Logging A Roadside Breakdown

Hi all, I'm back again, feeling much better since my last post actually and I'm starting to get the hang of solo driving, it's becoming easier and more rewarding every week!

So I had a quick question on logging I was hoping to get answered. I'm trying to flip through my FMCSR to find an answer to this but it's not exactly easy to find things in there.

As the title implies, I've just had my first roadside breakdown. Super old looking trailer, rusted looking but solid and I was hoping it would hold for all 1600 miles of this run but earlier today going down the highway I suddenly heard an air leak and my air pressure started dropping fast. I pulled over on the shoulder of the next exit, contacted roadside and 5-6 hours later it's finally fixed, turns out it was a faulty air can.

Now the question is do I need to log this entire time I was on the side of the road as on-duty? My company handbook is a little vague and I'm unsure if it's just from the time until help arrives or the entire time you are receiving repairs. Not sure if this is company policy or FMCSA I can't seem to find anything on it in my pocket book. I took a couple hours off in the middle of them working and I wasn't really needed... I had to avoid running out of drive time. I picked a bad spot to breakdown, 25 miles from the nearest rest stop on my route.

If I do log the whole time now it's going to put me in a deficit for my 70... Which I'll get back and then some at midnight since I'm gaining hours every day but it kind of makes me nervous about delivering on time.

Thanks again for the help in advance!

I would log most of the waiting time​ as Sleeper. (Off Duty, but you're theoretically in the bunk.) You are doing nothing but waiting. When the repair truck shows up, that could be On Duty Not Driving, since you are working with the technician (describing the situation), but that wouldn't even take 5 minutes (and won't register on an e-log).

So, you might get an extra 30 minute break out of this.

Technically, you're supposed to log all that time as On Duty Not Driving. But in reality, I would log most of it as sleeper like Errol said..

Let your conscience be your guide...

Title 49: Transportation PART 395—HOURS OF SERVICE OF DRIVERS

§395.2 Definitions.

On-duty time means...

(6) All time repairing, obtaining assistance, or remaining in attendance upon a disabled commercial motor vehicle;

§395.2 Definitions.

Pianoman keeps me honest:

Technically, you're supposed to log all that time as On Duty Not Driving. But in reality, I would log most of it as sleeper like Errol said..

I know, putting some Trucker's Secrets into print can raise eyebrows, but there it is.

I usually log 30 mins of on duty and the rest off duty or sleeper.

Btw, out QualComm requires 3 mins of a status to keep it. So you must log 3 mins of any given status. Otherwise the clock back tracks and takes time for the new status. The only caveat to this is driving. If you are moving around above 5 mph, the QualComm will convert all that time to driving if you exceed 15 mph. To prevent it from taking this time away while "repositioning" at a shipper or receiver, you have to come to a complete stop and change the status to something different.