Hours of service questions and answers

He is referring to the the 70 hour 8 day rule again. "IF" we did not have a 34 hour reset option then we would all have to wait until we regained hours to legally drive the truck again.

That is one of the main reasons drivers used to carry (and use) multiple log books.

 

this is something I shot for when driving for the "mega-carrier" 8.75 per day. It seemed the best way to keep rolling to me.

 

The magic word is "MAY" the driver "MAY" take a 34 hour reset...Not MUST take. Big difference.

 

OK the more I think about it and think "I got it" the more I think I don't got it.

Ok 14 starts after 10 hour break, drive x hours take a 2 break. 11 minus x equals driving time left before the 14 ends. Got that one easy

14 ends, take 8 hour break-- 11 minus x equals remaining hours to drive-- got it easy too.

OK in both those above cases, when you finish the 10 by taking the 2 or 8 respectively, does your 14 start over fresh or do you subtract the balance of the 14 and can only drive until the end of that?

Like say I start my 14 go 7 hours into it I have 7 hours left (after either 2 or 8 I understand that.) After 2 or 8 do I get a new 14 or do I only get 7 then have to take a 8 or 2 again?

OK we split the sleeper berth time
split the driving time

do we split the 14 on each side of every break as well-- never get a fresh full 14 to play with using split?

 

You have to be kind of careful with this, because some of the time you're so far past the end of that 2-hour break that it you won't be able to take a 8-hour break and be legal to drive afterwords... just in some cases.

Answer to last question... no, you never end up with a full 14 to play with using a split. The point is to gain something on the game in a situation that is already jammed up.

In the first part you presented a driver starting with a full boat on the 11 and 14-hour clocks who drives and takes a 2-hour break. Then drives some more and takes an 8-hour break...

The 8-hour break never counts against your 14, but everything else does; since the driver has the 2 and 8-hour breaks a split is now in play. Both the 11 and 14 hour clocks WILL BE RESET starting at the END of the 2-hour break. The second driving period counts against both the 11 and 14-hour clocks, but the 8-hour break doesn't count against the 14.

So its like the first part of your day... the first driving period and the 2-hour (or whatever time that actually is less than 8 hours) are wiped off of your clocks. That's the advantage. 8)

Putting some numbers to it... you drive for 3 hours, take a 2-1/2 hour break, drive for 3 more. You are now 8-1/2 hours into your 14 and have driven for 6 hours total. Take that 8 hour break. You're now out to 16-1/2 hours since starting, with 5 hours left on your 11, and 3-1/2 left on your 14. But... you have a split as well. The 11 and 14 hour clocks are reset at the end of the short break, 5-1/2 hours after you started. You drove for 3 more, and the 8 doesn't count...

Using the split you have 8 hours to drive (11-3 driven) and 11 hours on your 14 (14-3 driven, the 8-hour break doesn't count). See the difference?

 

You can keep out of trouble by remembering that once you split the break, you'll never get a full 14 unless you take a full 11 hour break or a 34 hour reset. As it has been said here repeatedly, half the cops out there don't know how to compute the time, so be careful and be prepared for some attitude from an inspector!

 

"Two guys walked into a bar............You think one of them might have noticed."

They should put a sign on the entrance to every trucking company's Facility.

"Enter at your own Risk!"

It's Time for Truck Drivers to STAND-UP and say no to the abuse and mis-use of the 11/14 hour rule by greedy trucking companies, managers and incompetent dispatchers. The Only way too, is for Drivers to stop falsifying the "Drivers Daily Log Book". If you are editing your book to drive longer, then you are non-compliant. If an employee of any company tells you to operate over the 11/14 hour rule they are violating The Hours of Service (HOS) regulations (49 CFR, Part 395) revised in August 2005, (hence the two guys...).

Yet everyday we hear the stories about how this or that company forced a company driver to violate those rules. Pardon me. No one can Force you to violate the Rules. What these companies can do is prove that you are operating CMV in Violation. It is silly to think a company will ever expose itself to the DOT knowing it forced a Driver to Falsify the Driver Daily Log.

The only way to stop the Non-Compliant company is to log it as you do it. The burden falls on the driver to provide accurate accounting of his or her time on the 24 hour grid. With that said, when the clocks run out the truck must stop.

Here is the Rub! The Drivers are supposed to complete the recap and maintain the 70/8 hour rule (US Drivers). If you fail to and you are pulled in for a level I or II inspection, receive a citation or are put out of service, then the Driver is the one the company will discipline for violations, not the Dispatchers.

 

Drivers are not required to do a recap.

 

Companies never "threaten" to fire a driver for not violating HOS rules. Instead dispatchers and load planners will punish drivers by laying them over away from home for a couple of days while they "search" for another load for the driver who didn't deliver on time.

When the driver complains about not making any money the dispatcher will say something like: "sorry driver, we had a load all lined up for you but due to the delay and you being late we lost that load. We are looking for an alternative load for you but there are several drivers ahead of you on the list that made their deliveries on time." Call back in a few hours.

Be late on a consistent basis and the company will "let the driver go" for any reason or no reason (at will employees can leave or be fired at any time).

The above is a teaching tool designed to get the drivers attention; do your job on time or suffer the consequences.

This is where drivers learn to bend the rules to satisfy the customers needs and make money for themselves.

The only thing that will stop violations is on board recorders that have multiple sensors in the truck that will detect who is actually driving. sensors such as on board cameras aimed at the driver or a smart steering wheel that detects driver fingerprints and logs all time spent behind the wheel.

 

Quit giving them ideas.