Very real hypothetical.....

I feel the same way. NOBODY is going to tell me I have to shut down a stones throw from the house and get a motel room (I'm in a day cab) just because some arbitrary rule made up by a bunch of bureaucratic suits 1000 miles away who have never seen the inside of a truck decided that my workday should be over.

When given the choice between running "SAFE" or running "LEGAL", I will choose "SAFE" each and every time. In other words, if I'm feeling tired, I'm going to stop, stretch my legs, perhaps sit out under a shade tree for a bit to catch a few minutes of shut-eye before continuing on my way. If that pushes me over the 14 before I make it home again, so be it. I refuse to drive down the road fighting heavy eyelids just to abide by their strict 14 hour rule. Used to be (under the 15 hour rule) we weren't penalized for choosing to safely stop & rest during the day, because ONLY time spent on lines 3 & 4 counted against your 15. If I've got a full day, LEGALLY I can't afford to stop...because if everything runs perfectly smooth all day, it's still going to be 13 hours.

My first priority is to get myself home safely and in one piece at the end of my work day. NOTHING trumps this priority....not even the HOS regulations.

 

I don't log ANY time for my pre-trip...not since they started with the 14 hour rule. I do, however, do a detailed post-trip inspection at the end of my day to ensure the truck is ready to roll in the morning...and I log time on line 4 for that (usually 15 minutes, unless it takes me longer which generally only happens if I find something that needs fixing in which case I fix it so the truck will be ready to roll in the morning.)

The reason I do it this way is simple. If you log a 15 minute pre-trip at the start of your day, by the time you start rolling you only have 13:45 left on your 14 hour day to make it where you need to go. By not starting my logbook day until I am rolling out of the driveway, that leaves me the entire 14 hours to make it back home again. There is NOTHING in the current regulations which prohibit you from remaining on line 4 as long as you need to at the end of your day...even past the 14th hour....as long as you do not drive, and you take a full 10 hours break before you start driving again. So, I can LEGALLY pull into the driveway at the 14th hour, then log my post-trip time which puts me past the 14th hour, then go inside the house for 10 hours off duty before starting the next day.

 

When you have to lie or cheat on your hours,

you are letting the company win !!!


And YOU are losing !!!


You will probably get away with it for years.

It's just that 1 time, and you'll be nailed !!

 

In the future, call ahead, or send a message, and explain that you're going to be coming in very tight on time, and ask what they recommend. If they say it's ok to drive on when the bell goes off, it's on them, and you covered your butt.

They may also recommend a shorter stop, or whatever, to avoid going over on hours.

 

"I don't log ANY time for my pre-trip...not since they started with the 14 hour rule. I do, however, do a detailed post-trip inspection at the end of my day to ensure the truck is ready to roll in the morning...and I log time on line 4 for that (usually 15 minutes, unless it takes me longer which generally only happens if I find something that needs fixing in which case I fix it so the truck will be ready to roll in the morning."

When I was on e-logs, I never logged any time on a pre-trip, only 5-6 on a post trip, and 5-6 at fuel stops... that edit feature is a great thing. In theory, saved me at least 20 actual minutes a day... and that adds up by the end of your time (the week or your 70) and hours are running short.

 

If I were allowed to run under the OLD rules (10 hours of drive time, 15 hours on duty--only time spent on lines 3 & 4 counted against those 15 hours--and an 8 hour break) like the buses still get to use, I could turn this 5 days per week every week and keep 100% strict compliance to the HOS rules.

There are days, though, where that is just not possible under these new rules. I only need 9.5 to 9.75 hours of drive time to complete my run...but loading/unloading/fueling time bump my typical day to around 13 hours. Any delays (as in trucks stacked up and I have to wait to load, wait to unload, or both) and it puts me in jeopardy of violating the 14 hour rule. Stopping for food, taking a nap, or even just getting out and stretching my legs for a few minutes during the day puts me dangerously close to violating the 14 hour rule as well....especially when coupled with loading or unloading delays.

The current HOS rules have nothing to do with safety, and actually ENCOURAGE unsafe behavior as drivers push themselves past their limits in order to remain in compliance as they get to where they need to go...and the new proposal they have isn't any better. The current HOS regs are in place for revenue generation...nothing more, nothing less. They count on the fact that a driver will choose safety over compliance, then they penalize him for that decision if/when they catch him. Personally, though, I'd rather be illegally safe than legally dead. If that EOBR mandate passes, drivers will no longer have a choice in the matter and the roads will be LESS safe as a result. Personally, I won't work for a carrier that requires them...and if they all do due to a government mandate, I'll hang up the keys and do something else.