Qualcomm and E logs

Schneider does NOT shut the truck down. Don't know about others.

You have to plan your trip carefully. It's not a zero tolerance thing. But repeated screw ups will get you a visit from safety. If you limp your truck into a truckstop for repairs and run out of hours. You're there for your break.

We must notify dispatch, in the event a load needs to be relayed so it can get to customer on time...if needed.

E-logs = No more harassing calls from dispatch to get the truck moving. If you plan on taking a 10 hour break. Then another 4 to ####e, shower and shave. You won't be with any company too long.

Look at an E-log like this. This is how many hours I have, a this is when I will be there. If that doesn't fit THEIR requirements, they can relay the load, take it off you, or reset the appointment.

 

I don't miss having a Qualcomm and working for a large fleet. Nothing like settling down after emptying out and not getting dispatched and just hitting the bunk after a good meal and watching the lot lizzards dart back and forth in the setting sun when the QC goes off wanting you to repower a load to Armpitfunk, TX that has to get there by 4am.

 

Everybody is different. But, my free time is better spent at home.

I work a 14/7 schedule. So I hustle when I'm out. I don't care if I only have 30 minutes left on my 14...move me if you can. Legally of course.

20 miles is 20 miles.

My schedule provides me with a "split" paycheck. I come out on a Wednesday, and payroll ends at midnight on Saturday. So I have only 4 days to get what I can on 2 paychecks. With a full week in between.

To make my scheduling work. I have to hustle. But I have 7 FULL days to do what I want/need, after its done.

I'm lovin every minute of it Except the fact I will be out, opening day of bow season

 

Central doesn't shut the truck down either, but if you exceed you 11, 14 or 70 you get a nasty gram from safety. Do it too many times and you get put on probation. Do it to many more times and you are out the door..

Because of eLogs my appts are in line with what can be done in a 10 hour driving day and 14 hour duty day.. Yes I know I can drive for 11 hours, but I don't.. I plan on ten. That way i have an hour to cover my butt.

Yes if you limp your truck into a ts and run out of hours you are stuck where you are till you have hours to move.

I agree with the 4 hour 'shower and shave'. Company doesn't pay you to sit and goof off.. Saying that I have never been harassed about why I am sitting, though in was asked a couple times it in was going to make my appt times..Customer Service can get antsy when they see your truck hasn't moved..

Company doesn't have to worry about drivers cooking their logs..

 

Some electronic logs are just the same as paper logs- just on a website instead of on paper.

Electronic monitoring, on the other hand is a different world. As in ZERO TOLERANCE. Go past the limits too many times and you're out of a job. Your employer or business partner sets the parameters (or you can if it's your company). It's an indelible record. Go past your limits, and the DOT will be on the company wanting to know all the details. You might have just been looking for a safe place to stay, or didn't want to park on the shoulder of the highway. Maybe you didn't have the chance to eat and shower all day- the Feds will just say you have no respect for law and will punish you severely when they think they should.

 

Answers:
1.NO,no ELOG system or any Sat Based System can shut your truck off,(used to be the "rumor" years ago with qualcomm)

2.The system just see's 11&14&70 hr clocks,,if you "violate" any you are just in violation(At your last hour of either drive time or your total 14 hr time you will get a loud tone and a red light warning,then at 30 mins and at 15,you have to change your status,I.E.got to either line 1 or 2

3.Advantage; You(the driver) cannot claim what hours you have or dont have to drive,,,they see the same thing your looking at,so they have only 2 options when it comes to a load assignment,,,YES & NO,,no grey area

4.That simply depends on the company,with CWTL we are dispatched at 47mph on all loads,520 miles daily(51mph on priority loads),so when you fall behind the dispatch you come up on the "Late Board",its a tracking software and it monitors where you are in to relation to where you should be(note: you have to be a very lazy driver to end up on this or the dispatch is making you run,,11 then 10 break,,11,,10 break,dont happen very often.

Sidenote: Ive been on ELOGS since Febuary of this year,havent really noticed to much change in my miles,but I for one can say Im much more relaxed now going down the road,,,Its either you can or you simply cant pull that load,,,(and I have got out of a couple of crappy ones because of it) When the loads are multi-day pulls,i plan for 600 miles a day,you gotta have a trip plan

I was pulled into the scales on US59 in TX,had 6 trucks behind me,as i came on the scales the TX DPS officer asked for my log book,as i reached down to retrieve my qualcomm and pull it to the window he said,,"OH you have ELOGS,go ahead,there is plenty Drivers behind you i can check,have a good day"(true story)

 

Elogs is a lot more work for me in this company than paper logs. Important detail, my dispatcher and load planner never pushed us, they are excellent professionals and we don't have appt. for dlvery. This elog is taking me much more time to enter all info than with good old and simple paper log. There are several screens, one for each thing like current hrs, load info, messages, 8day log, summary of hrs, graph, etc, etc, etc, which makes it more time consumming than having all info in one piece of paper. I have been taking one extra hr everyday just to edit info at the end of the day so that I can correct mistakes and add things that I didn't have time to do during the day... I HATE IT!!!

My company rules about off duty driving are impossible to follow so if I need to run my errands and not show driving, I just remove one fuse and that takes care of that.... Yes, I am forced to cheat.

If I run 1 min over my 11 or 14, log will show VIOLATION!!! So, sometimes I have to park one or 2 hrs before end of my hrs to avoid a possible violation which will just add more driving hrs on my following day...
I don't count on DOT not wanting to see my elog, cause I know one day they will see it. So I try to keep it legal but it's becoming impossible! For instance, just today my company log dept sent us msg about adding a BUNCH of more info everyday about the load, and the company and the miles, and this and that.... And send freaking macro 23 about trlr inspection every day. I will ask them where are we supposed to enter all these freaking info???? There's not even space in the freaking elog to enter all these... and that means more time consuming typing all this %#@...

And using the darn virtual keyboard is another hassle, it takes much longer than just using a pen.
... on top of all this *&#! we can't type and or read msgs while vehicle is moving... So, nowadays, I spend over 30 mins just sending macros, updating my log.... before I can move truck at customers and many don't like us there for all this time....

This Elog is as inconvenient as Hell and good only for those whose dispatchers used to run them illegal and who didn't know how to calculate their hrs and didn't know how to make good use of their hrs and or are lazy...

Miles have dropped too.... It's just a HASSLE!

 

Very well said....My miles have been better...better planning to keep me busy..would not want to do paper again