16 hour rule

It's not going to help, It will burn out the 70 in 5 days or less.

The problem is within the shipper and recievers at the dock, the driver and his time schedules mean NOTHING and NOT worthy of a moment's consideration.

 

they could adopt the system we use here in Aussie land there is no 11 in 14 or 11 in 16 hours you simply are allowed to drive up to 12 hours in a given 24 hour period however you are required to have a compulsory break after 5 1/4 hrs of driving some long haul drivers will usually go 5 on 1/2 off 5 on 1/2 off then 2 on and then they take their 7 hour break. the current 14 hour rule restricts you some what if you get held up or have a break down you can't continue once your 14 hours are up where as we can because you can count that time off as rest so your clock just resets.

 

14 hour rule does nothing but burden OTR guys and saves the rear of some local guys.

I use every bit of my 14 from time to time. I hate to have to get a hotel because I'm a half hour from home and I'll go over my 14 but luckily it's never happened.
On the other hand, I also would hate to be stuck working 16 hours because the company wants to send me on six 100 mile runs in a shift because I have the on duty time for it with a 16 hour clock.

So it's a difficult position to be in. These lawmakers have to find a one size fits all answer so there will always be flaws.
As drivers we just have to make it work for us and adapt.

 

I really like the idea of limiting On Duty time each day as opposed to having a limit like 14 or 16 hrs from the time you start the clock. That would really help solve problems for otr guys but it still protects local guys doing foodservice and such. For example, after say 12 hrs On Duty you cannot drive anymore until you take a 10 hr break. I'd also like to see more split sleeper options.

 

16 hour shift window is great. We've had that up here in the Great White North for as long as I can remember.

 

I have done local work for years that will be 16 to essentially more than 30 hours in a day cab prior to returning home to the ternimal.

I recall running out of fuel on the short mack because dispatch at New Market Maryland wanted me to "Just try" one more delivery into Arlington Pentagon Silos. down 270 from Lime Kiln Cement for the day in which I have already done 5 (Takes 45 minutes to about 1.5 hours max to blow off a bulk load into silo with engine turbo into tanker each time at 2300 RPM... that's 5 plus hours full throttle on top of what I recall as about 5 150 mile round trips at 70 plus mph for the day. What part of finished doesnt dispatch understand? That Mack ran dry at shady grove north bound on I-270 on fuel at about what I would call the 18th to 20th hour. So we all gambled and lost. But they got their 6th load in. considering it's about 75 plus dollars a load so it's over 450 gross dollars pay for the day. Whatever speeding tickets are easily absorbed provided you get them catch you at nothing over 75 a max of 8 times in a given year with MD in those days.

I can go on, but it's a extreme example of a long day done locally. Logs? Ha. A 16 hour day will burn through my 70 hours for the week very quickly.

I rather try to see a flat 14 hour straight time day for all truckers to "Spend" as they need to. They can do it all lumping with pay (Salary maybe...) or do it all 14 hours. NO Complaints allowed about lack of parking, any Chum can find a spot to park somewhere in 12 hours at least anywhere east of Chicago to the sea in the two hours left before it's out of time.

If you are too stupid to find a legal parking spot in 14 hours time on the entire east coast then trucking isnt for you.

 

Only time I have problem with the hours is at the shippers/receivers. I think we're better off keeping the 14 and have lawmakers propose a law that a shipper/receiver can't kick out a trucker when he's out of hours. Their slow loading times should be their problem not ours.

 

You guys that use HOS and shippers in the same sentence are funnny. They are in place to make sure we don’t work to an unsafe level. They are there because driver don’t know when to say when. They are about controlling the driver period! Hos has nothing to do with the shipper/receivers. If you are for HOS you are for letting the government control more of your life. Lawmakers alread have overstepped their bounds.

 

I refuse to accept "Funny" when working ON DUTY at a ####### shipper. /rant.

Shipper says wait for simon says get this dock number 666... you sit there and rot in there foir freaking 20 hours before they say okk here is your #### dock. You are pretty much finished for the day. Or night.

Sheesh.