When to sign logbook???

I guess when you read into anything you'll get the answer right or wrong. You have the answer in the first line of your post. "The driver shall certify to the correctness of all entries by signing the ..... He's not signing to the correctness of entries that are not made yet. It's so simple that you are making it hard.

 

"All entries" include all entries made up to the moment. If you haven't completed the day you don't have entries for post trip or the balance of your hours. The LEO in Austin agreed with me on this. I asked him specifically if signing it before completion of the day is correct. He said that it is correct and would have cited me for having an uncertified log if I hadn't. You can't certify entries YET to be made, but your certification carries for each entry as you make it.

 

An entry isn't an entry until it's been entered.
This ain't rocket science .

 

GasHauler, I hope the suggestion that my CDL should be pulled doesn't also pull my Man Card...

Your paper logs need to be certified as you enter each duty status change. According to the LEO I talked with, he's written more than a few tickets for uncertified logs. E-logs are different, since many companies upload the completed day's file when certification is done and company software can't be confused by current certification.

Again, there's no explicit instruction to only certify your log at the finish of the day in the FMCSA guidelines. I USED to only certify my logs at the end of the day until I started reading this thread. I changed that to signing at the start of the day. Saved me getting written up for uncertified logs.

 

I've taken a log book and hours of service course during orientation for my last 2 jobs. Each time I was told that your printed name was all that was required until you make your last entry for the day, at which point you sign the page as complete. There were a couple people in the class who swore up and down that it has to be done at the start of the day. Instructor simply quoted the applicable regulations and left it at that. Besides, I never sign a contract or legal document until its completed. Why would a logbook be any different?

 

Exactly.

 

There is a difference in the way the rules are written between Canada and the U.S. The Canadian rules are very specific and state in the regulations, "(3) At the end of each day, the motor carrier shall require that the driver ... sign the daily log..."

http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2005-313/page-5.html#h-41
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The U.S. Regulations make no mention of when the logs should be signed, but the Guidance states, "In general, the driver must sign the record of duty status immediately after all required entries have been made for the 24-hour period."

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/395.8?guidance
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That's good to know. I've never left Canada before.