Two Log Books.

Sometimes you'll have to sit around waiting for long periods to be loaded, moreso if you run reefer. However, most of the time, you'll be loaded and gone in about 1-2 hours. When you do have to wait to be loaded, your waiting time will be ridiculous.

Unloading was, and is, where you'll do most of your waiting. You aren't covered by certain laws that cover other workers in the economy, so you'll be giving away plenty of your time when it comes to unloading.

When I drove dry van for Crete, my unloading time was fairly reasonable. Many loads were simply drop and hook, so there was no jerking around docks for hours waiting on union dockworkers.

When I drove reefer, I probably gave away 1/4 of my time while on the road. I'd sure like to have that compensation now.

When you go to a doctor's office, you'll get charged 3 bucks for an aspirin. Some lawyers will charge you 20 bucks to give you a "yes" or a "no" answer.

Truck drivers don't get squat for their time. They make money only when the wheels are turning, and then they still have to give away 5-10% of THAT. When I drove for Swift, some runs required I give away almost 30% of what I drove.

 

I agree with the advice about waiting times.
Up here in Canada most major companies will not pressure you into breaking the HOS rules, or even to drive a vehicle with defects. Here we have new laws that make the Dispatchers, Owners, and the Drivers liable in the case of a violation. If ever there was an accident or something where the HOS rules may have been broken all of the above mentioned parties would be held accountable. There is now too much at stake for ALL of the people involved for any reasonable company to pressure a driver into breaking the rules.

 

Lad, it's good that all those other folks at a trucking company can be held liable. When I started driving, it was all on the driver's shoulders if he had an accident, no matter if he was pushed by dispatchers, managers, or whatnot to break the HOS regs.

I once worked for a company out of Salt Lake City whose dispatchers would actually punish its drivers if they didn't make fireball, overnight runs to Phoenix. The company's trucks were governed at about 65, and it'd take about 12 hours to drive to Phoenix straight through. One could lie about his average speed on the route (part of which was/is on Navajo land) and log it at 9.5 hours, but it took about 12 in actuality. The "punishment" for those who wouldn't break the law was usually a day sitting in Phoenix.

It's good the government has cracked down on all that bull. It's good a dispatcher can now go to jail if he pushes a driver to drive illegally and the driver has a crash because he's too #### tired.

 

I have busted drivers using 2 log books. How you ask? Well they turn in both copies because they get confused if they scanned it or not and they get confused when looking at the "other" log book they shouldn't be looking at I guess. Anyhow:
Take most of the advice given. Running 2 log books or logging illegal could only cause you jail time if in an accident. It just is not worth it anymore at all!
Google "truck driver accidents" and other terms of logging illegal truck driver accident and read some of the articles. Google this one "Taylor University truck driver accidetn" Follow that story until it ends. The driver will probably end up in Jail for some time. He is in jail as we speak so the last time I checked.
Run legal at all time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have heard from drivers that was running illegal and going to running legal their pay check really wasn't that noticeable. it'd just getting in the habbit of running legal you must do .

Good luck

 

there really isn't any companies that still do that. SOme ower ops may expet it or something like that but a legitamte company just can't aford the liability anymore.

One tip though. Don't ever start doing anything liek it on your own because if you push illegally to get something done the company WILL start expecting you to perform the same all the time and just kinda turn a blind eye to the illegal part. That is about what you will find in companies these days. They want it done but don't want to hear about how it gets done.
What I do is if I do have to do something of the sort I make darn sure to slip it into conversation with the boss. If I go down so does he

 

I agree with the Medicine Man. A company will get spoiled fast if you drive for 'em illegally. The fireballing practice will become what they expect as being "normal" if you're an idiot "eager beaver" driver who begs for approval by fireballing.

I'll also add that if I MYSELF am working at your company and you're fireballing, it may pressure ME to start that same ########.

You know......if you have an accident, your desk driving bosses will disavow all knowledge of your driving illegally, no matter if they really know or not. And how can a company NOT know? You are aware of this, correct?

Don't even "talk it over with the boss" if you're going to fireball. Just don't do it. Period.

 

That sounds like it might be CR England to me...doesn't surprise me in the least considering what I recall from their "training".

 

Close. It was another SLC reefer outfit (and it wasn't Mr. Skunkie).

 

When Darling Freight was a small company out of Grand Rapids, MI, Dallas Darling and his wife would take notes about their trucks they saw on the road while they were on vacation, etc. Later, their notes would be compared with drivers' logs.

In the 1970s, I leased to their company and the name had been changed to Key Line Freight. Their authority was "to and from Michigan" with terminals in St. Paul, St. Louis, Louisiville, etc. They had a mandatory check point at New Buffalo, MI. It was convenient to buy fuel from the company at the check point and sign through on the clip board. The company was able to inform customers about the time their load had checked through New Buffalo.

One day, DOT made an inspection of logs at the home office in Grand Rapids. Company officials thought their files were squeeky clean and offered to show the sign-through sheets from New Buffalo although they were not a DOT requirement. Wouldn't you know it? The logs and sign-through sheets did not match. Occasionally, a driver signed as though he was entering Michigan when actually he was leaving Michigan in his logs. Key Line paid a $5,000 fine. (In 1978 Key Line authority was sold to Roadway who had to touch down in New Buffalo enroute from their Chicago Heights terminal to Wisconsin, for about one year.)