Managing the 70 hour rule various strategies

HEY , LOGSRUS....Here's one for you to look at ...www.olblueusa.org click on this one...it has an H O S presentation that will probably help some of the new guys and gals here...I'm old school but I like mine LEGAL..After all I am the one driving...NOT my dispatcher or recruiter, or even the owner...I drive the truck ...NOT THEM !!!

 

I'm getting back into it and am very rusty as to the new way of logging!!! Would appreciate some insight as to getting the most out of logging team with my wife. Just looking for some input.

 

I'll admit I didn't read every post of this thread but regarding the initial post of the different strategies I'll weigh in.

If your company has the freight to run then running as hard as possible and taking the restart is the way to go.

My perfect scenario is this:
You drive your full 11hrs every day. You coordinate your fueling with your safety inspection at the start of every shift. If you make three drop and hook trips per six days that's 69 hrs in 6 days. At an average speed of 55mph that's 3630 miles. You then take your 34 hrs to get a fresh 70hr clock.

You will make more money this way and you get a guaranteed day off every week. You can't beat it under the current HOS.

Unfortunately there are loads that aren't drop and hook and sometimes you are given a lot of short runs which means more trailers and more safety inspections which eat up your clock. And don't get me started on DOT inspections, random drug tests, etc , etc

 

I can't stand the 70 hr rule. Why is it even necessary for otr folks? 11 n 14 is fine but the 70 is what sucks imo. I usually just take my 34 when my hours start getting close even if i don't really "need" it, just so I don't have to worry about getting stuck somewhere or not being able to make a good run if it's available.

As a matter of fact, I'm resetting now lol just so I won't have to be limited to running x amount of hrs each day until i pickup more.

 

ya know, sometimes i wonder if the DOT cops really know much. I remember one time in SD the DOT guy was counting my time from Chicago to Troy, IL...I thought does he even know where Troy, IL even is?

 

probably not. Heck, I'm from IL, and I have only a vague idea where it is! I think he was just looking for something that might stand out. If the time from Chicago to Troy was similar to the time from St Louis to Pierre, he might have raised an eyebrow.. or something.

Then, too - he probably does know that IL is about 400 miles top to bottom - if it took longer than 8 or 9 hours to get to Troy... why did it?

Just waggin' in the breeze

 

So if a company has the frieght to keep you going, without using a plit on the 10 hour rule i.e. a company mandates 10 hours be consecutive, don't you get dead tired driving 11 hours straight in your 14? If so that's a major safety issue for you and other people on the road.

Also with shipper/receivers keeping trucks waiting apx. 2 hour avg. are drivers really driving the full 11 in one day? I'd like to hear drivers comment on that since as a student I don't see myself being able to or wanting to drive that long w/o a break!! But from what I've been hearing with shippers/rec that is unlikely so your pay then will take a hit.

I would like to have a balance by using a split so if I get tired after 5-6 hours of driving I can use the 2 hours from the 10 to catch a break but I've heard a few times that companies policy is to have the 10 hours consecutive.

 

You have 3 extra hours during your 14 hour period so most days you get time to stop and take a break. If you are really set on taking a 2 hour break then you can split break and all you are doing basically is spliting your 10 hour break into 8 & 2. After the 8 or 2 break you only have the remaining of the 11 hours you drove prior to the 8 or 2 hr break. I explain it in teh most recent threads. Split is for those who like to take a few hours during the day to break in my opinion you are a safer and less stressed driver if you split break. Also you are only sitting for 8 hours # any given time (minus waiting for loads/home time etc)

Study it and use it before you say it's not for you!

 

I'm on a dedicated acct and often have 3 trailers on my daily log. Also, I work for SNI (Schneider) which has a no split policy so I always take 10. Here's what works for me: I like to start early and end early if possible. Since I have a lot of short runs, my day gets eaten up and I don't have to worry about the 11hr, just the 14hr. At about the 13th hr is when I look for a place to stop. I don't push myself. This way I don't have to worry about finding a place to shower. Also I can be sure of starting pretty much at the same time every morn. When I have a single load for the day, then I'll push myself to the 11th hour and get my 600 miles (if I'm not in Ohio). This way I'm not tiring myself out since somedays are long and somedays are short.

What ends up happening is that I run out of the 70 hrs on the 7th day, and restart on the 9th. It's better than fighting with the 70 hr rule indefinitely. Restart is the way to go.

 

So Grand if I get you right you're short runs allows a "break" sort of right? It's not like you are driving the full 11 without getting another load? If this is correct I would think this is a different situation than the runs that are 500 miles or so straight through the 11 hours, 3 hours not withstanding.

I've read your info Logs and it's straight-forward but I'm trying to get an idea if you don't have a split and you spend that 3 hours at a shipper how often is this scenario played out on the road today because it means you don't get a break in your 14 hour period if you wasted it in waiting at the dock.