Log Book Help?

You dont HAVE TO ever do a 34 restart if you choose not to. The 34 restart is an option, not mandatory.

Mon drive 10
Tues drive 8
Wed drive 11
Thur drive 10
Fri drive 10
Sat drive 10
Sun drive 5
Mon drive 4

You have 58 hours logged for the last 7 days. For Tues you would have 12 hours available. If you worked 12 hours Tue, you would only have 8 available for Wed. THEN, you would start being in a bind as you can easily blaze through an 8 hour day. I run long days and alot of miles and so I blow through 70 rather quickly, so I would be looking for a restart when I had only 12 hours available that Mon. But sitting off-duty for 34 hours wouldnt be mandatory...just an option. If you worked your 8 hours on Tuesday, you would have 11 available for Wednesday. You could continue to roll until the weekend...

...when the 4 and 5 hour days dropped off the 7 day period and are replaced with longer days. Then you would be in a bind.

Some drivers limit their ON DUTY time so they will never run over 70 hours in a 7 day period. and they never do a 34 restart. I dont like doing that because my deliveries are time sensitive.

I just wish we had the 34 restart back when we could run 15 hours a day.

 

Too many people log things way too differently for the "what I would do" thing to be of any help. Logging is simple. It only gets technical when you are trying to beat the system.
WITHIN a 14 hour period, you can only DRIVE 11 hours. You can work as long as you want, as long as it's not driving.
You CANNOT DRIVE AGAIN, until you take a 10 hour break.
If you are going OTR you will most likely be using the 70 hour/8 day rule.
If you reach 70 hours before the 8th day is up, the 34 hour restart is mandatory. If you do not reach the 70 hours before the 8th day is up, then on the 9th day, you get your hours back for the first day.
That's where it can be tricky. So, while I don't believe it is required legally; you should always use your recap, that way you'll always know the hours you have available the next day.

To make an example: Say you arrive at a shipper to load. Your day has already been 9 hours. But it's going to take 10 hours to load. (exceeding the 14 hour a day rule) However, because it's only 11 hours of driving within a 14 hour period, you can log that whole time to load as "on duty" and be legal. You just CANNOT DRIVE again until you take your 10 hour break.

Following those rules, always log it as you do it. You stand to lose too much if anything from an accident to an inspection catches you falsifying a log.

 

Not being smart, but does anybody actually do this? Myself, I couldnt afford to eat if I followed these rules. To be honest, "Log it as you do it" sounds like big co. prop. to me. If I did this I'd be out of buisness in a month. But I suppose if I had a multi million dollar co. and wanted to cut the competition I would be pushing this certain death sentence to small operators to.

 

Well he said no OTR experience, 3 weeks at a time, and no log book experience. Sounds like he's far from an owner operator, or a small company. Sounds like he's going to be going to work for a multi million dollar company. Who will put every bit of blame and liability on him for ANY misstep. He can't afford that liability. Not that owner operators have any less liability, or can afford any more, but owner operators do have quite a bit more wiggle room to make things happen and say not happen, then a company driver for a Swift or a England or something.

 

Point taken.