is it illegal to sign your log before the end of the day?

regardless of what DOT did, why would you sign an incomplete document? not trying to be a smart alec but just curious why?

 

So if you can't sign til end of day, then anything on that day can't be considered legal. I mean, you aren't vouching for it so how can they hold you liable for logs that are not signed? I've always signed mine at beginning of day because any entry I put on my logs, I am saying is true and accurate. I have never had a LEO say this is wrong. I'd fight it, just for the principle of the matter.

 

The document is not incomplete if you have an entry saying you fueled, loaded, unloaded, etc.... Those are entries saying you did something and by having a signature, you are verifying that is true and accurate. Once the pretrip is logged, you don't have a just a piece of paper anymore. Least not in my opinion.

 

BINGO!! this is what I mean by custody.

 

The "gospel" in post 11 is not. The gu. ance provided is from the publisher of the rules, usually J J Keller, the largest and most respected of the companies in the compliance industry, trying to help companies and drivers interpret frequently conflicting regulations. It is their interpretation of the regulation, and if you read the fine print in their publications there is a disclaimer saying just that. Because this regulation is so vague, and is subject to different interpretations by law enforcement, safety depts, the FMCSA bureaucrats, drivers etc, the only way to settle it is in a court of law for this particular case. That is the function of the courts.

Of course that is unlikely, as the LEO knows, and to put it like a PA trooper once said to me "it's a cheap collar". In other words. An ticket that wouldn't stand up in court, but will likely get paid because it isn't worth the trip to court.

 

I would appreciate it if you could cite an official source for your comment about the guidance being the publisher's interpretation of the rules. The guidance that I quote here comes directly from the official FMCSA government site. I'd suspect that if the guidance is published there, it could also be used in court.

 

I've had them ask me to sign the log sheet during an inspection
Ever since then I sign them at the beginning of the day.
Hard to imagine anyone's anal enough to make too big of a deal of it.

 

real safety issue as i see it.....load of crap just like the cop

 

Geez, plain and simple you don't sign ANY document until it's complete! Period!

 

Thanks for posting the guidance quote. There are several good points (for and against) posted in this thread... good stuff.

But if the FMCSA wants logs signed after the period has ended, it should be stated in the regulation. Not as a "guidance".

I would argue the guidance is wrong. How can they hold an improper entry against me if I haven't certified the entry with a signature yet?

On my log books, if I don't sign it, my name isn't even on the log page. The signature line specifically says "I certify these entries are true and correct". I can't believe there are cops running around that would argue I shouldn't sign that at the time of making ANY entries, only after my final entry.

If there is a log entry, it should be signed.