Cheating Logs

I firmly agree that there should be some sort of hos for all workers, I had a friend of mine that worked about 45 minutes from home. She had been working 12 hour shifts for 7 days per week, for who knows how long. She was on her way home, fell asleep and drove off the road, hurting others and killing her. was it the jobs fault, I dont know, but it is no different than what they hold us to.

I also feel that the day of the super trucker have passed, they are still out here but not so much anymore. Everyone is learning what is at stake. I know most get under a hot load, and will fudge the logs to get there once in awhile, but not as many doing it every single day. There just is to much at stake now..

 

Unfortunately your friend's accident is an example of something health specialists are well aware of .

http://concreteproducts.com/mag/work-shift-review-0301/

 

IMHO, the days of needing logbooks is dying and EOBRs are here to stay. It's just a matter of time and enough court fights before they are mandated for all of the USA and Canada. The technology is 10 YEARS OLD, and is overdue for implementation. I do believe that this will be the start of a major change in the business, as technology will replace what was used for years out in the field, which was KNOWLEDGE and EXPERIENCE. It's a sad day for trucking, but it's the reality of what will have to be to keep all the interests happy. Shippers, receivers, the government, and the safety cabal all want their interests represented, and the only way drivers will get a break is if there are separate rules for the company drivers/lease operators and the FULLY INDEPENDENT owner operators (NOT ones leased out to a company, as their loads would be controlled by who they are leased out to). The big boys and leasers would lose their exemption to the fair labor act, in exchange for control over the HOS and perhaps finally paying drivers for ALL the hours they spend working. The independents would perhaps keep their exemption, but would be subject to heavy scrutiny and regulation that would make business very difficult with rates the way they are.

 

whodat, what you post is very true, the current system of pay per mile with all of the additional monitoring and slower trucks ensures that the driver will never earn a fair wage. There may a job vs driver shortage now, but the tide will turn as the industry continues to lose qualified drivers.