White Out

Thankyou. Thats what I figured. My company has gone to "scannable logs' and neatness definitely counts, cross outs and initials were my way to acknowledge an error in the past but I have resorted to re-writing the entire log when I make an "error."

To be clear this is for my companies scannable logs not necessarliy for falsication purposes or DOT although a nice neat log does go a long way in getting dot to hand that book back to you at a scale without any further inspection.
I believe the thought is " if the driver took the time to make his log neat and legible (I use a ruler and never dog ear my pages [dot seems to be annoyed by that lol]) he probably doesnt have any 'defective mechanical issues' either."

 

Let me explain something: Not that it could be a company policy, however I would ask the company if they allow you to use white out. If they say no ask why don't you.

If they say:
1) Its against DOT regulation, explain (nicely, not rudely) that it isn't against DOT regulation and show them what I posted in the beginning of this thread.

2) If they say it's because it messes the computer up, then say ok so how do I handle it and if they say you x it out and put your initial's then say won't that mess it up just the same. Again nicely. Because either way you do it, it messes it up usually, however I found using Whiteout it does not mess it up as many times. I have used the popular JJ Keller & Rapid log and found both to be true for both.

My boss said using white out was against regulations and well I clearly read it isn't so I switched it and I had no problemo with DOT from drivers or internal audits .

Now I will say they say the white out can rub off on their scanners and clog them up, that can be possible. However giving you points etc for using white out, that's NOT RIGHT! Have them talk with me .

Now again this is my opinion and my opinion only and maybe the auditor is not aware it's ok and if you show her it is, it saves her some work .

Being neat and legible is definately something you should try very hard to do, however we all understand you make mistakes and they need to be corrected but starting a new log sheet because you drew the line on the wrong spot save yourself the time.

 

White out messes up the scanning on the scanable logs. It blocks out the lines and it looks like a glob on the optical part.

 

according to transport america it does.
they wanted neat straight and if you messed up an X at each end of the line would tell the computer to erase it. initials above.

my logs now, well they are a mess.

legible is a matter of interpretation

and so far the dot guy figures I'm a hillbilly and I'm ok with that.

 

You can use white out leagally,but it will catch up with you eventually.Use a cheat sheet.Write everything down on a separate piece of paper and then when you need to fill out your logs you have all the info you need to do it right the first time.DOT doesn't harrase you about it and you have all the details you need to get it figured out.

 

If you keep your log up to date (per dot regs) as of your last change of duty status your suggestion would not be viable.
The dot officer could in fact write you a ticket for not having your log up to date on the spot and then let you up date the book.
If you violate the hos tickets and being placed out of service are the consequences.

Far better to use a loose leaf logbook, keep your record of duty status up to date and if you make an error either use white out (as many have suggested here) or wait until the end of the day then re-write the page prior to submitting it to your company (this is the method I use).

 

When the company I drive for was using the scanable logs, I ran looseleaf during the days I was out. When I was home or at the office turning in logs I would then do the scanables. It was easier to do them on a flat smooth surface.

As stated by jlkkj777, DOT would most likely consider that no log book entry had been made with your cheat sheet. I know of one driver that swore this was acceptable until they placed him out of service for no log book. Some of the DOT are sticklers for seeing the entry on the log book.

 

Now sorry gotta jump in here, this is why many drivers get put out of service for Logs Not Current. I would rather you keep that log current and make mistakes as to getting put out of service and give us a bad record (us meaning company and you).
Unless I am misunderstanding how you are doing it, but if you are writting in a notebook most will update their log at the end of the day or month etc.