Trucking Lore: H.O.S. violations even at a mega-carrier

This was circa 1991, and I was driving for an un-named mega-carrier (one of the largest, FWIW), and this was my first "automotive dedicated" run. I had a run which I was supposed to do myself, which ran from a (now closed) Delco plant in the US to the (now closed) Camaro plant in Ste, Therese, QC, Canada. I was supposed to pick-up Monday to Friday, timed transit load, and drop at either the yard at Ste. Therese, or live-unload at a sub-assembly plant nearby at Boisbriand.

To make matters worse, the load was a live load, and the queue was a line-up where you were called in by CB based on your arrival time. If you fall asleep and miss your loading call, tough biscuits! I would always spend 1-2 hours there waiting.

Once I got going, I needed to fuel at least once on each lap. If it was a busy time at the on-route terminal, I'd fuel on the return, but could do no more than 1 1/2 laps without fueling (I was 'dedicated', so there was zero chance of my load being lifted). So, add another 1/2 hour minimum for fueling.

Also, I had a border crossing going in, and another one going out. My primary crossing was the Thousand Islands Bridge, which could get crowded, and took usually 15 to 30 minutes to cross. Secondary was the Ogdensburg bridge (an extra 1/2 hour driving back roads for...), and for REAL emergencies (like a Customs Canada strike..), the Akwesasne bridge was a possibility, but with an additional hour for driving back roads.

So, this run was 14 hours driving per circuit, plus 1-2 hours waiting for pickup, .5 hours fueling, 1 hour for border crossing (average), and that's not even considering the occasional live-unload at the place 15 minutes down the road from the assembly plant. Oh, since I was going up and down I-81 all winter long, there would often be heavy snow and extreme cold to delay me even more. figure an average of 17 hours AT BEST, with 14 hours actual time behind the wheel.

The first week, I actually tried to keep this schedule, taking no time for meal breaks, no time for showering, etc. I got home for 3 hours sleep before I had to get up again, and line-up at the Delco plant. I failed on Friday.

So, my dispatcher was p!$$ed. She said "You are allowed to drive 70 hours a week, aren't you"? I had to explain that it was 70 hours in EIGHT DAYS, but only 60 hours in a week, and that was only if you were shut down completely for 1 day a week. My god, she had no clue as to how these hours of service regulations worked! I also had to explain that my limitations (then) were 10 hour on, 8 off, 10 on, 8 off, etc, but Canada allowed 14 in 24, but only while in Canada. So, at best, I'd be able to run up to the plant only if I lied about the loading wait, Shut down there, pick up a trailer at about 06:00, make a 15:00 pickup at Delco, return, catch up on sleep at home, make Thursday and Friday pickups, but she had to find somebody else to get the Wednesday pickups. I ended up running 2800 miles in 5 days, but was expected to run 3500 miles!!!

I did that run for 6 months, through the coldest, snowiest, windiest winter we'd had since 1977-1978. Eventually, another company bid on that run, and they sent a team on it (I lived right by the Delco plant, and knew somebody in shipping there). 3500 miles a week for a team seems really light; hardly worth it for the low pay on the run.....

Well, that's how it used to be before electronic logbooks. My logbooks from that period were about 80% fiction, and I filled them in only after getting to my destination, figuring a ticket for an incomplete logbook was better than showing me breaking the law, or finding a second logbook. I never got caught, though...

 

While guys are talking about ELD systems now, is it possible to educate all those "fuel island squatters" that just pulling around to park is NOT going to cancel your 30 minute break???