RECAP running - what happens to your 34 reset?

34 is voluntary. Your company may choose on your behalf, but DOT does not mandate a 34. The 34 is sometimes the best option in the circumstances.

 

34 hour reset is only required if you run out of hours before you start to get recap hours back on your 8th day.

Some drivers almost never take 34's. Others have to take a 34 nearly every week.

I am one of the latter. If I do not take a 34 every week, because i have to, then something is desperately wrong.

 

The guys who are local or regional get to run extra hard in heavy traffic to make the miles. And have to have a 34. Same roads, same customers, same potholes. A friend of mine runs 500-650 miles/day in and around D/FW. He laughs when I call him crazy, since he spent his first quarter-century of driving doing the same thing in Chicago.

I’ve run 12-days and had a load cancel this morning. (Another driver took it). So I got up at 0300 after the midnite cancel and drive across OKC to:

1). Get truck washed
2). Buy181-gallons of fuel.
3). Have a big breakfast at FJ.

Return to truck at 0715 and found a load from our drop yard 1.5-miles away going 1,100-miles to delivery AND the time for me to take a 34. So I’ll do laundry and hit the truck-friendly Wally in Yukon.

It’s a brand-new Cadillac (loaded 579), so keep it that way: Clean and re-grease fifth wheel. Get around to a few cleaning chores. A couple of upgrades; Radio & Antenna. Etc.

The back row at the Morgan Road FJ is where I’ve done plenty of them. Just did a PM or I’d go to Speedco. I live in Fort Worth, and the folks here are just as friendly. Home is where you find it.

I’ll put in for time off (however many days I want) for later. Maybe 22,23 & 24th day’s of month. Possibly though not probably another 34 in there beforehand. Set it up with friends beforehand.

Re-cap is like weather & traffic. A hindrance. Have to plan to make 9-hours OR LESS work. Your company gets it or doesn’t. Few do it well.

Two days ago I was in Colorado & Kansas. US-83 for hundreds of miles. Then down to D/FW. Scoot across the whole Metroplex midmorning, drop, hook, and scoot back out before afternoon traffic heats up.

Sunday, I’ll make my way to South Carolina. Spring foliage is great on my route east on IH40. Set cruise on 64 or 66 and just hold the wheel. No crowds, no hurry. Back off speed to let the dummies get around.

Should I run the Gorge or go thru Atlanta? Hmmmm. Ten minutes & thirty miles. Whatever hour of the 24 I choose to do it. Keeping what I know will be a near 80k gross load above 8.5-mpg is the game.

Find what you like as to the work, OP. Stuff like re-cap ain’t nothing compared to whether you love the EXACT job you’re doing (ahead of what company).

Good luck.

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In Canada, it's a 36 hr restart, and if you don't take a 36, you have to have at least 1 24hr period of consecutive off duty time within the last 14 days...but we won't confuse the OP with Canadian rules just yet.

 

This also holds true on the 24hr off in the last 14 days if you are based in the lower 48 and go to Canada.

 

Just got back from there today.

 

For #### sakes. If you need a dispatcher to figure out your hours you got problems that can't be reached.

 

I think you might have misunderstood what Flat was saying. If a driver is feeling burnt out and feels that they need a 34 hour break, they can legally take it.

However, if they do it when they have plenty of available hours, it will likely not make their dispatch team happy.

The reaction will be even worse if taking a 34 causes a service failure.

In short, nobody can force you to drive, but they don't have to keep you in one of their trucks if you are causing more problems than you are worth to them.

 

Gotta love a guy fails to understand the principle behind a rule: SAFETY.

You’ll want to keep that up next to the G.O.AL. blacklight poster on your sleeper ceiling. BEWARE FATIGUE

FWIW, as dispatch can read Omnitracs farther into the future than the driver can, talking with him and the planners about how to use re-cap is best practice. We all want the same thing.

 

With all due respect I think you are also not understanding the wording of that comment. The wording was a belief that the FMCSA says a driver can stop for a 34. To the best of my knowledge no such rule exists. I agree with your comment though. I will say this though. When the lines of communication breaks down bad things happen.