day having had the full 10 hour break and have plenty of hours left on the 70 hour rule. Starting at midnight the 14 hour window lasts until 2pm. We start with one hour of on duty not driving followed by 4 hours of driving. We then log one hour off duty for breakfast and one hour in the sleeper for a total of 2 hours off duty. We still figure the 14 hour window starting at midnight and ending at 2pm for two reasons. First is that a 2 hour break by itself isn’t enough so we need to look back for the last break of 8 hours or more. The last break of 8 hours or more ended at midnight, so that is when we start the 14 hour clock. Second is that a two hour break does not pause or interrupt the 14 hour clock, or extend it in any way.
Next we drive again for 7 hours from 7am until 2 pm. We have to stop at 2pm because that is the end of our 14 hour window. We also have logged 11 driving hours in that 14 hour window. We always have to check that we don’t go over the 11 driving hours in any 14 hour window. Starting at 2pm we crawl into the sleeper berth for 8 hours. This has to be logged on line two sleeper berth to count.
Emerging from the sleeper berth at 10 pm we need to figure out the next 14 hour window. The two periods that total 10 hours are 5-7 am and 2-10 pm. According to the regs we need to start the 14 hour break at the END of the first break, so 7 am. There are 7 hours between 7 am and 2pm, then skip over the 8 hour SB break (the official reg is to subtract it from your 14 hours, but I find skipping over it is easier.) So the 14 hour window ends at 5 am on the day 2. (This is where it is easy to lose some people, so make sure you understand before continuing. 7 am plus 14 hours plus 8 hours is 5 am next day. You took the 8 hour sleeper break so it extends your 14 hours by that 8 hour increment.) The next thing to look at is that we used 7 hours of this 14 hour window already on line 3 driving, so we can only drive another 4 before the 11 hour rule catches up with us.
From 10 to 11 pm we log one hour line 4 on duty not driving, and then log 4 hours driving on line 3 before logging another one hour line 4 on duty not driving. We take 2 hours off duty from 4 to 6 am. We ran out of driving hours before our 14 hours were up. (Note that you don’t have to work until the end of the 14 hour rule or 11 hour rule before taking your next break. You could take your 8 hours sleeper then work for an hour, then take 2 more hours off duty if you wanted/needed to.) At 6 am we need to figure out our new 14 hour window. Our two breaks (that add together to make 10 hours) were 4 to 6 am day 2, and 2 pm to 10pm day 1. The first break ended at 10 pm so our 14 hour window starts then and ends at noon day 2. We did not have any 8 hour breaks in that period to extend or change the 14 hour clock. We have already used 4 driving hours so we have 7 left in the 11 hour limit, BUT we only have 6 hours left in the 14 hour window.
We start with one hour on duty not driving from 6 to 7 am day 2 followed by 5 hours of driving logged on line 3. We run out of hours at noon and stop for an 8 hour sleeper berth break from noon to 8pm day 2. At the end of that break we again need to figure our 14 hour window. The two breaks (that add together to make 10 hours) are from 4 to 6 am and noon to 8 pm. Starting at the end of the first break makes our 14 hours from 6 am to 4 am day 3 (off the image, since I didn’t do a 3rd day) Again you skip over the 8 hour sleeper berth break when calculating the 14 hours. (To put it another and completely different way an 8 hour sleeper berth break gives you an extra 8 hours on the 14 hour clock, making it 22 hours, but that is 22 “true” hours with nothing subtracted) We have already logged 5 hours of driving on line 3, so between 8pm day 2 and 4 am day 3 we can only accumulate 6 driving hours out of the 8 available.
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More Split logging.
I am going to go over it again, perhaps in a little different way. The more ways that you get the information the better it will stick.
The key phrase that the government likes to use is:
Quote:
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Compliance with the 11-hour and 14-hour rules is recalculated from the end of the first of the two periods used to obtain 10 hours off duty.
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This means that you can only drive 11 in the 14 hour window counting both duty periods. This meaning that the two duty periods on each side of your last “qualifying” break (8 or 2 hours) must only total 11 driving and 14 duty hours.
If you log 8 hours in the sleeper berth that pauses your 14 hour clock. Take this for example: Example 4, Day 1 on top, Day 2 below.
The split starts with a two hour break day 1 between 7 and 9 PM. Followed by 3 driving hours. The second break is 8 hours starting at midnight until 8 AM day 2. (The 8 hours MUST be taken in the sleeper for this to work) When counting the 11 and 14 you have to include the 3 hours of driving between 9 and midnight, so you can only accumulate 8 hours of driving in the following 11 duty hours until your next 2 hour break completing the split. You can accumulate 8 hours of driving between 8 am day 2 and 7 pm day 2 before the 14 hour rule catches up with you. So you need to take either another 2 hour break so you can gain 3 more driving hours, or you can take the full 10 hour break to get back to 11 out of 14.
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And to answer the question you are going to ask Rev: I have no official credentials. :wink: :lol:
__________________
Nothing is foolproof to a talented fool.
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The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.
-- J R R Tolkien
Sleeper Berth
