E-Logs: how close do you cut it?

No way in hell I am running teams. Seriously though, do you guys not k ow where you are stopping before you start in the morning?

I know where I will be everyday until my load is delivered and roughly the time I will be there, all before I ever leave the shipper. I guess I need a goal at the end of the day.

 

9 of 10 times I go to a shipper I've been to before, and doing a run I have already. So I kinda got little spots on each one. But if not we just hit a off ramp or truck pumps late at night, fill it up and switch

 

Actually, what I was told to do is tell the shipper/receiver that you are out of hours and CANNOT move the truck. You'd be breaking the law if you did. If they moan and groan, then I am instructed to call a DOT Police Offer, and he will escort me to the nearest safe place to stop my truck. And then he will have to write something up because you technically are in violation now for moving the truck.

We had a driver run out of hours in the dock once. Told them he cannot move his truck. They were pretty pissed that he took his 10 hour break still bumped up against their dock.

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Can someone please explain to me what "running on recap" is? I hear this a lot and I really have no idea what it means.

 

You work on a 70 hr 8 day cycle (60 in 7). As you use hours they are subtracted from the 70, so your available hours are what is left from the 70 that has not been used.

At the end of the 8th day, you "recapture" or "recap" the hours you used the 1st day and they are added to your total of available hours.

As an example, consider the following, and to keep it simple I am just going to use 1 hr on duty each day for fueling, PTI, loading etc.

Day 1 Available hours = 70
Drove 9 hrs, + on Duty = 10
Day 2 Available hours = 60 (70-10)
Drive 8 + On Duty = 9
Day 3 Available hours = 51 (60-9)
Etc.

At the end of day 8 you have 1 hr left, so what to do on day 9? Remember you are allowed 70 in am 8 day period, so on day 9, you get back the hours you used on day 1 because that day is no longer a part of the 8 days... So you would actually start day 9 with the 1 hr you had not used, and the 10 hrs you "recapped" or 11 hrs total.

Put more succinctly, you have available everyday 70hrs minius the total hours used in the previous 7 days. Whatever was used prior to that 7 days.

 

If you're running a Quallcomm with a 1500-foot "On duty driving" then you have to be extremely conservative about your driving time.

But if you aren't hauling a load, you're golden going home and screw the clock. This is personal conveyance. It doesn't fall under federal rules. You're just using the company vehicle to get home.

You can't use this if you're hauling a load or going to your next pickup. But if you're going home or even to your terminal unloaded, you're golden.

Most people running elogs get killed their first 6 months with HOS issues.After that you figure out where you do and DON'T have wiggle room, and figure out where you can and can't park.

I ALWAYS caution newer drivers to park where it's a sure thing, even if it cuts off an hour or so. There is nothing more stressful than trying to find a spot with 5 minutes left on your clock with elogs.

 

Good information, thanks for that.

Let me ask you this. After 8 days, aren't you supposed to do the 34 hour restart? How can you work on day 9 without getting the restart in? That's where I'm confused.

 

A reset is not a requirement. 9the day, 10th day etc does not matter. Take 70 and subtract your last 7 days, and what is left is what you have to drive on any day.

 

I have skipped a lot of this as we are in an area that I feel strongly about. The Hours of Services rules are there to protect a driver from being overworked. At the 8 hour point, you should be looking for a place to spend the night. Company wants you to work more, company should pay you more. Cutting your time so close means you are pushing yourself too hard. The harder you work the less we all make. Put your feet up. Live life.

 

I recommend you cut the cord on the QC as close to the unit as possible, so that it cannot be reused ever.

 

This is why I hung up the keys and I'm home now