You MUST read this! It helps me prove what I am trying to get you to understand!

Great Post

 

Good post. There's an accident that happened years ago I've been trying to refind on the net. It happened up in the Pacific Northwest and it was with a gasoline truck and trailer. The pental hook broke as the truck was leaving the interstate and the trailer went down to the cross street and flipped over. Of course gasoline came out all over the road. Just as that happened a young girl drove through the gas igniting the gas and she burned to death.

This driver went through years of courtroom battles because the lawyers wanted to pin the accident on him and the company. They checked EVERYTHING. They went to the driver and all his paperwork, the company, the people who made the truck, the people who made the trailer, and finally the people who made the pental hook. The end result was the pental hook broke at no fault of anyone. If I find the article again I'll post so all drivers can see what can happen even when you do everything right. So a logbook entry can be just the beginning.

 

LogsRus, Please remember that you are not require to spend any time sleeping. The rules only state you must be off duty or in the sleeper for a combined 10 hours. I can do anything I want for 10 hours, like gamble, watch tv, play with a recreational lizard, and so on, and still be legal to drive after the 10 hours are up with zero sleep.

There is no rule about getting a good nights sleep!

Don't get me wrong, I believe that you should be well rested before driving. I always sleep a good 6 to 8 hours each night.

Mark

 

True. You can't enforce common sense.
There's a saying the construction industry that says "When it rains, all of the lies come out".
For those who don't get that, it means all of the sunken trenches are showing. The one's the hands said they compacted properly when they back-filled.

Keep your logs straight and for Pete's sake (and our safety too) get some decent rest after you drive.

 

Markk

Oh, I'm sure she knows that. Her point is, and always has been, that if your logs are correct and legal, it is to your benefit. Sure, it won't save you if you screw the pooch and - as you commented - stay up doing whatever for those 10 hours. But if you don't keep your log clean, even if you sleep all of those 10 hours, you WILL get burned (pardon the pun, GasHauler) if something happens.

So, you see, the difference is very important.

 

I understand that she tries to preach log legal, but under the current pay structure that most long haul companies use it is not going to happen. I drove long haul for 3 years and alway the main object was to get the load deliver on time first, make the book look good second. I now get paid by hour for everything and log 100% legal, I work on average 11 hours a day Monday through Friday with weekends off. All drivers should be paid by the hour.

Mark

 

That won't work OTR.
Everyday and every load is different.
I was stuck in that I-5 mess yesterday should I if I was loaded (I was dead-heading home) been paid by the hour?
What if that load sat on the shoulder for 24, or 48 hours because of the situation?
Hourly pay is fine for local hauling but for regional/otr that will screw the shipper resulting in lower hourly rates in case there are accidents and weather related problems.

 

In my extensive experience with my current (first) company (all of 2 weeks as a trainee), they absolutely put the book first. Delivery appointments are far enough out from pickup times that delivery can typically be made with a day or so to spare. If you can't make the time BEFORE you pick up, you refuse the load and tell dispatch you can't do it legally. They'll either offer you a different load, come back with a new delivery appointment, or "get there when you can". I've seen all three, already.

Of course, I've also driven team with my trainer (which makes me feel good - as, I'm sure, it's supposed to), to get a load or two from point A to point B for the original delivery appointment.

AND we got spoken too when I messed up my log and went 15 minutes over my on-duty time. No violation - I wasn't driving past my 11. But got cautioned.

I agree, hourly pay would be better. But it would have to include ALL under dispatch time. That includes the 10 hour break, since you are still responsible for the truck. In other words, 24 hours a day. It would also have to be almost double minimum wage. Assume you can drive 660 miles in a day (11 hours * 60 mph) at 35 cents. That's about $231 per day. 24 hours times $7 is only $168.. $11/hour would come close.

 

Why will it not work for OTR? I'm still OTR, I drive a daycab with a 48' trailer. I drive within a 300 circle of Allentown, PA. I get paid to fight the traffic in New York City and Philadelphia. I make a run to Montreal, QB and back for a week to 10 days every 6 weeks.

Being paid by the hour will force the trucking to charge detention time. It will force the companies to plan a real shipping schedule.

As for the O/O or real small company, paying by the hour will not work.

Mark