ELD Editing Questions

Hi all, question from a newbie here, three months on the road team driving. All is going well, except the owner of our small company based out of Las Vegas is doing some things I’m concerned with. Usually we are home for every reset but last time out we ran out of hours. When we started our reset on the road, after 24 hours we had reset after owner texted us to “accept carrier changes” on ELD. I noticed the ELD unit stated “Last Reset(24 hrs)” instead of 34 hours like it usually said. Thought nothing of it and got back on the road, but did ask a question to dispatch about it and then next time out it was back to the 34 Hour reset reading.
Now I’m on the road, running out of hours, will have to reset again. Owner texted me to go in and edit “on duty” to “off duty” for times I had showed up to the receiver and was sitting waiting to be unloaded. I know one time I waited 4 hours at McLane Dist. Was I supposed to be “off duty” during this time? Should (can?) I be editing this to add more on duty hours back? My trainer/team driver seems confused.

Thanks for reading!

 

Check your permit book for a release from duty notification letter.

Basically, if you're sitting doing nothing, you can log it as off or sleeper.

Depends on company policies and sounds like your boss needs to type one up.

 

You'll get different answers on this - it's come up several times before. For me - there's a right way, a wrong way, and the way I do it.

Unless I'm assisting in unloading the trailer I always put myself off duty while waiting. I'll go on on duty for 15 minutes for getting paperwork, opening and closing doors, etc. I've never had a problem with DOT.

 

Sleeper or off duty when at shipper waiting. On duty when I go talk to shipper or receiver and open and close doors. No reason to waste that time for on duty and DOT has never said anything about it.

 

Show some on duty time, like everyone else says, for check in, and hitting the dock, etc....but when I pulled a box around (before I went open deck) as for the off time waiting, I would show 5 or 10 minutes off duty, then the rest in the sleeper, unless the customer or the boss requires you to be on the dock witnessing the unload.

 

The regs say your logs (paper or ELD) need to accurately reflect your actions. Recording your actions as something other than the behavior you were doing is variously called falsification of log or something similar. The standard practice in the industry (not what the regulations require) is to show as little On-Duty, Not Driving (ODND) time as possible at customer unless you are there long enough to satisfy some of a split sleeper break (split break) or a full sleeper berth period (at least 8 hours, still needing 2 hours of off-duty time for full 10 hour break). You are able to edit and reclassify all duty status other than Driving. So you are practically able to change your ODND at the customer to Off-Duty is that accurately describes your behavior while parked at the customer. It is considered "wasting your HOS" to sit at a customer and be On-Duty while you sit in truck and wait by most drivers.

As far as the 24 hour reset versus a 34 hour reset it's a matter of team driving. One of the team can finish their 34 reset by spending the last 10 hours of a 34 between Off-Duty and Sleeper while the other team driver drives or is On-Duty.

Ideally you should not have to edit logs unless you correct a mistake. I believe DOT looks harder at corrections because they are used to dishonestly get more driving & On-Duty time. What you described is not necessarily shady in my opinion for your boss to do.

Lastly, "I never had DOT ... " doesn't mean what's being described is legal, necessarily. Most people who sped don't get a speeding ticket each time they speed. It doesn't suggest speeding is approved or is OK with law enforcement. The regs are online. Your question is essentially one about what the regulations permit, not what any company allows or requires. I tried to always be honest on my logs, after a few years when all logs were paper. I would log a few minutes at a customer On-Duty for checking in, getting dock door assignment, backing in, and then go Off-Duty while I waited for loading/unloading to complete. Then I would go On-duty to check out, get paperwork, close doors, then Driving to leave. That was my log and my behavior at most customers. When I did fudge a little, I would not fudge more for the boss/HOS than I would fudge for myself. But to be safe be absolutely accurate about your ELD until you cannot be. Once you twist the ELD often you are on a countdown to getting caught by the company or DOT.

I would make changes as the boss asked if it is anywhere close to your behavior at the customer. I would try to save my HOS better than burning On-Duty time just waiting. Years ago many trucking companies gave a card, letter, or it was stamped on the logbook cover an authorization to go Off-Duty at a customer when waiting. I believe that is no longer required, and it may not have been required back before in the 1990s. Its not common to see that authorization anymore.

 

I doubt that the OP will return but I have to ask, if you were on your reset on the road, home much time did you spend on your reset? 24 or 34 hours?

Why the heck would change it if it the drivers were on their 34?

 

If I were you, I'd reference the regulations (FMCSA Regs). It seems like this crap changes every other year. Fortunately, I don't have to worry with it. I'm a local driver and only work Monday - Friday. I don't, but even if I worked 14 hours a day, I couldn't run out of hours. For that reason, the only time I log off duty is when I park at the end of the day. The rest of the time, it's either driving, on duty loading, on duty unloading, on duty fueling.

Disclaimer: I pull a tanker so can't very well log 15 minutes unloading and then go off duty.

 

Awesome info man, thanks for the high level of detail! Puts me a little bit at ease.

 

My trainer/team driver they said.

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Yikes