ELD question!

I have had many situations over the years where DOT cops have pointed out "form and manner" mistakes on my logs. Once I got an inspection violation in Oklahoma because I forgot to draw a line from line 4 to line 3 back in Dallas. Honest mistake, but I was in violation of 395.8 (f)(1) and he nailed my butt for it. This is why I always hated running US-69/US-75 between Texas and I-40. That one DOT cop was a royal Richard!

 

As a driver, ANY commercial driver, you are 100% responsible for being legal and being safe. You CAN NOT cede that authority to anyone. It is really important to understand that. It doesn't matter if your boss, wife, guru, or the homeless guy at the truck stop tells you otherwise. Being legal and safe come down on you! No one can make you get in and drive a piece of equipment you know is not safe, drive when conditions are unsafe or to violate HOS rules. You control your muscles. It is your choice to do so. It is your soul in that truck and it is your driving record, no one else's. I don't mean to sound mean. It's just in my travels in life I've ran into too many folks who try and excuse crap they are responsible for and it kind of became a pet peeve of mine. When I got into trucking, it didn't take long for me to figure out I'm 100% responsible for certain things and I have 100% of the authority I need to go with it. Fortunately , I work for a company that has no problems with any of that. I feel for someone who gets threatened with getting fired for it, but I'm gonna get fired before I drive something unsafe, in conditions that aren't safe or be demanded to violate my HOS limits.
I sympathize with you for being unfamiliar with the finer minutia of ELD stuff since you normally don't have to use ELDs. But, unfortunately, it doesn't really matter. Please for your sake, even though you don't use them often, become familiar enough with HOS rules to keep you from unknowingly violating them.
Good Luck to you, sorry for the rant.

PS. I know from my own experiences that making the safe and/or legal choice can be VERY inconvenient. However, I don't think it is ever the wrong choice!

 

Let me say this about this issue. First I know NOTHING about E-logs. I retired before the mandate and always used paper. When a DOT officer looks at those last 7 days in most situations they are checking for 60/70 hour clock compliance. Most won't get too deep into a violation 3 or 4 days ago unless it affects the current day. Since almost all truckers use E-logs I would imagine there are no more "form and manner" issues.

One last point and I am going to tag @brian991219 to correct me if I am wrong. The FMCSA is more concerned that a trucker NOT submit a false log rather than just log a clock violation. In fact, during FMCSA safety audits they will overlook them provided two things are true. First, the driver is not making a habit of doing it, and once discovered the carrier notes discussing it with the driver. 11-hour and 14-hour violations can and DO happen in this business more than the average driver knows. I once remember listening to a safety man discuss this issue during a company safety meeting. When asked about a HOS violation he just made a "dismissive" motion with his hands and said "it is what it is" then added, "DO NOT submit a false log".

@Kspin6 if I were in your situation and were 30 minutes from home I would most likely do as you did. The thing is, however, I would do my best to better manage my time to avoid being that close to home and run out of hours.

 

Is that true though? I mean many DOT cops think if you have a light on your truck, it has to work. But we know that's not true. Problem is, the cops don't.

 

§393.9 Lamps operable, prohibition of obstructions of lamps and reflectors.
(a) All lamps required by this subpart shall be capable of being operated at all times. This paragraph shall not be construed to require that any auxiliary or additional lamp be capable of operating at all times.

 

Well yeah, I know the law on the lamps. But what I'm wondering is if you're actually required to have reflective tape on a mudflap that you don't even need to have on the truck. I used lighting as an example because having extra lights on the truck doesn't mean they have to work. So do you need reflective tape on a mudflap that's technically "auxiliary"?

 

To the best of my knowledge, there are no (FEDERAL) rules that require reflective material on mudflaps. Maybe @brian991219 knows?

 

There are no federal regulations on mud flaps at all. They are 100% a state thing.
Heck, the single time mud flaps are even mentioned in 393 is in relation to measuring the overall width of the vehicle.

 

I’d have to double check but I’m pretty sure anything made after mid 97 was required to have reflective on the mud flaps and the back of the cab.

I did mud flaps, but there is no way in hell I am putting that #### up on fresh paint