E log vs paper

My 2 cents is you can plan pretty close to what a person can drive on ELDs people just don't want to run legal and less miles. You can extend the 14 hour clock by taking 8 hours in sleeper. You can even stop and take a 3 or 4 hour nap if you want. What drivers don't seem to be able to see is they need more time to finish a trip. If you get stuck in traffic or the shipper is late loading truck or if you want to take a nap. You don't have to drive illegal to make up time. What you really need is more time to deliver the load. It does not matter if you are on paper or ELD. If drivers don't like the HOS then change the laws to whatever you want.

 

Personally I love paper because I can run hard as I can with eld a lot of companies require you to have them if your a owner operator and companies like landstar is one but to me I love paper but if you just like to drive and haul tail I require paper butbif you get pulled over by Dot thats money if you have any questions ask

 

Cheating = working the equivalent of illegal overtime because the rates your running for can't maintain your family when running legal HOS.

Not saying I'm judging those who do, (we've all done it at some point) but let's call a spade a spade....

 

I run OTR and stay out for weeks on end. I'm on EOBR's in a speed governed truck under constant monitoring. I stayed up for 45 hours straight driving a total of approx. 1200 miles with no sleep whatsoever and minimal sleep before hand.

During this period of time i was 100% compliant with the HOS.

 

Sounds like he's on that high speed chicken feed.
May be compliant but #### sure not safe.
I know used to work 36 hr shifts and then drive 800 miles home not a good combo then I grew up.

 

My point exactly . I'm rather well adjusted to this schedule as I commonly pulled double overnighters multiple times a week growing up and I'm still only 22 yrs old so it hasn't caught up with me yet and i know my limits well from pulling them so frequently.

I didn't even grab a redbull to do that let alone Meth lol. My uncle retired from trucking now ran back in the 70s and 80s with Meth and he would routinely stay up for a week at a time stopping for nothing more than fuel and another 6 pack of beer. Even he admits that was a poor idea looking back now. Never wrecked a truck in 25 years though.

With the E-logs I'm being forced to drive when I'm tired and sit when I'm rested and wishing i could drive. I know the solution is to change the HOS, but i don't see how that's going to happen with the politicians only getting more absurd by the minute. An paper logbook that allows you to make your schedule as you see fit is the best solution we have for the moment.

Let's not pretend that those running E-logs are any safer than those running "Illegal" on paper because these laws were never about safety and this is coming from someone who lives with every "safety" device that exists right now only getting more tired and less done every day. Only we know when we need to sleep.

 

A change needs to happen in the way loads are dispatched. Just changing the hos isn't gonna do anything. You can't dispatch and run loads on eobr like you did paper. It takes a shift in thinking to make it work.

 

My loads are dispatched plenty slow with this company. I have 800 miles in the last 6 days and 2 34 hour resets. They never dispatch me on more than 600 miles a day and normally dispatch me on 400-500 miles a day.

How am i supposed to shift my thinking? Am i supposed to magically become tired after 14 hours? I'm not going to because that's not how my body works. Am i supposed to take sleeping pills so my body will work how the government say it should because i won't.

Sooner or later you're going to realize the goverment is the solution to nothing and the problem for everything. I only fear it will be too late when the sheep reach that point though.

 

Ramblingman it may catch up with you sooner than you think it will ... I am only 27, I was running like you describe at the same age, i could go and go and go without problem ... Now its a different story ... The only real way for me to make my eyes not so heavy now is to actually close them ... On occasion i can still run like hell but not day in day out anymore ...

 

It very well may and then I'll go to sleep when I'm tired. I don't run like this because i want to or i want to be some kind of a super trucker. I'm just not tired enough to go to sleep. After running for 11 hours and 600+ miles I'm normally so wound up it takes a minimum of 6 hours to wind down enough to even start talking about going to bed and usually takes closer to 10. I take 14 hour breaks and only get 4 hours of sleep quite routinely...

I personally do my best running 1000-1500 miles. If your ready to hit the sack after 500 or 600 miles I don't see any problem with that at all. We both know our bodies limits and sleep needs and i expect we would both not exceed them to the point it would become a safety issue. Like said before though don't think compliance and safety have anything to do with one another because I live in Full compliance and I'm exhausted,frustrated and bored. I often do find myself speeding in places i shouldn't to try and make it all work with the almighty count down. I catch myself and slow down telling myself to stop being an #######, but it happens.

I got stuck behind a bull hauler in a construction zone once and he did the speed limit exactly going through that work zone even though it was inactive. He rolled black smoke and flew away as soon as the work zone was passed meanwhile I'm still sitting here going 10mph below the speed limit watching the clock count down.

I'm sure i was more compliant then he was, but i don't think i could say i was any safer.