10/2 Sleeper Berth 'Exception' / How To Use And Stay 'legal'

I am still in Truck Driving School. My school is emphasizing pre-trip, air brake, and skills to pass the California DMV Class A CDL for Combination vehicles.

My question is about the 'exception' [HOS] (regarding FEDERAL (Interstate commerce):

In the handbook it says:

"After driving for 11 hours or being on duty for 14 hours, you may not drive again until you have had 10 consecutive hours off duty."

OK, so far that seems straight forward enough to me and is totally understandable. The following is confusing and seems riddled with possible inadvertent HOS violations in the making just waiting to bite an inexperienced driver in the hind quarter if not well enough informed and able to decipher just how to stay 'legal' and still use the 'exception' (correctly to be 'legal').

Exception: If the truck is equipped with a sleeper berth, these 10 hours may be broken up into 2 periods provided one is not less than 8 hours."

What does it mean? The way the rule is stated seems vague to me and does not make sense or have any explanation or examples in the handbook how to use it. How does it effect the next day of on duty?

What is the 'next day' of 'on duty', where/when can it start legally'? What can one do (to stay 'legal') when near either the end of the 7/60 or 8/70 HOS near the end of the 'work week'?

IOW, how can this 'Exception' be utilized?

Could some of the seasoned drivers please explain some ways to use it and show examples of what the HOS log would actually look like when that 'exception' is used in different circumstances?

We call it an 8/2 split. it is complicated to understand unless you see it work. but basically it works like this...

8 consecutive hours in sleeper pauses your 14 at anytime. you get the exact hours after the sleeper as you had when you went in.

after the 8, if you drive then you can take a 2 hour off duty or sleeper and get more hours back.

The amount of drive time you get is 11 hours minus whatever you drive between the two breaks.

So drive 5 hours between the breaks and get 6 hours back after the second break.

to be clear... You will NEVER get a full 11/14 after a split because your "new" clock always starts at the end of your first break. To make it more confusing you can do rolling splits so rather than taking a full 10, you can drive in shorter spurts for days.

I use these after sitting in a door getting loaded for more than two hours, if i have a tight schedule, and in the winter. Bad weather can make you exhausted, so my first winter I loved the 8/2 cause i could drive for 300 miles then sleep, then drive another 300 and sleep.

Not all drivers understand it. Most never use it. Not all routes or divisions can make them work.

NEVER try it when solo unless you have plenty of time on your load and just want to understand it. It can really destroy your clock.if you donit wrong.

Hey Soulin, you asked a lot of good questions which shows you want to learn how to do this stuff legally, and it also shows that you see some potential in knowing the rules and how they work to your advantage. That's all good. The split sleeper rule is a little confusing at first, but I use it often, and it is very helpful in certain scenarios.

First off you are not going to be able to get a real understanding of it by asking the question in here and counting on our responses. You will need to

Learn The Logbook Rules (HOS)

by applying yourself to that section in our High Road CDL Training Program. You will be so far ahead of other drivers out here if you will work through that program. It will take you several attempts at going through that whole section before you even feel as though you are grasping it, but it will be well worth the effort! That whole section gave me a real leg up in getting my career off to a running start out here.

I don't want to try and answer your questions about how the rule works. I really think you should try to learn it by following those links I provided. It will take considerable time. I can however increase your interest in it by giving you some real life examples of how it is beneficial to you as a driver. Here's a couple of links to some older threads where I give my real world examples of how I have used this rule to keep me moving profitably out here. If you will read through them, you will see how it can really be a lifesaver at times. It can be a tool in your tool box that a lot of drivers, even experienced drivers just don't have.

Here's an example of How I Used The Mysterious Sleeper Berth Rule to get ahead on a multi-stop load up in Michigan and Wisconsin. Hopefully you'll be able to see how it helped me keep my wheels turning and therefore earning the best pay that I could that week.

Here's another thread where Brett is introducing an article about The Right Strategy For Earning More Miles And Better Pay. If you will follow the conversation within that thread you will find a somewhat comical story of how I used the split sleeper berth rule to beat out some other drivers at a customers location and kept myself moving right along and on schedule with a very difficult load.

Thanks Rainy D. and Old School for sharing your useful and informative info.