Maxing Out The Hours

Most people miss the point that the 34 hour reset is only one day off. You shut down and take your regular 10 hour break. At the end of your break you take one 24 hour day off. You now have a fresh 70.

 

I guess I need to go back to school and learn new math!

We're running hard: 11 hrs driving and 1 hr on duty every day. But we're not killing ourselves, so we're staying on the 24 hr cycle. We start at 8:00am every day, with an hour off duty mid-shift, and finish each day at 9:00pm. And so, at 7:00pm of the 6th day, we are out of hours; it's reset time.

It is now 5:00am on day 8, and back at it we go, following the same routine only 3 hrs earlier each day. And BOOM!; 3:00pm of day 13 we're ready to reset; having driven 128 hrs. (10 days of 11 hrs, 2 days of 9 hrs.) And we're ready to go on day 15.

Now with the 8.75 hrs per day routine, even if you only use .75 on duty each day, we're only going to get 112 hrs ( 8 hrs x 14 days) in the same 14 days. And we'll have worked every day! It will take 2 more days of work to equal what we would have driven in the same time frame had we been doing 34 hr resets.

All the running steady method ever did was let you work every day instead having to sit waiting for hours. Mileage per each 8 day window was identical.

 

Not sure why everyone is focused on the 14 hr rule, that doesn't go against your 70 for the week. I might have my 14 hr clock run out but I haven't worked 14 hours, sitting in a dock waiting to be loaded or unloaded might count against the 14 hours for the day but is not logged as on duty not driving, but as off duty.
Basically, with luck, I am on duty for pre-trip, fueling and any stops that require drive unload or assist. I have had my 14 for the day run out but only worked 8. On unlucky days I have had 14 14 run out and only worked 4, hate waiting over 8 hrs to be unloaded.

 

I tried to run steady on my hours if the loads allowed it. The reason I did this is because I'd rather keep rolling every day on my two weeks out then get home. I don't want to be sitting a day somewhere a thousand miles from home. It helped me not get so home sick on the road, plus I felt better mentally and physically.

 

I may have been a little off on my math but my theory is spot on.

I will simplifiy it.

Dive 11 hours a day for 5 days and them a day off. That's 55 hours in six days.

To avoid a 34 hour restart, you can only be on the clock an average of 8.75 hours a day. How many hours out of that 8.75 can you actually drive. Drop and hook, I am guessing 8 hoiurs a day. So 8 hours driving in six days get you 48 hours driving.

You said, " the math will work out the same however you decide to run"

I don't see it.

 

"Mileage per each 8 day window was identical"' you said.

11 hours x 6 days(5 on, 1 off) = 55 hours
8 hours x 6 days(6 on, 0 off) = 48 hours

Thats not identical.

 

WHAT???

Why are you using 6 days, when we're talking about an 8 day cycle?

The 'conserving hours' mentality comes from the old days before the 34-hour reset existed. You had 70 hrs of time in 8 days; 70/8=8.75 hrs, which would equate to 8.25 driving hours and .50 on duty each day. (I know I used a higher percentage of on duty in my first post, but .5 hrs was what most of us showed as on duty back then. )

Now you could just as easily have burned those seventy hours up by running hard, say 10 hrs driving and .5 hrs on duty each day. Do this for six days and you had 7 hrs left for the next two days.

So:

8 days x 8.25 hrs= 66 hrs

and

6 days x 10 hrs + 1 day x 6.5 hrs = 66.5 hrs

The extra half hour is from not having to fuel or show a DVI on that 8th day; but last I checked 66 hrs is just darn near functionally identical to 66.5 hrs in the big scheme of things!


So let me fix it so you're happy:

And Kittyfoot?

I should have known, and someday I'll learn not to bother! It's the old wrestling a pig thing, you know? I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment. But I tried!

 

OK. 8 days then

11 hours driving X 8 days (5 on, 1 off, 2 on) = 77 DRIVING HOURS
*That still allows for 3 hours a day On Duty - Not Driving

8.25 hours driving X 8 days = 66 DRIVING HOURS
*Your 8.25 hours only leaves you .5 hours for On Duty - Not Driving. You might make that work with paper logs, but you never will with an EOBR.

 

I think I learned something from this?

But at the same time I think I just got dumber.

Good stuff guys. I enjoyed the reading.