Reasons/odd reasons to put myself on duty

That's what I was referring to. The logger was proud of the 700 mile days, but inadvertently showed a log with NOTHING but drive time. An issue for DOT, obviously

 

A few years ago, I was slip seating day cabs. Trucks were FCFS at my carrier, and there were more drivers than trucks available. I'd show up at say 3am (giving me enough time to make my delivery appointment), and there would be no trucks available. I'd have to wait until around 1-2pm for trucks to start coming in. The company then expected me to start my 14 when I was able to get a truck assignment. So I'd been waiting 10 hours for a truck, then they wanted me to work up to 14 hours afterwards.

The first couple of times it happened, I did it. Then I wised up and started my 14 at the moment I showed up and was told that there were no trucks available.

Guess what? After the first time I had to shut down due to hitting my 14 and have the company pay for my hotel and layover (day cab), and not get the load delivered that day, there was always a truck waiting for me when I showed up for work.

Use the HOS rules to your advantage. That's what they're there for.

 

Technically anytime you are in the cab, in the drivers seat u are on duty.

Be careful with that one, cops love to sit in the rest areas and pop ya for it.

 

Love it. And you were legally correct to have done so.

 

My mentor was an owner-operator who started an on-duty line when working on his truck at home. He started doing that after the day he had the right front wheel off with the axle on a jack stand. He was pressure washing, on the gravel driveway, when the jack stand tipped over and the axle almost caught his foot. He figured a workman's comp claim would be easier if he had been on duty.

 

Not only that, but in the event of an audit (or worst case scenario a plaintiff's attorney following a wreck), any repairs had better either be accompanied by a receipt showing where you paid somebody else to do the work, or line 4 time where you're showing wrenching on it yourself. If you try claiming you were "off duty" while working on the truck, that's log falsification. If you did the work yourself, and the time spent would have put you in violation of the HOS, it'll be costly.

 

####, I better log it. Sitting here smoking a cig, who knew. Technically at the controls, right?

 

Close the curtains???? LOL.... I hear ya tho ..

 

You log trip planning?
Really?

I often get preplans while I am in off duty or sleeper status.
If I went on duty to respond to it, it would hose my hours.
And I have to spend at least a little time planning the trip before I can even respond to it.