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Part 2: An Example of the New U.S. Sleeper Berth Rules in Action

I am still receiving many questions about how this new U.S. Sleeper Berth rule is managed. To be quite honest, it is a very complex rule set that many drivers, dispatchers, safety administrators, shippers, and others simply do not understand.

In response, I’ve written Part 2: An Example of the New U.S. Sleeper Berth Rules in Action! as a follow up to my previous blog. This blog includes a driver’s multiple day account of their hours of service log by Record of Duty Status, along with how, when, and why they were in violation.

Example – An Illustration of the New Sleeper Berth Provision

Sleeper_Berth_Part_2_Example

In this example, a driver’s clock starts at 12 a.m. midnight when the driver goes On-Duty-Not-Driving for 1 hour on Day 1.

The first two qualifying rest periods that can be paired to meet the 10-hour break requirement is the 1st qualifying rest period of 7 hours of sleeper berth time at 14:00 hrs on Day 1, and the 2nd qualifying rest period of 3 hours of sleeper berth time at 00:00 hrs on Day 2.

You must now check the period of time from 12 a.m. midnight on Day 1 to the beginning of the 2nd qualifying rest period that is paired at 12 a.m. midnight on Day 2 for any 11-hour and/or 14-hour violations.

  • When the driver resumes driving at 21:00 hrs on Day 1, the driver is in violation of the 14-hour rule because the 1st rest break from 07:00 hrs to 08:00 hrs on Day 1 does not qualify for the sleeper berth provision, and therefore is not excluded from the 14-hour window calculation.

 

  • After driving for 1 hour, another violation occurs at 22:00 hrs on Day 1. Here, the driver is in violation of the 11-hour rule.

 

You must now continue checking the rest of the log.

The starting point for the next calculation is at the end of the 1st qualifying rest period previously paired at 21:00 hrs on Day 1.

Pair the 3-hour sleeper berth period on Day 2, with the 7-hour sleeper berth period beginning at the start of 3rd qualifying rest period at 15:00 hrs on Day 2.

Look for violations between 21:00 hrs on Day 1 and the beginning of the 3rd qualifying rest period paired at 15:00 hrs on Day 2.

  • The 14-hour clock begins at 21:00 hrs on Day 1 and ends at 14:00 hrs on Day 2, since we must exclude the paired sleeper berth break at 12 a.m. midnight.

 

  • There is no violation, since the driver goes On-Duty-Not-Driving before taking his next qualifying rest break.

 

  • At 13:00 hrs on Day 2, the driver has reached 11 hours of driving time.

 

  • A violation occurs when the driver continues driving past 13:00 hrs on Day 2.

 

You must now continue checking the rest of the log.

The starting point for the next calculation is the end of 2nd qualifying rest period at 03:00 hrs on Day 2.

There are no further violations during the rest of the time shown on this log.

For further assistance, check out the FMCSA’s Educational Tool for Hours of Service (ETHOS).

Image Source: Transport Topics

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