First Writeup in trucking (falsifying logs)

Many would give their left #@* for that lane!

 

4800-5000 miles each week, as a solo or team? First there is no way a solo will do that every week and be anywhere near legal, and I realize some people don't give a #### about that. Second, you will burn out on that run quickly. How many trucks and customers does your uncle have? What is the realistic outlook that this customer will continue long term, and what other customers are there? One of the hardest things to do can be to work for friends or family. Sometimes it works out, most of the time issues arise and stress and resentment builds and can last for years.

As for the ELD situation write up a paper log to cover those days, noting ELD malfunction on each page, and submit that.

 

Solo, I would probably do it, especially if it was a steady run for the foreseeable future. If that truck has a Studio Sleeper I would definitely do it.

A lot of people wouldn't though, running the same route week in and week out is not for everyone.

I like it, get in a rhythm and make the money.

 

I love the idea of filling out paper logs noting inoperable/malfunctioning ELD. Sign make copies for your company.

Running the same run week after week is an absolute "pain". We have done it for years and know exactly where every stop is, where we can get the good food, when we're going to arrive, what favors people still owe us from the last time we were there, etc etc etc.

And then the money is consistent! Hmmmmmm..... Actually, it's kinda awesome.

 

Just wanted to say, exactly.

 

That's correct.

But you can change on duty to drive, which is what the OP needs to edit.

 

Per the ELD rules, you CAN still edit drive time on Omnitracs/Qualcomm. But you cannot "un-drive" a truck. For instance, everyone should have a "shop" account for mechanics. If a driver forgets to log out and the shop drives the truck it will show up as drive time for the driver. I showed a customer yesterday how to edit the driver's drive line by taking that driving away from him and moving it to the mechanic. I also have had teams where they forgot to switch drivers and the driving went to the wrong driver. So it is simple to edit the drive time over to the correct driver.

So, I'm just clarifying that drive time can still be edited but it can't "go away." If the truck moved, then it needs to be assigned to somebody. But it can be taken away from your log if you weren't the one who moved it.

 

I work with units and even when the driver has certified something accidentally, it can be changed. Me, I would have talked to the driver to see what happened, verified and then adjusted the log to have him re-certify it if everything lined up accurately. It is to cover their butt if they get audited but it is a choice as to how they handle it. The only time I ever wrote up a driver for his logs was when he blatantly and against my advice, on paper logs, went over his HOS for no reason. That was over a year ago. We talked about it and I really thought he was going to be mad at me but he wasn't.

Sounds like the other job has more benefits to it than having to deal with some strange issues that could have been fixed with a bit more communication.

Glad things worked out for you and good luck!