Recaps, 34 hr reset and the 70 hour limit?

You can take a 10 hour break whenever you want to. But a 10 hour break is REQUIRED to reset your 14/11 clock. You could drive for 2 hours and then take another 10 hour break if you'd like, but your 14 will keep running until your 10 hour break is complete.

Also, to make things more fun for you. There is no limit on how long you can stay "on duty". The 11 hour and 14 hour and 10 hour reset are strictly for driving. You can LEGALLY drive your 11 hour shift and then do other non-driving duties for 34 hours without a break. BUT whenever you want to drive again you must then complete a 10 hour break to reset your drive clocks. This is not something that ever happens, but it is completely 100% legal, lol.

 

No requirement to work any amount. All hos says is when you can legally work. Nobody cares if you work less than the maximums. I should rephrase that. Nobody cares as long as you do not drive beyond 11 or 14 or 70 or 8 hour limits. Work yourself to death otherwise. Just don't drive if you don't have hours available.

 

There is an on-duty limit if you plan to drive later. If you go past your 70 hours you must do a 34 reset before you can drive again. For the average driver that on-duty (not driving) time is money out of your pocket, avoid it like the plague. Remember, you can stay on duty not driving till hell freezes over. You can work on duty not driving and go past the 70 hours. You can't do it and drive till you get recap time back or do a 34.

 

Again, laws are laws. As per the law one can take a 10 hour break anytime.
Then there is reality. In the real world most companies will try to push you to fill that 70 hour as fast as possible. No company makes money when the truck is sitting. They want it moving. It's just that there is also way too many variables.

Heck, there was once I've taken a 10 (to meet apt times), then drove for an hour, unloaded for an hour, then drove 30 minutes to a ts and taken a 34 as I was out of my 70. Was I being lazy that day, or was I acting like everyone in the world except trucking and taking a day off to rest? Or was I just simply running so hard I ran out of time and I had no choice?

You really need to not worry so much about HOS. Learn the laws so you can maximize your usage of them, and don't belive anyone without first looking yourself. The whole of HOS is located at eCFR — Code of Federal Regulations

 

You are absolutely correct.

When I was a trainer at Swift I typically took on a new trainee after I had a 34 hour reset, with a fresh 70. Usually dispatch would put us on "super single" loads to start out. "Super Single" means a load that's too far for a solo driver to deliver on time, but too short to maximize the efforts of a team, let's say about 800 miles.

Doing a Super Single load I would have the trainee log into sleeper berth and I would pick up the load and drive the first part. Then I would stop and turn over the wheel to the trainee, then get into the passenger seat and log On Duty for the duration of the load. You MUST either log On Duty or Sleeper Berth in a moving truck, you can only log Off Duty for a maximum of two hours in a moving truck.

After a few Super Single loads my 70 would quickly get down to zero. Then I could still work On Duty, but dispatch would put us on loads the trainee could handle with his or her available hours. It was typical that by the time a trainee finished their first 50 hours behind the wheel my 70 was in a negative 20 to 30 hours. By the time a trainee finished their first 50 hours behind the wheel I had the option to upgrade them to run as a team. If I decided to do that we would park the truck for a 34 hour reset, so we both had a fresh 70.

Indeed you can work well past a 14 or 70 On Duty. You just can't drive.

 

In that case no. I was paid my normal rate for all miles the truck moved, whether I drove or my trainee drove.

 

You don't take a 34. By this I mean there is no special status called taking a 34. That is a misunderstanding of 395. The 34 reset is automatic once you go off duty for 34 hours. This 34 hours off duty can be accomplished at any time. There were several times in my career I did a run, stopped because of no freight and reset. Once you learn the HOS rules as they apply to real-world situations you will see this.