What all is on duty/not driving?

I keep having to play this game, I'm sure you all know it. You are trip planning, hunting for an mt, trying to find out where a driver hid the bills at the yard. Maybe you wrote down directions, did your pretrip then checked the weather and it began to pour snow and ice. Of course, we all wait until the last minute and log 15 minutes to 30 minutes so it matches the time the truck is in gear so we don't run into problems later.

So, the problem is when you are farting around for hours, then take off, drive all day or night. You set your eta for a few hours left but have to tell your manager you are exhausted. Then they think you are doing something wrong as if you could have just know it would take 6 hours for the road trucks to clear things up and you could've magically slept and been ready for a full days work.

Recently, it was two auto loads for Ford who as you know will pay to hold trucks so they will be available at night. I got plans at noon to pickup loads at 11pm overnighting to 6:30am, no early pickup or delivery. I spent time planning, finding out why placards weren't on trailers with hazmat (well I knew but I had to explain it to 4 people at my company). The first load was just right so I worked 13 hrs and took a break, no way I could do anything else after that. I set my eta with one hr, then got a message to change it when I actually could drive. No problem.

The second load was short, so I had to start late again, but only slept from 730am to noon when the plan showed up for another one. That was the one with no placards, and I was hooked to an mt that someone else wanted after they dropped the loaded trl that I was to finish the run on. From the time I dropped the trailer and hooked made it so that I was actually at 13.5 hrs when I did the drop and parked. I got the message again to change my eta because I should still have hrs to drive (this time). I was confused because I didn't start my log until later because it was no early delivery again and 340 miles away and the trailer showed up at 5:30pm. I could've had it there at 2am or earlier. During this run, I set my eta for after a 10 hr brk. When I shut down, I was asked to change it. I realised hey I didn't start my log until later and could put 3 hrs so i did. But also sent a msg that I couldn't drive because I had been up since noon the day before. Then I got a message that said "it seems you are sitting all day and then you run and shut down again, etc."

I'm always getting this tone even over the phone like "that's right I forgot you sleep ALL DAY." And I usually am only taking a 10 hr brk. I power off loads for other drivers and do night runs that usually work out just right and I'm logging legal 740 miles in 24 hrs often, getting to recievers early, taking loads people have to turn down because they can't run late even though they might have a few hrs left (I understand that). These auto loads were just what she needed to finally try and change the way I have been running for almost a year. I don't know if it's a power trip or what but I did the day driving thing for a few months and wont go back. I know how it's done and did it before, it's a constant play on what looks good on logs vs. what you are really putting yourself through, OR you are turning down opportunities trying to stay legal. I don't think it would be safe to change me around. I've worked nights for 17 years and am more comfortable and it seems the best way to get miles and still run legal.

So........If you read this far...........I fixed my log to show that in fact I did have 13-ish hour days and needed my breaks when I took them. And I am wondering how far can I push this when I need it. WHAT THINGS ARE ON DUTY/NOT DRIVING, like real examples? I never run out of hrs, or take 34 hr breaks, I stay out 3 weeks at a time. And I get hassled far too much for the miles I get so I am going to play the clock game and take control so I don't have to go back to driving 18 hrs a day and squeezing it on a log for the same amount of miles I get now and actually can have a good legal break when I need it. Yes, they want me to just flip around and run days. I refused but I'm sure I need to CYA now, which is BS nobody has to explain why they park at a truck stop early and take a break over 10 hrs overnight. Someone I know suggested just backing up the pretrip to when you actually did it or before. The #1 undetected log offense I'm sure but you know we have to log it when it's convienient for the company and to keep us legal. But we should be able to use that and other things I'm sure. Day drivers probably wonder what the hell I'm talking about but night drivers might know all too well these idiots that look on the computer and see you sitting in the daylight hrs and dont realize its not any longer that people are breaking at night.

 

Thanks.

The dilemma is, like today. I was up at midnight, the place was closed when I got there so I had like a 24 hr break on Sunday in their lot. Load scheduled for 11am Mon, got it empty at 8am. Technically truck was inspected, drove around to the other side of the building to talk to another driver about when they might be open, found out he was sched 7am so I went in with him and checked in, got staged. Got in the dock around 8. Logged it as if I just did my inspection at 8 and got the clock started then. Had an eta wide open even though I would have been pretty tired running out all the hrs.
Had to have my FM change my eta since it was earlier than apt. I said should be empty at 9. She changed it to 11 with 11 hrs or something.
I went and parked and sat in line 2 hrs. Fell asleep part of that. Got a ppln that had enough of a window I could take 10 and go out around 8pm, which is perfect. Now the plus side here is my "wait time" is part of my break. To continue running daytime, you just wasted 2 hrs, THEN you have to take 10 later. 12 hrs there. After a while, I'm going out more times and to save details have picked up loads after day drivers and beat them by 6 hrs, and by the time they are done unloading I have a full set while they have had their clock running a few hrs already. Anyway, back to topic, and I totally feel and respect those that will continue to deal with day driving and night parking.....SO NOW I can go back and log everything I did, no worries about starting the clock when it started the first time. That's what I need the help with because they don't care if you pull around, drop a trl check in, the computer and managers expect that you just sit and twiddle your thumbs and start your inspection right after the customer tells you to get in a dock which you know would be rediculous. Walking 100 yards in the rain to see if anyone was at the office (no answer on phone) I guess would be what you had to do BUT wouldn't that still be work?
Got here in Laredo at 2359 ish CDT...
It was a DH, so I don't know if there's going to be a load going out from the yard or what. I think I might run into waiting 10 hrs and having to drive on no sleep. 99% of the time something comes up though so keeping fingers crossed.
As with all loads and uncertainty, I say lots of prayers and hope everything works out and it usually does.
I am just wondering if because I was asked about running days more if they will try to screw it up so I have no choice or something. Then, I pray again that if they are plotting, it will come back x7, hehe.

***I guess the question begging here is if you had a slow week (just back from home time also) would you like to be told freight is running at night, we would like you to start driving from 5-8pm and run until 7am or 10am now because you have been sitting too much these last two days and you could get more miles.*** After being used to working so many night jobs for 17 yrs, and now finding my comfort zone with trucking flipping me around could be just as much a disaster as forcing someone to go nights. Part of the reason I need to do this is because they run so many metro areas and daily there are messages about 4 service failures, problems with etas, etc. The delays and problems you can run into in these downtown metro areas are incalculable, or if you try to calculate them, you have to say no to half the loads. I can pick up a load in downtown KC following a detour from road construction and get out of there calculating it as if I had a pickup on the Kansas Tpk at Farmer Pete's Pig Supply so I find it hard to think about going back even if I could.

 

I've been researching some companies that run only at night but sounds like they are hard to get into since they also get you home every day.
I usually can del and pick up a load in the day, it's just after that I shut down, then deliver it. My 10 hr break starts (simple minded description for now) when everyone is out running their loads. I get my choice of parking, then when they get off the road I'm back out.
It works best when there is a window like say Wal Mart 500 miles away somewhere. Pickup is after 5pm. I pick it up and take it straight there, 2 or 3 am I am empty. I can either pick up something early nice and fast still not a lot of trucks out, or start a break allowing me to start earlier. In some sense, I will be running close to a day schedule sometimes. 2am to 2 or 3pm sometimes. And since I'm used to running at night, I can sleep at 3pm and be right back out at 1am. I've powered off a few loads for people that can't make it on time by letting the night dispatch know I am in fact ready to drive and am used to running nights so they know my eta is not just for looks.
It has worked out well, I just don't like that a slow week can make someone forget all the times I ran after my 10 hr break, no matter what I felt like or could've done I always get myself up and just get ready and send messages if there's no plans, etc.