HOS???

The technically correct answer is either line 3 or line 4. Any time being the wheel at the control of a commercial vehicle is considered working.
Now the tell answer is, log what you think you should but you'll realize very quickly that you'll eat up your hours on petty stuff and week want to save wherever possible

 

I've been on e-log almost 5 years combined with 2 of my last 3 companies. (The middle one was 2 years on paper)...I have had my elog-book checked once, and you could see the guy really wasn't looking at the minor stuff. Just making sure the 30 min and 10 hour breaks were done legally. Most of the DOT checks I approch wave you thru when they see the elog sticker on the side of the truck.

 

work towards finding a place to work that pays you well and treats you like a human and you wont have to cut corners. the problem with fatigue isnt the drivers, its low wage slave companies that dont pay anything and dispatch drivers based upon their needs not yours. think about it, would you be more tired driving for 30cpm or 50? oh thats right, then theres the guys who will tell you it doesnt matter how much you get per mile if you dont get any miles. they kill me, if i have a bad week it would be better at a higher cpm, if i have a good week, still better at a higher cpm. if a higher cpm didnt matter why would an owner op care what is load payed per mile lol these companies will do their best to get you to run more miles for less money, well less money for you anyway.

 

I took a $.10 a mile pay cut to come to my current company. I make more here, and it's easier work. Circumstances are different at different places.

I spent three months last year at the higher paying place, 4 at the lower. My W2 from the lower, was 50% higher than the higher CPM Company.

 

Log off duty. Technically, you are on duty, but as others have said, you will burn up your clock.

I have had my elogs inspected by DOT 4 times now, never questioned anything. One guy even added up the on duty and driving hours for the last 7 days, straight from the graph, them did the math to make sure I was not over 70.

I asked if he didn't trust the computer.

 

Your a new driver, just let that clock roll until you get the hang of things, not squeezing an extra couple hours out of your work week while your learning won't kill your first couple pay checks.

When I was new I let my on duty time roll. Then once I got comfortable I started cutting corners. Now adays, I'm making a grand a week and only logging 50 hours.

Good luck and stay safe out there.

 

Years ago, before I bought my truck, I got into an argument with another driver at the company I was working. What brought it up was the PTO seal went out while I was unloading, dumping the gear oil in the transmission onto the ground and my truck went back to the yard on the hook. I spent the entire time waiting for the wrecker on line 4...several hours. Generally speaking, as a "local" guy, I log everything from the time I leave the house until I get back home as "on duty" or "driving", unless I stop for personal reasons. (Back then, there was no 30 minute break requirement). Reason being, if I can burn through 65-70 hours M-F, when they call me Friday @ 4:00 trying to cover Saturday loads, I simply say "I don't have the hours" and the conversation is over and I don't hear from them again. If you've got plans or anything else going on, that doesn't matter...they'll try telling you "work comes first"...but if you don't have the hours, they can't force you to work. Anyway, this other driver was upset because of the amount of time I logged on line 4. Pneumatic tanks...usually takes 30 minutes or so to load, and 45-60 minutes to unload...and he said he only shows 15 minutes for either to "save" his hours....and then he complained about not having a day off in over 3 weeks.

The way I figure, if I can't make enough M-F, I'm wasting my time at a job that isn't cutting it...so it really isn't worth giving up my weekend. Now if the money is there, I don't mind working the extra day or two unless I already had other plans.

I work to live, not the other way around. Don't get into the mindset that you have to "save" all of these hours to the point where you never get to take time out for yourself. If you're home every weekend to get a 34, what difference does it make whether you're on line 1 for 5-10 minutes every time you fuel or if you just leave it on lines 3 or 4? With that 30 minute break rule, you're really only going to have 13.5 hours per day MAX...which still leaves 2.5 hours to finish getting you home on Saturday if you didn't quite make it Friday night.