Log books have nothing to do with safety

I'd be put in jail if I left my dog in the cab in this heat without A/C in the summer. Tell me that is safety. The laws were pushed through by lobbyist. I believe oilfield drivers can work more than that. This is a screwed up state.

 

I was going to stay out of this thread but I just can't help it! You all know me, right

It just sounds to me like you are the type of person that doesn't like to follow any type of rule that you do not agree with!

Unfortunately if we/us the world did not have rules/laws we would all be a big chaos and we would all be killing each other for anything and everything. Yeap there is some doing that today, unfortunately them are the one's who do not believe in following the law or even have the slightest of feelings because they was taught the law is nothing but a money making thing.

Sorry I believe in having laws! DO I believe we make laws that don't make sense? YEAP! Do I believe they can be changed if you voice your opinion in a way that makes sense? YEAP! So why don't you voice your opinion in a more political way than a I don't want to follow any rule way?

That's all I am going to say!

I sure in the heck do not want a driver out there doing what he wants when he wants how he wants etc! So I do believe in some regulation and I do believe he/she must pay if they do not follow them regulations as I must pay my speeding ticket in my 4 wheeler

 

I rather tend to agree with LogsRus - in general.. I *am* a minimalist government fan.

Truckerdnfw seems to be confusing the original *purpose* of the HOS rules with their effect. Whether they were initiated at the behest of the railroads (who, by the way, have similar rules) or because some early Ralph Nader-type saw a need to improve highway safety is immaterial today.

Today, the HOS rules DO improve highway safetey. Sure, they do so by curtailing the operating hours of those of us who need less sleep than others - but safety laws have always been "lowest common denominator". I frequently drive 20+ hours - in my pov. After numerous sleep studies,it's an established fact that I operate on a 27 hour day - with 6 hours of sleep. When I get behind the wheel of 40 tons of potential death, though, I'm going to abide by HOS and other safety laws - including the silly ones.

(I completely disagree with seatbelt/helmet laws, by the way - but wearing one flatly DOES improve your chance of survival in the event of an accident. I just think it should be your choice. If you don't wear one, the insurance company should have the option of telling you (or your relatives) to find a handy rope to P*** up)

And no - I do NOT believe "anything the government tells me". I used to work for the government. But until somebody develops a real-time unobtrusive test for degree of exhaustion, they'll have to do.

 

It's just a messed up world, but without some rules we all would be doing what we wanted and unfortunately doing that we would all be under the gun "literally".

 

Some of us older drivers have the common sense to pull over and get rest and know our limitations. True the adverage sleep time I need was always six hours. But as for the younger drivers who can not say no to a dispatcher are the ones being scaped from the road.
It's a Catch 22 for drivers that all the burden is put on them and not the carriers. If you drive the route according to the dispatcher all is o.k. no matter how many hours it takes. If you don't, look for another job and running a risk of being out of service hours and fined.
Carriers with high violations, accidents and deaths should be audited more often and there should be a way a driver can call to report these abuses and be protected.
With the new Hours of Service went into effect the number of accidents went up wich proves they had little effect.

 

Statics prove you wrong. I too have driven far to many hours to remain safe, I have done stints from Sugar City, ID to Indy. But Iam not going to jump in here and claim I was exsercising good judgement allowing a dispatcher to coherse me into running that hard. I also have 2 million plus accident free miles. Giving a benefit of the doubt to the driver, the only thing a driver has to give them the power and authority to shut down a company truck is the hours of service. Most of these carriers would force their driver way past safe limits without HOS. Companies have proven over and over they do not care about drivers only how drivers affect profits. Its ultimately up to the driver to protect himself and this can be a very useful tool to assist them. When your Grandfather was driving the traffic was alot different than today,

 

That's a good point. The companies don't care and if you're in an accident they'll come out better than the driver if that driver is found to violate any law. To say the HOS are not safety related is just pure ignorance in it's finest form.

 

I was wondering..........does the gentleman wish to return to the olden days when the dispatcher ruled supreme? To the days when "bennies" ruled the road because the dispatcher was a form of trucking God. To the days when truckers fell asleep at the wheel killing, and maiming more people than today. To the day when more drivers were sent to prison because of these killings.

Just so you are aware, the Hours of Service Act was enacted by the U.S. Government simply because it was requested by drivers because of the dispatcher gods causing drivers to kill & maim.

 

Nope, oilfield here is limited to 14 hours. Now it can be 14 hours of straight driving but 14 hours none the less. The DOT was kind enough to inform my company of that last year during an audit when we frequently had drivers hitting 19-20 hours a day hahahaah.

 

Kinda like a "UNION" thing?? I think some of you guys are misunderstanding him when he says it has nothing to do with saftey. The REASON these laws were passed were NOT for saftey, but they USED saftey as THE REASON. I agree a driver should have the sence to shut down when they get tired. Alot of people talk the saftey talk, but I wonder how many would shut down after their first hour of driving if they got sleepy?? (Rainy days, cold medicine, ect...) Its happened to every driver!! I've seen alot of wreck's on the road, and I wonder if there are stats on how many are caused by a tired trucker? Why do so many judge a fallen trucker? I to have argued that all the saftey talk is no more than Big company prop. Case in point: Big co. driver leaves point A loaded, run's out of hours at point B., backed by dispatchers, travel planner's, computers, and such, Big co. driver is met by another Big co. driver where trailor's are swapped, and the load continues on. Small O/O leaves point A, run's out of hour's at point B, fudges log to compete with Big co. driver. Big co. ask question: How do we slow this guy down?? Hmmm... LAWS are introduced! And who gets hurt the most by these "protecting" laws? Now, I don't expect any co. driver to understand this, but ask yourself, who would you give your contract to haul to? A question every O/O has to deal with. And its this question that drives them. We pay more for parts, fuel, labor, and trucks when we buy them, so tell me , WHO is the SYSTEM FOR??? Not us! Does these rules make the roads safer? Sure, but the intent of these rules/laws are not for saftey, but just another tool for the rich to use to shove us down further. Just my thoughts..