Need dot consultant? Dot advice

No law for them to sign.

No, there is no such window on finding safe parking. It is to be done during the regular driving period and properly planned by the driver.

Realistic, no.

 

You have definately confused me. What law are you referring to? What are you referring to with the 1 hr or 2 hr?

 

being able to find safe haven parking in certain situations, ie bad weather, short on hrs, etc.

 

You are allowed to extend your driving hours 2 hours but cannot exceed your 14 . It has to be an unpredictable delay . You cannot drive into a predicted storm and use this .
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrruletext.aspx?section=395.1

 

The FMCSA tells you you can drive for 11 hours in a 14 hour window. No where does it say you HAVE to drive 11/14!

You are in control of the truck and the schedule. NOT the dispatcher or LC! When you do your trip planning and you look at the map and see that there is a truck stop 10.75 hours away and the next one is 11.25 which one do you aim for? And what time do you think you'll get to said truck stop? During rush hour when every other truck is trying for the same stop? The same when you are getting loaded or unloaded. YOU are the only one in control of how you schedule and plan the trip. Yes some shippers and receivers move like dead lice are falling off their arses and you have no control over that but most of us OTR drivers have a sleeper and a map and if you can't sleep there, there is ALWAYS a parking lot or street without no parking signs close by! 32 years driving and that's the truth! If you have to split sleeper it and then find a truck stop or safe haven. Or take your chances driving about 15 - 20 miles looking.

Time management isn't hard once you figure out that the rule doesn't mean you HAVE to drive that full 11 hours! It means to manage the time so you can deliver on time with an allotted amount of time to get some where to park. If your company schedules your loads with maybe 15 minutes extra to go potty then time management is out the window as they did the job.

Me, I always tried to get as close to the dock as possible and did my 10 then went in. At least you can start the clock and maybe not have to worry about running the 14 out sitting there! BUT let that dispatcher KNOW what time you started your clock that day so he has an idea of what your day is going to look like! That is if he's any good as a dispatcher!

The good thing about cell phones and broadband on the computer is now I can call the shipper or receiver and ask a question or two like: Can you get me in early? Can I park there? Or is there some place close by where I can park, as on the street.

I've even parked at other buildings with docks. I do try to get out of the way or leave in the morning before they come to work and also in today's economy with so many buildings with "for sale or lease" signs and being MT there are a lot of places to park and I've taken advantage of them all! If asked to move I just go to the next street or building and don't even try that "but I'm on my 10" crapola! They don't care because it's not their fault!

Yes it's BS especially with EBOR's and CSA2010 looking down our throats but what can you do. I remember a DOT officer that came to a safety meeting several years ago and the question was asked about the "emergency extension" rule. What he told us was it's only weather or natural disaster related. If you were in the "clear" before you ran into a storm and he looked at your logs he would write you up for the over 11 hour rule as you knew the storm was ahead of you and you had a chance to stop and park. This is where that "you do not HAVE to drive 11 hours" came from! A DOT officer.

You have CB, AM/FM/XM radios and even TV's at most truck stops along with drivers at every one of them talking about whats coming! Those of you who do not "like" a CB and choose not to have one in the truck and rely only on am/fm/XM. It's your decision but for the life of me I can't understand why you choose to ignore a very valuable tool for a truck driver! That AM/FM/XM isn't going to tell you about the bridge that just fell into the river or the major wreck that just happened just ahead or the tornado that is heading right at you! Yes, the idiots and moron CB Rambo's are a pain but learn how to use the squelch and RF Gain and they are out of your life! It CAN and WILL help to keep you on that schedule!

OH DB, hes talking about these drivers that think when told to move they can get the cop to sign the log book so that if they have an accident then they are covered because Mr. Policeman made them move!

 

I completely understand why people dont have cbs anymore. Like, that jerk with the base station in east chicago, indiana. Who basically is being told to shut up every time he keys up (because he NEVER has anything useful, interesting, funny, or important to say), so he spends his entire time goign on and on about how its a trucker channel and hes a trucker (which explains why he always transmits in east chicago and is on the air almost every day in the afternoon...) and therefore he has the right to use the channel blah blah blah, totally blocking the main channel from any use by humans with a stupid amount of power. And every time I ask for help finding a place, im just stepped on by jerks talking about random crap.

I meet a lot of cool people on the CB and often take them to other channels to have long extended conversations with, anyhow. But sometimes i sure want to throw it out the window.

 

The ones that get me are the ones that say they leave their CB off until they see a problem with traffic . . Kinda late to turn it on then . You'll just find out why you're sitting at the end of 10 mile backup . If they had the radio on all the time they wouldn't be sitting there .

 

A Cop/ DOT ask you to move your vehicle that is illegally parked and not interested in giving you a ticket, also telling you that there is a place where you can go, The guy is doing you a favor.

Why at this point would you decide to piss him off. Your asking for a ticket by parking in a No Parking or Emergency Parking Zone.

You know when your time is going to run out, it is up to you to find a legal place for you and your rig before you run out of hours to drive. Why would you want a Cop to witness your in violation. But I guess the ticket gave the signature you ask for .

Knowing where you can put the truck is part of trip planning 101. If he wrote it as a parking ticket he did you a favor, they can write it as failure to follow traffic control and it becomes a moving violation. Driver seem to think they have a right to illegal parking because they are tired. Learn to plan your trips. It is your problem to keep track of your available hours, if you choose to drive it till your out of hours don't blame the cop.

As far as the signature thing the only time I have had a DOT cop sign my log book was for a speeding ticket that he was basing on the log and he was taking the top copy. So he signed for the removal of the top copy allowing me to legally start a duplicate log to continue. And I beat that ticket because he did not know his local geography. The log proved me innocent not guilty. So it all worked out.

 

If drivers and base stations were not being jerks on the radio more drivers would leave them on, It would appear that there is alot of 3 year olds on the radio now days. As well as disc jockeys.

But I find the "Whats the holdup" question every few minutes annoying also. Just turn it on and give it a minute there will be other asking anyway. DO not always volunteer to be the idiot just because the jobs available.

 

Yeah , and when there's a five mile backup due to a lane closure they ask what lane's open . No point trying to change lanes 4 or 5 miles back .