My day on Elogs

Gotcha, just would have made more sense to me If I would have seen the whole day, thx again.

 

Yes, log falsification. There, I said it. been out here near thirty years, never an issue. I don't run two log books, I don't pop pills, I don't drive like an idiot because I OWN the truck. I do my job. I rarely leave the state of Michigan, I rarely go near 70 hours a week. But I do get caught in the 14 hour rule a few times a week. And yes, I get plenty of bunk time. My average length of haul is 100 miles or less. I feed auto plants parts from many suppliers, this is not a 9 to 5 job and stuff happens. If I had a crystal ball and could plan all of these day to day issues away, do you think I would be stupid enough to be owning and driving a truck?

 

Thanks buddy.

 

I don't "like" the HOS the way they are now, however we HAVE learned to adapt around them, MY argument for changing HOS isn't so much for my operation, BUT I DO realize, (yes out of compassion for my fellow driver if that is what you want to call it) that there are other industries and drivers that simply don't have the flexibility that we have.

 

How do you get caught by the 14hr rule?

 

Really? It is easy, I get a load in the morning, run that, clock is still ticking when I finish, get another dispatch, get held up in traffic, parts aren't ready, etc. time I get to the next delivery I am bumping the 14 or over, even though I had a good four hour or longer nap. If I have a three or four load day, again it is easy to hit and go over the 14.

Or the other day, I went into one of our customers, we were running empty racks plant to plant for a new part that GM required. We were all under the gun. The shipping foreman asked if I could stay and help as the other company that was supposed to take over was a no show. I told them yes, and than I called my dispatch, let them know the situation and they said do it, they will send another one of our trucks. Well, that was a twenty hour day, and I was fine. 40 mile turns, very fast loading and unloading on both ends. That is what we do on a routine basis at the company I am leased to. We have an excellent safety record, we are all O/Ops, most of us have been out here for years, there are ten of us currently.

We have a strong and loyal customer base. We also do quite a bit of air freight. Those can turn into a real nightmare if the plane is late. So, you go to bed and wait. We are talking a run of normally around 30 miles. Guess what, you are now past your 14. So, I tell GM or Chrysler I cannot drive the 30 miles to their plant because I am out of hours? Do you have any idea of the costs involved in pulling a stunt like that?

To many variables out here. This is my job, I'm not out here to sit in a truck stop whittling the hours away jerking off to porn in the sleeper. I'm out here to work. When I get tired I go to bed. When I am really tired I turn off the phone and tell the boss I will call him. If I am sick or to tired to drive I say so. I have been here 3 years with no issues.

 

Then it sounds as if you're taking on too much to get accomplished on those days that you're hitting the 14hr clock. Elog is nothing more than a different way of recording, if it can't be done legally on any elog, or couldn't be done legally on paper. The rules aren't any different

 

Of course it is. And I miss that flexibility.

I always thought of the hos as being similar to the speed limit. A good guideline with some wiggle room.

Maybe the next step should be to use technology to ensure nobody can exceed the speed limit.

 

The ELD is not the issue, the HOS are the issue. When we were 8 and 10, this would not be an issue.

 

I don't see how any of your BS tirade has anything to do with my post .
Let me try to answer your spade question.
I've been driving over 35 years and close to 4 million miles .
That's with no accidents and not ONE falsified log book violation or any logbook fine , so save the falsified logbook rant for someone else

I'm glad you adapted to ELDs and I'm sure I will adapt to them .
What I don't understand is why you care , why does everyone have to use them .
Will you still be worried until every driver is on ELDs ?
Because that's likely to be a long wait , some guys just won't comply , they will go to extreme lengths not to comply , and that doesn't bother me in the slightest , in fact I applaud them .