I Got Fired For Discussing My Hours Of Service

First visit with many attorneys is free.

Do you suggest she follows trucker/lawyer advice ?

 

first visit with me is NOT free.

 

..........

 

I disagree. The fact that she is in a probationary period does not give the employer the leeway to violate federal law.

 

All you would have needed to do was wait 5 minutes. Unfortunately because you were a local driver your 10 hour break started when you completed you post trip. If you were OTR do you actually sleep 10 hours straight? I know I don't. If sleep 8 hours that's great. Gives me time to get up, shower, eat, check whether, paperwork, trip plan. As soon as it is 10 hours, start Per-tripping. All you needed to do was wait that 5 minutes. If you were cool with the dock super for USPS, he could have gotten you a late slip. Either way if you were late leaving the that's what it is. All these USPS contract carriers cheat drivers in fashion or another. Good luck with your case.

 

Man, you hit it dead on the head as far as "Driver Requirements". I can not speak on the legal issues you mentioned but I can speak on the driver requirements. I take as much time as "I NEED" to insure the safe operation and condition of the vehicle and load that "I AM" responsible for. If it takes me 30 min to do my pre-trip then that is just how I list it in my logbook. I just do not see how any driver can get around this issue. If I am wrong, am I am never 100% right all the time, someone please show me the errors of my ways. Here Goes:

If I do my pre-trip at the beginning of my shift and do not record it, how do I prove it. When the DOT man asks me if I did a pre-trip and I say yes, he says, "show me". If I do not have it logged, then I am at fault. I have no right to expect this Inspector to take my word for anything, other then what I can prove. My truck does not move an inch, in till that "pre-trip" is shown on my log. If I tried to tell him that I did it on "my time", and do not record it, then I have just violated my HOS. It is impossible to be "Off Duty" and do inspections at the same time. This is not to say that if I am off duty and see something wrong that I cannot start the procedure to correct it. If it is something that is major or time consuming, then it goes into my log book, period! That is why the log book has 4 lines or 4 different types of "Duty Status". This is to insure that every minute is accounted for. If I list my pre-trip on line 1 then I am in violation. It must be listed on line (4), On-Duty - Not Driving. Now, I know I do not have to have a "Written Report" of my pre-trip, but I do need to show where it was done, and this is why it goes on my log.

This protects me as well as the company. With 11 hours allowed for driving, this leaves me 3 hours for inspections, eating and paperwork. 10 hours off, does not always = 10 hours sleep. Proper Logs filled out the right way, will go far, when you are sitting on the side of the road with them blue lights a flashing! It will also show that you know how to do your job. Drivers that have problems with log books are simply due to the fact that either they, or their company, are trying to do something that the "Regs" say you can't. There are always exceptions to the rules, EXCEPT when it comes to your logbook. Just one more opinion out of thousands. Drive Safe!

 

That's good CYA, but don't let the man in the car try to tell you that you MUST make a notation of your activities at each duty status change noted in your log. The only requirement for notations in the log is that you note the PLACE that the duty status change was made. If you show 30 minutes on line 4 at the beginning of your shift, that should be sufficient evidence to him that you had time to inspect the truck as a means of being satisfied that it was safe to operate.

Also remember that there is no requirement that you inspect the truck to be satisfied it is safe to operate. If scattering the bones from last night's hot wings on the ground around the truck and then dancing around it while intoning chants convinces you that the truck is safe to operate, then that's legal. That's not my routine or method, but if that's how you want to do it, then you've satisfied the requirement. According to the regulations, anyway.

 

Have you been watching me pre trip?

 

I was going by the person that posted he makes "no entry at all for his duty states change". IE: From "Off Duty" to "Driving" is a red flag that any DOT man could spot, rookie or not. I also make notations on everything I list on my log. If I stop for coffee, that's what I put as well as doing a quick look over. If I am using my Eclipse Program, it look great, if I am using paper, I use a $0.99 plastic protractor from wally world and they look just about as good. Like I said before, the better my log looks, it seems the less they dig. As far as your second paragraph goes "Also remember that there is no requirement that you inspect the truck to be satisfied it is safe to operate", I really have no idea whatsoever of what you are trying to say. If I as the driver am not satisfied, then who would it be? Who will take the "Point Hit" for me and apply it to their own license? Like I said, maybe I am reading it wrong or missing something that you were trying to say.

 

He said he does not make a notation of the activity, when changing duty status, only the location. That is 100% legal as the regs do not require a notation of what you did, only where you did it.
Refer to http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrruletext.aspx?reg=395.8