Sleeper berth

Scope

This provision applies to drivers and motor carriers operating property-carrying commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce that are equipped with a sleeper berth in compliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs).

Regulatory citations

• 49 CFR 395.1(g) — Sleeper berths
• 49 CFR 393.76 — Sleeper berths

Key definitions

• Commercial motor vehicle (CMV): A self-propelled or towed motor vehicle used on a highway, in interstate commerce, that meets any one of the following criteria:
  • Has a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) or gross combination weight rating (GCWR), or gross vehicle weight (GVW) or gross combination weight (GCW), of 10,001 pounds or more, whichever is greater; or
  • Is transporting hazardous materials of a type or quantity which requires placarding.
• Sleeper berth: An in-vehicle sleeping area that complies with the specifications in 49 CFR 393.76.

Summary of requirements

Ten hours of off-duty time can be accumulated by:

• Resting in a sleeper berth for one period of at least 10 consecutive hours;
• Combining sleeper-berth time with any legitimate off-duty time; however, the periods must be consecutive and not broken with any on-duty or driving activities and must total at least 10 consecutive hours;
• Combining sleeper-berth time of at least 7 consecutive hours with up to 3 hours riding in the passenger seat of the vehicle while the vehicle is moving on the highway immediately before or after the sleeper-berth period, amounting to at least 10 consecutive hours;
• Getting the “equivalent” of 10 consecutive hours of rest using two separate (split) rest periods, provided that.
  • One of the rest periods is at least 7 consecutive hours spent in a sleeper berth;
  • The other, separate rest period is at least 2 consecutive hours and is spent either in the sleeper berth, off duty, or any combination of the two; and
  • The two rest periods together add up to at least 10 hours (e.g., 7 3, 8 2, 2 11, and so on).

The split-break option

When using the “split break” option, driving time in the period before and after each rest period, when added together:

• May not exceed the 11-hour driving limit, and
• May not violate the 14-hour duty limit.

As soon as a driver accumulates the two mandatory breaks, the 11- and 14-hour limits are re-calculated starting at the end of the first of the two breaks (all time spent before the first break is no longer taken into consideration). Neither of the two rest periods counts toward the 14-hour duty limit. In addition, any off-duty time immediately adjacent to the sleeper-berth period of at least 7 hours may also be excluded from the 14-hour limit.

The driver may not return to driving under the normal limits until the driver takes:

• At least 10 consecutive hours off duty;
• At least 10 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth; or
• A combination of at least 10 consecutive hours of off-duty and sleeper-berth time.

Note that only time spent in a sleeper berth may be recorded as sleeper-berth time on a driver’s record of duty status. Sleeper-berth time may not be recorded as off-duty time.