notice before shift

If you are too fatigued you cannot be compelled to drive. Most drivers like to beat around the bush and explain in endless detail what was going on, etc. You should decide if you are too tired to drive or not, if you have the hours or not. And then tell the boss as soon as possible if you are too fatigued to drive. The regulations suggest you won't face consequences from your company. Good luck with that.

 

They called you at 7am... If you knew you were on call then take a nap around midmorning...it was up to you to stay up all day knowing you could be called at anytime.

 

Get another job... seriously.

 

Firemen are on duty(standby) at the firehouse for a 24 hour shift.
Can you imagine the the calamity if you were to call in a house fire and they told you, sorry, but we have been up all day and are too tired to come right now. Call back in 8 hours.
You know you are on call. You should stay rested and nap throughout the day. Then if/when the call comes, you should still be able to drive your shift.
If you are not able to stay awake for one overnite period a few times a year, you should look for an office job with 9-5 hours.

 

I'll tell ya what, driver....

If u drive fatigued and get in a wreck, causing damage, be prepared to fight it on your own. your company will throw u under the bus, I guarantee it.

 

Don't mean to be an *** about things but lately I've noticed a bunch of these postings around this and other forums, wonder if this is becoming a trend, people who can't do the job complaining that it is too hard to do the job.

 

That sounds real good on paper. Now most decent companies will understand if you pull that once or twice for good reason. If they get the slightest hint you are abusing it and always bumping heads with your superiors, they will find a way to make you pay for it, you'll have a hard time proving wrongdoing on their part also.

 

Seems to me that if you are "on call" you are technically "on duty not driving"

“All time loading or unloading a commercial motor vehicle, supervising, or assisting in the loading or unloading, attending a commercial motor vehicle being loaded or unloaded, remaining in a state of readiness to operate the commercial motor vehicle, or in giving or receiving receipts for shipments loaded or unloaded.”

Good luck enforcing that though.

 

If the company says, "Driver, we need you to come to the terminal and wait in the driver's lounge until your load is ready to go," then I would agree with you. BUT, if the company says, "Driver, you're on call today, so if a load comes up you are expected to take it... we'll let you know," then I don't agree with you.

I suspect in the case of the OP it is the latter and similar to the following would apply, so not on-duty.

Question 5: Do telephone calls to or from the motor carrier that momentarily interrupt a driver’s rest period constitute a change of the driver’s duty status?

Guidance: Telephone calls of this type do not prevent the driver from obtaining adequate rest. Therefore, the FHWA does not consider these brief telephone calls to be a break in the driver’s off duty status.

Question 6: If a driver is required by a motor carrier to carry a pager/beeper to receive notification to contact the motor carrier for a duty assignment, how should this time be recorded?

Guidance: The time is to be recorded as off-duty.

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/395.2
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Agreed a phone call from a dispatcher for 1/5 minutes does not interrupt a break.
Carrying around a phone or a beeper for your dispatch I also agree isn't "on duty time"
But if you are to remain ready to work at a moments notice, I say on duty. That is because how long do they expect you to remain "ready"? your normal 14 hour work period? 24 hours?

So lets say that was during the day. You call in for your 4/6pm dispatch, they tell you be in the yard at 10pm or whatever for your next shift. Been there done that. That's why I say "on duty". Because you were up all day being "ready". Now driving all night becomes unsafe.