Signing my log book

Company policy will be different than the law and something you must follow.

 

I have never wrote someone up for not signing the current day that they are currently on, however, if the book is false, over their hours or any other violations a signature has never made it where I can not enforce the regulation. If a guy has a false log and it's not signed, it's still a false log because he prepared it. If a guy is over his hours, he's still over his hours. I have had hundreds of stops over the years, where the guy is not current and about 15-17 hours behind on his log book. Through questioning, you can determine when he started, look at the last entry and figure how long it takes to get from point A to point B. Never heard of any people I have worked with getting wrapped around the axle about a signature. I imagine if audited someone may get bent about a signature.

 

man i have never in my life signed a log page with a signature that could be read any easier than the typical doctor's prescription. What i mean is, it's pretty much a scribble vaguely resembling a first name starting with A and a last name starting with S. And ive had tons of inspections that way, and almost always signed my log before i started it, and...no problem ever.

 

Words out of my mouth, phroziac.
If I am going on a trip requiring a layover, not only do I sign my log and vir after the pretrip, very often I will "head out" my log for the following day, including the signature on the next day's log, and vir.

The log book you carry is supposed to be YOUR log book, and any entries in YOUR log book are supposed to be made by whom???.....Right, so what difference does it make if it is signed. If there is an entry in YOUR log book that is not legal/valid, guess who gets the credit?

 

2 years ago I was inspected in Wisconsin and got a written warning for signing my log book before my day was over...needless to say, I dont sign until end.

 

Signing indicates everything on the form is true and correct. When you are not done filling the form out you can't claim the future stuff is correct. Any legal document is not valid without a signature.

Sign at the end of the day.

 

How can you sign your name to certify the correctness of all entries until they have all been made? The drivers signature certifies that all entries required by this section made by the driver are true ,and correct. If you sign it before you shoot yourself in the foot.

Please take note to exception (b)(3) it can help you out of trouble if you know it exists. You will be surprised how many in enforcement don't,or hope that you don't!





§395.13 Drivers declared out of service. (a) Authority to declare drivers Out of Service. Every special agent of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (as defined in Appendix B to this subchapter) is authorized to declare a driver out of service and to notify the motor carrier of that declaration, upon finding at the time and place of examination that the driver has violated the out of service criteria as set forth in paragraph (b) of this section.
(b) Out of Service criteria. (1) No driver shall drive after being on duty in excess of the maximum periods permitted by this part.
(b)(2) No driver required to maintain a record of duty status under §395.8 or §395.15 of this part shall fail to have a record of duty status current on the day of examination and for the prior 7 consecutive days.
(b)(3) Exception. A driver failing only to have possession of a record of duty status current on the day of examination and the prior day, but has completed records of duty status up to that time (previous 6 days), will be given the opportunity to make the duty status record current.
(c) Responsibilities of motor carriers. (1) No motor carrier shall:
(c)(1)(i) Require or permit a driver who has been declared out of service to operate a commercial motor vehicle until that driver may lawfully do so under the rules in this part.
(c)(1)(ii) Require a driver who has been declared out of service for failure to prepare a record of duty status to operate a commercial motor vehicle until that driver has been off duty for the appropriate number of consecutive hours required by this part and is in compliance with this section. The appropriate consecutive hours off-duty may include sleeper berth time.
(c)(2) A motor carrier shall complete the "Motor Carrier Certification of Action Taken" portion of the form MCS-63 (Driver-Vehicle Examination Report) and deliver the copy of the form either personally or by mail to the Division Administrator or State Director, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, at the address specified upon the form within 15 days following the date of examination. If the motor carrier mails the form, delivery is made on the date it is postmarked.
(d) Responsibilities of the driver. (1) No driver who has been declared out of service shall operate a commercial motor vehicle until that driver may lawfully do so under the rules of this Part.
(d)(2) No driver who has been declared out of service, for failing to prepare a record of duty status, shall operate a commercial motor vehicle until the driver has been off duty for the appropriate number of consecutive hours required by this part and is in compliance with this section.
(d)(3) A driver to whom a form has been tendered declaring the driver out of service shall within 24 hours thereafter deliver or mail the copy to a person or place designated by motor carrier to receive it.
(d)(4) §395.13 does not alter the hazardous materials requirements prescribed in §397.5 pertaining to attendance and surveillance of commercial motor vehicles.
[44 FR 34963, June 18, 1979, as amended at 47 FR 53392, Nov. 26, 1982; 51 FR 12622, Apr. 14, 1986; 53 FR 18058, May 19, 1988; 53 FR 38670, Sept. 30, 1988; 53 FR 47544, Nov. 23, 1988; 60 FR 38748, July 28, 1995; 68 FR 22516, April 28, 2003; 70 FR 50073, Aug. 25, 2005]

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Thats exactly what the Out of service criteria is. Let's see for example. Driver A gets stopped on today's date, 4/30/10 at 1200 hours. Driver A's last entry in his log book is on 4/28/10 at 2245 hours. Driver A is missing today, yesterday and a portion of the day before. Driver A is now out of service for 10 hours. The execption is covers if I stop you on 4/30/10 at 1200 hours and your last entry is 4/29/10 at 0100 hours, you are not placed out of service. However it is still a violation of log book not current. Nothing has changed in regards to this, it has been this way for a long time.