Sleeper berth time
Q: Are we supposed to be in the sleeper berth (bunk area) the whole 10 hours of our rest period? Please define; there seems to be some confusion on sleeper berth time.
Beverly in Tennessee
A: Provided by Jim Brokaw, formerly a staff sergeant with Nebraska State Patrol Carrier Enforcement Division, Lincoln, Neb.
No, you don’t have to spend the entire 10 hours of your break in your sleeper. The safety regulations provide the following three options for obtaining a full 10-hour break.
49 CFR 395.1(g)(1)(i) states ? in general ? a driver who operates a property-carrying commercial motor vehicle equipped with a sleeper berth, as defined in §§395.2 and 393.76 of this subchapter,
(A) Must, before driving, accumulate:
(1) At least 10 consecutive hours off duty;
(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.
This combination may be any number of sleeper berth hours and off-duty hours as long as they are uninterrupted and total at least 10 hours. For example, you could go off duty for two hours, then go to bed in the sleeper for six hours, followed by another two hours off duty. This totals 10 hours, meeting the requirements of 395.1(g)(1)(i)(3).
You may also use the sleeper berth option to obtain the equivalent of at least 10 consecutive hours off duty. The term “equivalent of at least 10 consecutive hours off duty” means a period of at least eight, but less than 10 consecutive hours in a sleeper berth, and a separate period of at least two but less than 10 consecutive hours, either in the sleeper berth or off duty, or any combination thereof.
Warning: If you use this option, your time in the sleeper berth must be at least eight hours.