Back Logging your Book

They are not all that way. If you enjoy it find a new company. If you don;t enjoy it it may be time to move on. Good luck whatever you decide.

 

Exactly what I was talking about...it is so much easier to "log it as you do it" than to try and cheat a "few minutes here and there".

If your dispatch is cramming non-legal miles at you, and you have to run 85(+,-) hours to "get er done", then maybe your company should hire one of the drivers that are looking for some work. $20k extra only works out to $385.00 per week...don't you think there is some driver wiling or even wanting that 385 bucks?

 

that is the problem being on the East coast...especially the northern part...between the speed limits, then the traffic, the delays in loading/unloading...the driver is generally screwed into driving 11 everyday to make a living. I will stay out west/mid west and maintain my 8.5 hours driving and never run out of hours...plus my company has freight that allows at least a 34 at home every week...on top of through the house every 3rd day if I want. HEH HEH..no truck stop scum showers anymore!

 

With computer log books there is no ripping out pages, no gray area's only black and white. Work inside of your 14 hours and your driving at 11 hours plan your trips then you have no worries from DOT

 

And when drivers sacrifice safety in order to remain compliant everybody loses.

 

What are you saying(?), that makes no sense at all...please expound on your philosophy!

 

And what will that prove? It won't prove he was a bad driver. It would only prove that he got tripped up by the system.
I have nearly three decades of safe driving which include more than a few "illegal trips".
I know my limitations, as do most adults, and if I was going to fall asleep behind the wheel, I think it would have happened by now.
I know what you're thinking Mike."Yeah but you could get caught tomorrow".
Yeah, I could. But so what? It would be an anomaly. It wouldn't erase 30 years of safe driving.
I'm not saying I'm special. I'm just a regular guy who loves his profession and there are plenty of us out here.
My problem with your "cat and mouse game"(Your words, not mine) is the number cruncher types looking for clerical or math errors to trip up a driver.
Several times over the years I have had an officer scour my paperwork to the point of frustration, clearly hoping to find an error he could charge me with.
Once an officer found a page over a week back where I had failed to use carbon paper thus leaving the second copy blank.
It was clearly a mistake and I had nothing to gain by doing so. But illegal in his eyes nonetheless.

As a capitalist and a libertarian, I firmly believe that businesses perform better with less, not more government regulation.
The carriers with the best equipment, most qualified drivers and timely deliveries will excel. In turn they will do what it takes to retain the best people for continued success.
The shoddily run outfits with poor equipment and unsafe drivers will fall by the wayside. It's been proven over and over again.
DOT fines may accelerate the process of weeding these companies but I feel that is outweighed by the burden the system places on legitimate companies.

My life is different from what it once was. I drive for a major LTL carrier with with high standards and a top tier safety rating to back it up.
I wear a uniform and drive a slow truck. I do everthing pretty much by the book.
We are never asked to perform illegal, but I often sense the frustration of the company when the HOS(especially the inflexible 14 hour rule) inhibits us from making a timely delivery and no relay is available.
I do what I do for the pay, benefits, retirement savings and home time. I know I can't beat the system, but I will never embrace it.

 

I'm talking about those times where I avoid a break because it would end up putting me behind the next day.

I'm talking about getting an hour or two less sleep than I would like because I was forced to stop driving long before I was ready to sleep but I don't have the time to take a 12 hour break instead of a 10.

I'm talking about stopping earlier than I would like because I can't guarantee I will get a parking spot at the end of my day and can't take the chance that if I didn't find a spot I would then have to go a short time beyond the 11.

You get the idea I think. The HOS are designed for robots in a perfect world. But I do follow them because I really don't want someone to 'win' by giving me a ticket.

 

Again , nonsense . You blame HOS because you stop before you want to . You need a whole 10 hour break so if you stop an hour earlier you need 11 hours to get proper rest ?
Never mind HOS . What happens when you deliver less than 500 miles from the shipper but when you arrive the consignee has closed for the day but will be open in 10 hours ? That must really mess you up . Like it or lump it . Trucking is what it is and if it's too much for you to handle there's thousands ready to jump in that can handle it .

 

lol, making a few wrong assumptions there Rick.