Forced to break 34 hr rule

When I get down to a few hours left I send my DM a message. I say, hey this is how much time I have left. You got any loads that need to be moved, cause I can run recap, or if nothing in my area, I can do a reset. I leave it up to him. In one year of driving, only been told to reset once, and that was helping on a special account that wanted me to have all my 70 available, so I could be fully at their disposal. The 34 hour reset is not a set law that says you have to reset. No one forces you to shut down, unless you fully go past your 70. Even if he has one hour left, if he leaves after midnight he will pick up hours, and can run. May only be a few hours, long enough to pick up a load, and then may have to shut down again. This is where your dispatcher earns his money, helping you find loads that can be run within the hours that you have available. If he can't get you a load, that is on him or her, not you.

As for your friend....if he gains back hours after midnight, legally, he can drive, and within my company if you refuse a load you are fired, unless you don't have the hours. I know there are a lot of bad dispatchers and companies out there, but it is far fetched to believe that a company will risk fines, etc. to force your friend to drive illegal, especially if you have been driving for a while and this is the first time that it has happened.

If he is truly in this situation, tell him to quit his job and go look for another one. That way when he is asked why he quit he can say the company was attempting to force him to break the law. The new company shouldn't have an issue with that. However, if he gains hours after midnight, like me, and everyone else on here is assuming he does, then there is no recourse for your friend but to suck it up and drive.

I have been there. There are times, especially like today, with football on that I don't want to drive, but I had to. Everyone has to. There are guys on here, Crankyankee, I believe I have read that he has grandchildren, I am sure that he would rather be playing with them, but he has to drive to make money, and keep his job. If your friend is not happy doing this, tell him to go local or to get out of trucking all together. Last thing we need is another driver who gets pissed off and is careless and kills someone. Sorry, not the advice you want to here, but it is the only advice that I can give.

 

This is really a typical situation, 75% of the drivers I have know over the years really do not understand the HOS that rules there lives.

On more than 1 occasion I have had to run short days back to back to deliver on time.

Drivers now days seem to thing they need to run parking spot to parking spot in 10 hours, and feel that if someones tells them otherwises they are trying to get them to run illegal.

This situation sounds like the driver does not understand he has the hours from a week ago coming back at midnight.

 

no law says you must do a 34 hour restart, if he's got hours, company can tell him he must roll, only thing they can't do is? If the driver say "I'm to tired to drive"

 

Wrong, he will not be in violation, no law says you must do a 34 hour restart

 

have you read the thread?
driver been out 4 days
you and the other driver are just plain wrong

 

I bet they're great friends.

I think he's saying he logged 68 hours in 3 day and only has 2 hours left for Sunday.

And in a way earlier post he says he pulls a hazmat tanker.

 

How is it even possible to log 68 hours in 3 days, unless you intentionally leave yourself on duty for the whole time, but then you are violating the 10 hour reset rule? Something is seriously off here.

 

we have to drive beside these people daily
people wonder why i am cranky

 

You can remain on-duty not-driving indefinitely without violating the HOS. You can exceed the 14th hour, 70th hour, and whatever other hour you wish as long as you do it on line 4. The ONLY thing the FMCSA says in the regulations is that you cannot DRIVE more than 11 hours since your last break, that you cannot DRIVE past the 14th hour since coming on duty, and that you cannot DRIVE after having worked 70 hours in 8 consecutive days. Whether or not you are DRIVING is the only factor they care about. If you want to put in 14 hour days M-F (hitting your 70 at quitting time)...and then come in on Saturday and spend it on line 4 doing maintenance on the truck for another 14 hours...you are perfectly legal in doing so, even though you are now at 84 hours on duty for the week. Punch out at 7 PM Saturday night and start your 34 hours off duty, and by 5 AM Monday morning, you are perfectly legal to roll out again.