solo driving issue

Your company should have one.

I've run into the same situation and had to drive over my 14 to get to a safe place to park. I called the company and told them what I did. They said alright, make sure you take your 10 hour break and all is well.

The reason our company tells us to do that is because its against company policy to park on the side of the road for non emergencies, park on the side of off/on ramps, and to "make our own parking spot are truck stops or rest areas".

I've gotten to a truck stop and ran out of my 14 as soon as i pulled in. I couldn't find a parking spot so I had to drive 20 miles down the road to another truck stop. Found a parking spot and called dispatch, told them what happened and they told me the same thing. Take a 10 hour break and continue in the morning. I asked them if it negatively effects me or them if i got audited by DOT. They told me no since I had to find a "safe" place to park. I've had fellow drivers do the same thing and he told me he got his logs looked at by an officer once. Officer asked why he drove when He was out of hours. He explained the situation and the officer let him go.

You have to have a safe place to park for your 10. Period.



sent from DrtyDiesel

 

Think ahead. 14 hrs. -load time -travel to rest spot= the time you load or go rest. Just let everybody know ahead of time.

 

I have had the same happen but added one thing, on my log I was told to write " seeking safe harbour" that tells DOT and your log dept. what was going on. It might not get you completely out of fault if an accident occurred but it would help you. Also MAKE SURE YOU GO TO THE CLOSEST PLACE!!

 

I've tried that. It usually works out except when one day I had 3 hours left on my 14 and it was gonna be a drop and hook. Turned out to be live load. I wat at the shipper for 6 hours. Then after loaded they told me i had to leave. There was a pilot 20 minutes down the road. I made It there and called dispatch.

sent from DrtyDiesel

 

Definitely! If you go 40 miles past an empty rest area then it's gonna be your butt haha. Only time I've had to drive further is like I stated, truck stop was full so I had to go to the next one.

sent from DrtyDiesel

 

You will never win with this senario here.
Half of this group will tell you to plan your day better not paying attention to the detail that some things are beyond your control. The other half is sympathic to your situation.

 

DOT doesnt care. You are over the 14 hour rule, a DOT revenue officer will see dollar signs and you have a ticket. Your company is giving you bad information.

 

Crap always happens at shippers.

Truth is, even if you do leave and go down the road, you can't find parking sometimes if it's late evening.

I've gotten into arguments with customers before. Honestly, I don't want to haul into or out of a place that tells me "yeah, we've detained you here all day, but now we're kicking you off our property once you're out of hours". A lot of times I'd just park on the side of their driveway, drop yard, etc. Only a couple times in five years did someone actually come out and complain to me.

But, I had no provision against parking on the street. Street parking is legal. May not have all the services I want, but it's there to use. And now I drive for myself, I only deal with 'good customers'. They treat me like crap, I won't go back.

 

Ask them if it's ok to drop your trailer and return in the morning for it. The loaded or unloaded trailer will be in a secure location and finding a place to park as a bobtail is much easier than finding a spot for a 70 foot long tractor trailer.