Cheating on logs

^^^^^^ You wonder why we have a crack down in the industry.

I do remember those days spending an hour to fix my logs just so I can make it pass 1 scale house. Then at the end of the day having to redo them again. So I can get more hours. One driver said which company does he work for. Its not the company that he is working for that is paying him high cents per mile. Its the 4 and 5,000 miles a week he is running to make 1500 a week.

The love of money is the root of all evil.

 

May I humbly submit that the proper etiquette if you do stop to "fix" your logbooks just in front of the scale, please do it in a safe location and safely pull out in traffic. I nearly got clocked by a "bookie" pulling blindly into traffic entering California on Donner Pass.

Now, I understand he stopped on the uphill curve so the scale house wouldn't see him cooking his books, but really? Try to at least be safe...

... I've even seen truckers pulled over less than 1/4 mile away in clear line of sight. Everyone knows what they are doing. It's small wonder I've seen a few pulled over for the rubber glove treatment.

Which reminds me, if you cook your logbooks, then might be a good idea to include vaseline and kneepads in your toolbox...

 

Just because a truck driver is pulled over by a scale, does not in shape or fashion mean that said trucker is "cooking" his book/s. I agree 100% about the safety part though....

 

I'd sure like to know what else that trucker might be doing, parked on the shoulder in front of the entrance to the scale exit, with his dome light on and pen in hand...

Musta been the muse got him and he had to write down the lyrics of the century...

 

I don't know, wasn't in their truck brother man. Why would he pull over just before the scale? Why not do it way before, or the Truck Stop prior? If his pre-pass went off and he pulled over and parked at that point, wouldn't it be too late? I'm not saying it never happens, just saying there is no way to know, except assume so and, you know what that gets you, right?

 

Makes me wonder why the LEO's don't just bust 'em right there red handed.

 

no self respecting truck driver stops in front of scale to fix book....give me a break

 

how bout the driver sitting in the lounge tearing up paper
and starting over


every guy not wearing seatbelts and not on a headset
just makes all of us become the bulls eye

if you at least pretend like it matters the world is quieter for everyone

 

That's $3,000 in PROFIT after all my expenses. My gross is about $6-8 grand in that amount of time. I leave monday, come home friday morning. I'm not leased to anyone, my truck is paid off.

4 Days of "dirty driving" = $3,000 pure profit in my pocket..im happy =D. I don't deal with costco, wal mart, or none of that. I like to deal with S. Williams, and other hazmat companies that ALWAYS have loads and pay OVER 2 bucks a mile. Rent out a brand new great dane for 500 bucks a month and drive my older freightliner with a cat engine.

If I drove "legally" and wanted to be home every weeked, i'd probably make 600 bucks a week, barely enough to cover two tires.

 

I think most will agree that there is a risk when breaking any law. But, laws will be broken, and grey areas will be taken advantage of.

To me, a set of laws which takes money out of a man's pocket if he needs to take an extra break is total BS. Read the CDL test book. Over and over, the point is made that if u r tired or feeling sleepy, rolling the window down or coffee is not the answer. Only sleep will rejuvenate a drowsy driver. Now we have a set of rules 'forcing' drivers to press on, or their pay will be reduced. Almost sounds like the freight companies had a hand in forming these laws.

WAAAY back to the original post.
Scenario 1
Have an 8 hour drive ahead to an 8 am next day appt. Leave in the am, drive 4, take a 30 break, keep driving. About 30 mi from your stop, you become hungry, wheel into a truckstop for grub and a power nap. Heck, this is a good spot, I'm staying for the night. Up at 6, feeling good, have a little breakfast, and ease the last 30 mi, bad traffic and took and hour, to the 8:00 am appt just a few min early. The stop takes a while, problem with the crane, you throw chains and a tarp, and ready to roll in 3 hours. Next stop tomor am, 550 miles, lots of traffic. Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have burned that time this morning. Let's see, I have used 1 hr of driving time, and 4.5 hours of on duty. I can make it where I am going, but no time for xtra breaks or grub. But, I haul Butt, and get er done, because, legally I can and therefore am expected to do so. But I tell ya, the last few hours were tough.

Scenario 2
Goes pretty much the same, except my logs show me having driven and sleeping at the customer's place, which gives me an extra hour of drive/duty time. Now, about 500 mi into this run, I get to stop for an hour, eat a bite, kick the tires, and still plenty of time to make it where I need to be, safe and alert.

It is pretty easy to see which case would be more relaxed, safer, well fed, showered, alert, and etc. The money is the same, the pickup and delivery are on the same schedule, but I drove a little less tired here and there. It's the real world.