unusual questions

The 34 is a separate rule of the 11 or 14 hour rule.

You have a 60/70 hour rule which is how many hours (lines 3 & 4) you can work in a week. To reset those hours to 60/70 hours available you need to take a full 34 hour break off. Prior to 1-1-04 you had to take 6/7 days off to reset to 60/70 hours available.

See TruckerJo as she posted a general of all the Hours of Service Regulations.

The 70 hour rule tells you the hours available to work between lines 3 & 4.

You are right about what you said, but his is the 11 Hour rule only.

 

Okay, what she meant by planning 2-3 stop

DOT is not going to recommend anything, they simply lay down the law and its up to you to follow...

It is generally recommended by experienced drivers and companies to have 3 places to park for the night. So, if you pull in and the first one is full then you have planned out your available time to drive onto the next stop ext...

Sometimes easier said then done depending where you are at, true.... and 3 is not always going to happen..

I personally have circled the parking lot for 30-40 minutes waiting for a spot to open cause I was out of hours..

Over time you will learn places and best times to get a spot, 8-9-10 pm forget it you probably not going to find one..

 

Good points TJ. You may even find that because of the way your hours shake out, you may have to break before your driving hours are done for the day, so that you can find a safe place to park, and get the meal, shower, etc. It's happened to me before, got held up at a shipper and would have ran out of hours in chicago traffic (at 2000 EST). When I got to Gary, and found the truckstops only half full, I stopped there for the night even though I had hours left. And, I was able to hit the road the next morning before serious traffic began.

 

How confusing is that...and u guys and gals can remember that? I bearly remember my name sometimes...

 

Below is the answer to the question you asked in the A & Q of the rules.

After reading the last statement below "If a driver is over their HOS they should write down why" I am thinking if you was over and wrote down why they would probably give you a warning if even a warning.
I would say if you planned a truck stop 1 hour prior to the ending of your 11/14 hour and it was full and you drove to the very next stop they would not say anything. Now some might test you and ask how long have you been driving? If you have driven for a long time and been through there many times, they might say you should know this stop is always full @ this time of day etc. Many drivers tell me, if I go through so and so that truck stop is going to be full so I can't make this load on time and I can't get the dispatcher to understand this. IMAGINE THAT! L.O.L.
I would say you can attempt to wait until the last minute, but I would try not to just to save your self the possible hassle.
Does this help? I guess really there is no clear answer, it is a chance you might have to take. I stress trying to make sure there is 2-3 stops ahead.
DOT is getting harder and harder

Question 28: Does the emergency conditions exception in 49 CFR 395.1(b)(2) apply to a driver who planned on arriving at a specific rest area to complete his 10 hours driving and found the rest area full, forcing the driver to continue past the ten hours driving looking for another safe parking area?

Guidance: No. The emergency conditions exception does not apply to the driver. It is general knowledge that rest areas have become increasingly crowded for commercial motor vehicle parking, thus, it is incumbent on drivers to look for a parking spot before the last few minutes of a 10 hour driving period. The driver should provide the reason for exceeding the 10 hours driving in the Remarks section of the record of duty status.