as much as is safely and legally

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yes I agree they have to figure something else out. what I would suggest is that an at least minimum 8-9hrs driving. If they did that as company policy, then a driver would know his employment status was ok and so would dispatch. But because there is no minimum they can say a driver did not utilize enough hrs. Like what is enough then? And then make it policy. Instead of the expected at least minimum pertaining to mileage. DOT policies dont pertain to mileage they pertain to hours. But no minimum acceptable requirement pertaining to hrs has been established by the company. Only the requirement of full hrs utilization. If thats the way it is then certainly they must accept that if a driver is not stopping at some acceptable time B4 the LIMIT then they are risking going over the limit. But they will not disclose what that acceptable time is. In other words do they require at least 10.75 or 10 or 9 or WHAT? I think that is unfair and perhaps just cause to quit. I beleive the DOL does too. However they have to have disciplined if a driver refuses to utilize all hrs. and a report must be filed with DOL quickly. Then if it leads to unemployment as it has with me (but i was not disciplined, I was unaware and left, as opposed to becomeing terminated) and (didn't file quickly). An unemployment claim might be more easily realized if discipline can be proved. It is a whistleblower protection with OSHA and/or DOL. After they have disciplined and terminated for 392.3 they can not say it was for someother reason if a report has been made with DOL soon after the discipline has occured. I didn't know what the acceptable minimum was but I knew I should stop B4 the hrs limit. Then they say not full hrs utilization. And I think thats BS. A simple acknowledgement letter as to when its acceptable to stop for the day as a matter of company policy would have been enough reason to say NO to a dispatcher who persuades the continued utilization up to the limit. I could have said NO sir Dispatcher, I have reached the accepted company policy limit of utilizeing 9 or whatever driving hours. I guess I should have gone through repeated refusals and disciplines and known exactly what to do in response to them in order to be eligable for an unemoloyment benefit. Rather than that I chose to leave. I would expect simple fair treatment as I would be fair to a driver if it was me. Maybe they can't be fair, I don't know? But to be unemployed for a year without a benefit is not right either. I haven't driven that many miles that I can afford to take that much time off. And I can not afford to go through a run around the local countryside looking for work and getting no answers. If it was you and you had some reason to start on a monday I would not refuse to start you on a monday and demand saturday. When its Friday. I also would not refuse to give my last name. Simple stuff like that is why I will not work for them and am looking for a better place where people are more reasonable and fair. Also I'm glad you see the insane side of them that I see. I will try to be more brief in the future I apolagize for the length. At least its not 53 ft here and now.

 

Thanks for the tip on the common dispatcher trick! Why would they do that? Also what if you refuse and type tired and cfr 392.3? what happens then from your experience or what you heard? Do the companies discipline for that? Would you suggest just telling them strait that after x hrs of driving time that its your quitting time for the day? Or would you be hesitant to say its quitting time or tired because then it might mean they treat you bad by messing things up for you moreso somehow? Thanks for your tip, I think I understand how dispatch is toward drivers better now. I wish they could have just accepted that since I was now empty (at receiver-no parking allowed) and had 9+ hrs in that day that my plan to go to next restop area for ten was a good one. Instead I was called on the cellphone and told it would be insubordination to refuse to proceed to next pickup 3 hrs away. I was newer then and proceeded but ended up stopping at the next truck stop since I was at 11. Then because it was a small truck stop that was full up , I had to go to an abandoned lot nearby. Then the rental police showed up and demanded I leave the lot or they would call state or local police. Should I have stayed for a ticket or talked to state police who might have let me claim safe haven since I was over hrs? I made it to destination but drove an extra hour than 11.
I think it was unfair of dispatch and they later said sorry. However I don't know what to do to get them to stop setting me up like that with similiar situations without getting myself in trouble or affecting my job status. How many times could I have claimed 392.3 and still been employed? Noone would answer these questions at orientations. Maybe I shouldnt ask those questions at orientation? I wrote to HR dept. and they responded with a letter that said they refuse to answer such overall safety policy type questions. Its now past 180 days at FED DOL so they won't help me with a benefit either. How far is your LISA Truck co. from NH? Would I have problems like that there?

 

Is it still that your ETA or estimated time of availability will be changed to what they say it should be according to the RODS or record of duty status log book?
I remember setting my estimated time of availability (the time when I would be again available for work) only to find that it was unacceptable to dispatch.
What is the point of requireing a driver to even set an ETA in the first place if it is ignored or over riden by dispatch? An example would be:...I drove 9 hrs to receiver and was unloaded in an hour. There might be no overnight parking allowed and a rest stop area less than one hour away. Even though I set the ETA for tommorrow, dispatch changes it and schedules me to pick up another load roughly 2 hours away, because according to them I have two available driving hours left that day. Refer to JB HUNT
DRIVER MANUAL revised 1/1/06 at bottom of page 58..