Hours of service questions and answers

That would depend on how much time was spent ascertaining that there were no rooms. Remember, he's talking about his 14, not his 11, so drive time is immaterial. If the time required to talk to the desk, get back to his truck, and go to the next hotel exceeds his remaining 25 mins, I'd think he's in violation.

However, that being said, I'd think that the sequence of events should easily be done in less than 25- so just a note a correction in the log with the updated off-duty time should work.

Of course, I could be wrong. I'm sure one of the DOT guys willcorrect me if that's the case.

 

i was actually waiting in line to check in, by the time i got back to the truck..almost 30 minutes had gone by, i asked around and i think there is a rule that allows up to a certain amount of time/miles for us to get to a safe spot in case of such situation.

 

Nope only for unforeseen weather or accident that was not known in advance. Doing something on your own, at your discretion is not unforeseen!

 

Off duty is off duty, 11 or 14 isn't relevant.

 

Not if you're still hooked to the trailer... off duty use of a tractor cannot be logged whenever the tractor is being used for business purposes.

My company tells us to flag the exception over 11 or 14 to find a "safe haven," and don't worry about it. It's between you, the log dept., and safety. Then just don't get pulled in to a coop for the next 8 days.

 

You'll still get nailed in an audit. They made the rules impossible to follow on purpose. It's your money and your license. Lie.

 

Doubtful. They can't get you for falsefying a log, nor can they put you "out of service" for something so old. Even if you are put on the gibbet for it, it'd likely be overturned in court. Don't lie... find an attorney who can get you off!

 

Court? You don't get court for a citation written during an audit. Not according to Mike, anyway. We don't know how old it is or how old it will be when the company is audited either. This is one of those gray areas that the rule makers leave the driver twisting in the wind on.

 

Catch 22.


xtra chars...

 

Well during a traffic stop/inspection or scale house inspection I doubt they will get enough evidence to write the false log. Let's be honest, even the best of the best driver's out here, at some point or another have shaved 15 minutes off their log. I know that, the other inspectors know that. The false logs I see, write up and put the driver out of service are not for them. They are for the guy that fails miserably doing his log, logging different State's when in fact he is 1, 2 or 3 State's away from what he has logged. The guy that runs from Orlando, FL to Ruther Glen, VA in 5 hrs. That kind of driver.

On the other hand, when someone like Mike comes in a conducts a compliance review, the outcome could be drastically different. Those are not taken to court the traditional way like a speeding ticket is.