Neal Tread lightly, friend. Most carriers approved for e-logs have made deals with DOT regarding minimum times for certain activities like fueling, PTI, drop & hook, etc. You are correct that the QC e-log will reflect the time actually spent (or not spent at all if you don't take the time to log your PTI), but that fact can come back to bite you in an audit that says "Sorry, sir! But one minute for a Pre-Trip Inspection is not acceptable."
Bluebonn Yup! That'll happen if you are loaded up with a bunch of short hauls. On days that are what I call "pure driving" days without a lot of wasted time at docks you should find that you're looking for creative ways to make use of those three extra hours; like calculating how long you can break for lunch before the 14-hr clock takes over. Just be careful to remember to put yourself on line #1 at every legal opportunity.
I've been in the same situation. Beside the "badge" element correctly mentioned by Injun, you can count on the QC e-log nailing you with a violation that your safety manager will refuse to do anything about. Your only recourse when you find yourself running out of time is to call in the cavalry (read: police) and let them make the decision. When you are out of time on e-logs, you are out of time. Period! The only one who can authorize you to move that truck is an officer. Be sure you get the officer's name, badge number, and department. If the police say you can't move the truck, hunker down and enjoy your snooze. You might find yourself sleeping in door #4 of some DC's dock. Believe me, things will change in a hurry after one of those incidents. For those who disagree with this ... contact your safety manager now and get an official opinion from them. This posting is based upon what I was specifically told by my safety manager.
Specifically asked the question in regards to fueling, was told log it like you do it ... even if it is only a minute. Pretrip though, Swift is still looking for at least 15 minutes.
Road Ranger...I feel for you. You seem to have a DM and Safety Manager that rule with an iron fist. I did happen to go over my 11 hr clock by a few minutes, made a notation of why while I was still on the drive line. I called safety the next morning, they looked at it and told me no problem. That was over 2 months ago and still no log violation. Please enlighten us all as to how to beat the system, quit teasing us!
Fueling with a minimum? Negative. Log it like you do it. Stuck in a door? Negative again. The truck can move a short (read: under a mile) distance before placing you automatically on the drive line. Further, if you move for less than five minutes, the elog will revert back to whatever duty status you were on before you moved the truck.
To add, you also have to be stationary for the next five minutes for it to do so. Also, if you do move for that less than 5 minute time and go back to stationary, the E-log WILL make a "notch" on Line 3.
InKeper I envy you Indeed, my Saftey Manager sees only black & white. In his world there simply are no shades of grey. Sometime I'll post the story of how he tagged me with log violations for 11-hr, 14-hr, and 70-hr all on the same day immediately following my spending 72 hours at home, 100 miles away from the nearest truck. If anyone out there can tell me how you can legitimately break the 70-hr rule within 24 hours of returning from a 34-hour reset ..... I'd sure be interested in seeing the math.
Injun I'm sorry. I wasn't clear in my response. This all happened at a DC that required you to drive about a mile just to get past their gate. The nearest safe haven was about a 4-mile drive and full (even though it was posted: "No Overnight Parking.") First safe haven was about 22 miles away. It's not so much a matter of the computer tagging the violation as the fact that nobody would lift a finger to correct any situation involving e-logs. According to them, "the computer never makes mistakes." At an earlier time in my life I spent about 20 years making my living with computers. I can tell you even the Pentagon's computers have administrators who can get into the database to correct legitimate "errors." As for minimum time fueling ... it all comes down to who you are going to believe: Chief, your mentor, or your Safety Manager. I got three different answers. According to Chief a drop & hook requires 30 minutes in their agreement with DOT; fuelling = 15 minutes, etc. The distinction never was made between paper vs. e-logs on these issues. This has been one of my sticking points: drivers are told just enough "to be dangerous" - not enough to be able to think for themselves.
