Loose leaf logs.

I use them and like em. They are legal but in some cases DOT inspectors don't. Working from memory I think there are enough log sheets for 34 days on the log books and there has been times when I have used all the sheets in the book and had to use another logbook to complete the month because I made mistakes on writing out the logbook.

 

Loose leaf logs are perfectly legal, but as Portlanddriver offered, the street level inspectors do not like them, for there is far more opportunity for a driver to use them in a manner to amend their working days and weeks and they sure know it.

If you use them, be prepared for a more intense scrutiny of your logs, and a possible "attitude" from any officer that encounters them. To some...truckers are criminals, and they just love finding ways to catch them.

 

Be nice, Be polite! Just remember that old song, "That's my story and I'm sticking to it!".

The officer HAS to PROVE you cheated and he has many tools at his disposal. Usually he'll just talk you into telling on yourself.

The new hours of service are a perfect reason to run looseleaf. I like my mid day nap and now they have made that difficult for me. I changed my logging practices.

 

Right!! Keep your mouth shut around the DOT officer.When asked a question give only the answer he asked about,and nothing more.Never volunteer any information.I've seen drivers walk in to the DOT shack,and run their mouths as if they had diarhea.Trying to make a friend of the DOT man.They see through that so fast,and automatically suspect the driver of hiding something.

 

That's right, I was on the scales being inspected in burley id one time and the DOT man finished up on me and said if you want to see something watch this. He proceeds to pull in two or three drivers, he asked the drivers the same question about the logs, Will I find anything wrong in here? The one driver that went ballistic and a smarta** was the one that recieved the honor of a full blown inspection...

 

I know this is hard to believe,but,I have never had a written log violation in 38 yrs since I started driving. I had 1 warning that I had to turn into my company. Keep them neat,make sure you can run the amount of miles between each stop at the right speed. Every 4 hrs,if I flag a safety stop, log all my stops. When they check me they ussually have a saying,'oh,looks like everything is fine,you're one of the old geezers out here',I'm always polite to them,yes sir,no sir.etc. I have also been told it is not illegal to rip pages out of your binded logbook, as long as when you redo it,don't make any mistakes,they look real close at this,also,if you make a mistake and change or cross out anything,initial it. Some states require a post trip also,like in ma.,they can write you up for this. All states require a pre trip though. If you go to me. or md.,make sure bill of lading numbers are listed for each stop and if your empty,log mty to reload site. They look very carefully for this. md. gets a calculator out and runs the computer on your miles in between each stop. It's best to log everything,they seem to like that and act like you know what your doing.

 

I thought this is a good idea and dot seems to like it. I use loose leafs also. I have a 3 ring binder that has all the truck papers in it,I also have 3 holes in my loose leafs,I put my own copy in that binder,when the dot asks to see your papers ,your logs are right on top of everything else, I leave them all in there,they like that,not just the last seven. When you go into scale office all your paers are there to see. just remember to have your cdl and dot med card ready and trailer registration. Say thank you sir or ma'm and be on your way.