34 hour resets vs recapping

When I was a driver getting paid strictly by mile recap was the name of the game. I would always be available and would never take a reset.

Now that I'm union I'm trying to work a 70 in a week and burn my clock as fast as possible. Reason why is how I'm paid. Even tho taking a reset I'm still paid decently but not nearly what I would be when I'm working regular hours obviously.

 

Get off the 8.5 hours a day ... it doesn't matter how you run it. It's 70 hours in 8 days ... some days you run 11 plus on duty, some days you run 3 hours. Bottom line you always have 70 hours available over the next 8 days.

The other side of the Plus 1 coin, is Swift will give you loads that fit your hours and try to maximize your miles for the week.

Also when you take 34 ... you pushed your PTA out ... Swift loads based on the oldest PTA. We're in the slow season now. Get in the wrong area and you could sit for 1 to 2 days waiting for a load ... take a 34 and it may be 3 days before you move. You always want your PTA to be right after you unload, regardless of how much time you actually have left.

 

Then your thread was kinda pointless, keep doing what you're doing. You're comfortable with it ...

 

The word is constricted.

It all depends on how you want to run your hours.

Doing a 34 isn't a bad thing, unless you don't like to do it.
I don't like to sit that long, and prefer to average my hours so I don't have to.
I would rather run some miles each day and choose the best place to stop for a longer period - like when I get home.

But all of us are fighting over a moot point.
Some of us like to do it one way, while others like the other way.
And, there is no 'right' way - except what is right to each of us.

The special thing about trucking is that WE control our own time!
I don't think any other occupation can lay claim to that.

 

You basically have two choices. If you want to run a full 11 every day, eventually you will be forced to do a 34. 11 hours drive time plus 1 hour for scaling/fueling/loading is 12 hours, times 6 is 72, 2 hours over the 70, at which point you're forced to do a 34. This can put you in a situation where you need a recap, but don't have one because you spent the previous 7th day on a 34.

OR... you can limit your drive time to 8-9 hours a day and always have time to drive. The choice is yours.

 

Being a Swift company driver you should never voluntarily take a 34 out on the road. Reason is, swift will pay you $50 bucks if they don't offer you a load within 24 hours. So when you get empty in some bad area with no freight, sitting for about 20 hours, go on duty for 15 minutes, the system will 'ping' your location to the planners who will panic and have you deadhead 1000 miles before they pay you $50 bucks. What I try to do is run about 10 hours a day for 7 days straight, (rarely works out like that perfectly) but only need a 24 hour period off duty to effectively get a 34, because then I get a whole week's worth of 10 hour days coming back.

 

..

 

What if recap truck can go 100 miles per hour against 34 hour break truck governed at 62 lol