FMCSA wants to see how 2005 HOS rule affects drivers

I think it's a necessity to equate logs with pay.
I think there's more equity in the pay method if you base part of that pay on logs.

Here's an example; Suppose the playground were set up to pay you hourly.
This could mean just for your on-duty not driving time.

If your non-driving wage was at a rate similar to your driving rate, would you stop driving when you were supposed to, or keep going?

The caveat to obtaining the non-driving rate is that you had to actually log that non-driving time accurately to be paid for it.

I have a feeling that most would opt for the non-driving rate before unsafely pushing themselves to hit the road again.

Hence, logs could equate to pay.

In the strictest sense, don't logs already equate to pay?
I refer to per diem stuff, layovers, demurrage etc?

 

But that is what happens at 90% of the companies now. The rules have not nor will they every change the current system, as long as the driver is paid by the mile.

Do you really think a driver that drove 2 hrs, waited 2 hours for a dock door, helped unload for 6 hrs, then waited 4 hours for next load is going tell dispatch he is out of hours for the day?

Mark

 

Well some do and most don't

 

Bravo logs!

I agree 100%. The split sleeper was gutted to the detriment of us all.

I would go on to say that the 14 hour time frame would have to be frozen for any time spent in the sleeper 2 hours or over. this would encourage drivers to take a nap when tired rather than feel "under the gun" and be punished for laying down by losing those hours.

 

I beg to differ with the comment here.

When you are running legal, then the logs have everything to do with what you are paid. Drivers only receive payment for the driving time. There is very little compensation for waiting for loads. Therefore, a driver has the motivation to drive the truck. This leads to illegal activity when the truck has been kept at docks for the day unloading and then reloading.

 

That is where detention time is supposed to factor in. I know at my company after 2 hours at the customer I start collecting hourly pay.

 

I agree. But sometimes, you don't get very much in the way of detention pay.

After all, you may get to the dock, the company will not start the detention pay until in the dock and it may be for 3 or 4 hours to kick in and get paid after those hours pass. Then you leave and get maybe 1 hour paid and have to drive to the other side of town. Same thing happens again and you end up with maybe another hour paid. Not much for a day sitting around. Dispatcher then wants the load to the receiver, after all, you were in the bunk all day.

 

The last company I drove for paid practical miles at 29 cpm. At a daily logbook average speed of 55 miles per hour, that equates to $15.95 p/h. If I am on a run from LA, CA to the Walmart DC in Macclenny, FL, that gives me a good couple of days gross pay of $175.45 and I get to 1) run logbook legal, 2) pull into a truck stop before it is full because I can schedule my day. If I could do this type of trip everyday all the four wheelers would be safe from me cruching them when I fell asleep. If my company paid me $15.95 p/h for every minute I have to sit loading and unloading I would gladly quit fudging my logbooks. Until then, gee, I wonder why truckers go through multiple looseleaf logbook pages a day on the bad days. Does my mortgage company forgive me a days interest because some illegal alien doesn't want to lumper me fast enough?

If only trucking were always this simple. Maybe Google should start brokering loads so I get a load that matches my 14 hour clock and my empty location instead of being told by my never-too-empathetic dispatcher that there are no legal loads when the board inside the Flying J has a big list of them.

BRI

 

How do you get from LA, Ca to Macclenney, Fl in 2 days #55mph?
Isn't that about 2400 miles?

 

If drivers were paid by the hour they would stop working over 14 hrs because the company would have to show why they paid you for a 17 hour day or a 85 hours in eight days. and if the drivers pay stopped most likely the driver would stop too.