Why CSA 2010 and E-Logs are a good thing.

Sorry hsvent read it yet

 

Ok, I've read it. Id suggest a split sleeper. There are other options depending on the company you are with. I'm not going to elaborat, this example is missing too many details to suggest a solution. We had a dricer that was forced to leave 9.5 hours into a break, he pulled outside the gate and stopped for 30 minutes. Whatever you do, document, document, document.

 

I agree. I've had to do what was needed to stay legal.

 

While there is quite a bit of truth to what you say, it is not uncommon for a person to be on e-logs, be home every weekend, by the house once or twice a week, take several weeks off a year, and still do pretty well, either O/O or company driver. It is too much of a generality to say that everyone on an e-log has a bad thing going on. And in the final analysis, it is only the individual driver to blame if they are getting a raw deal. There is no need for trucker "unity" and other "brotherhood of trucking" stuff. It is all a matter of the individual choosing to stay at a carrier that would abuse them so. No one is forced to drive for anyone.

And why is it that truckers seem to feel the need to be compensated for time away from home when they are sleeping and other non-duty related things? There are lots of folks that are not compensated for that in other occupations. My guess is that few of you folks have ever worked a salaried position, where you may be forced to work extra hours or on call and not get paid any more. They may have a company expense account to cover hotel and meals, but they are not paid any more than they would make if they were at the main office and home at night. And they are only allowed a lower percentage of tax writeoff for meals and such than truckers are. As for compensation while having to wait at a customer for them to load or unload, there are good companies out there that do that already. Even if you logged it in the sleeper because you were napped out for several hours before they got to you. All it takes is the individual choosing to only work with carriers that do this. If a carrier doesn't compensate, and a person still continues to work there, they really have no complaint. It is their choice and I don't care at that point. It is the same analogy as leading a horse to water.... you can't make him drink.

True to an extent, e-logs are all about money. News Flash!! Everything in business is about money! But not necessarily the way you think it is about money. A company may choose e-logs to actually SAVE money by having fewer folks in the office having to waste time going over paper logs that even the person who did them can hardly read. Having the logging done electronically, automatically filed for compliance reports, as a source of documentation to bill customer for unnecessary detention of the driver and the truck, etc. And there are a number of companies that have used that savings to benefit drivers either by pay or maybe installing APU's on trucks for driver comfort. There are a lot of reasons that e-logs make sense to a company and it may have nothing to do with micro-managing the driver's actions. Unless there is something really flagrant that catches their attention, many carriers are not even watching. We all know the FMCSA's or even the ATA's agenda regarding them, but it is hardly a conspiracy or "secret agenda" when a carrier does it on their own.

It is a stretch to say that one cannot make good money on e-logs. It does take a good customer base and good load planning. Drop and hook does make this easier, but isn't necessarily a requirement to make it all work. Again it is all about choices. Why haul for any customer who would be predisposed to detaining drivers all the time? There are constant complaints about Walmart DC's and similar customers delaying folks. Then why haul their stuff? This is the primary reason I rarely ever haul a grocery warehouse or big box store stuff. They are notorious for delay tactics, and I don't have any desire to play the game. And it is not hurting my income one bit by avoiding that stuff. I prefer to haul bulk commodities or source manufactured materials that go to customers who actually realize that the driver is a person, and they will pay if they detain me. Just got $240 the other day from General Mills for detaining me 5 hrs on a load. Got $375 one other time from them when they detained me 8 extra hrs. No problem on that one, I was just about out of driving hours when I got there, got in a 10 hr break, and got paid for 8 hrs of it.

And no lease operator I know of is operating a truck at a carrier for $1.05 a mile. They get a fuel surcharge also, along with other compensation. And when you count all those other costs they don't have to shoulder because the carrier is doing it makes a world of difference also. It is so easy to poo poo that $1.05 a mile as if it is the only compensation a person may get, but realistically, that is only one part of the compensation. Now how a person operates their truck is as much a part of the equation. You just plain can't run a truck like fuel is only costing 80 cents a gallon and expect to have a lot left over, and you don't need a truck that looks like a candidate for the Shell Super Rigs calendar to get the job done.

And, it can all be done profitably using e-logs. It is going to be a problem for some folks if they get finally mandated, and I will agree they SHOULD NOT be mandated. Simply because they are not necessary and have nothing to do with any concept of safety.

 

"you drivers took a proud profession and turned it into a circus run by clowns........"
ANd thats why i say trucking reminds me of the carneys.........

 

I have been using onboard e-logs for about a year now. For a linehaul driver they have been working great so far. There have only been a couple of times in my night that I have worried about hours, both due to accidents. I have found on most runs it gives me more drive time due to it logging by the minute and not a 15 minute increment. I can see how it would affect an OTR driver in a bad way. My miles have not gone down and on a DOT inspection the officer didn't want to see my logs once he found out I was on e-logs.

 

So while we all agree that eLogs shouldn't be mandatory they can often times make your job easier, they help to track violations and change behaviors, and can help lower your CSA score for fatigued driving. CSA raises awareness to drivers and companies about the importance of logging correctly, and pre trip inspections. I think we can all agree that CSA is not perfect by any means, but it makes people more aware of the things that they should have been doing in the first place. So I guess whether you like either eLogs or CSA they do make a difference.

 

meltom

agreed, to a point

if you were to shoot the first born of every family for failing to pay taxes correctly, i am pretty sure within one year, EVERYONE would file taxes correctly

but the damage done for the desired results is the issue

i was looking thru this thread earlier, and basically, there are two phases to this whole thing

ONE, the hours of service, do they make sense in the real world

TWO, compliance with the hours of service, which if the HOS were realistic, i am pretty sure most of us would not have a problem

but when you read some of snags drivers run into with this, alongside the 14hr window, i dont see that as an advantage for most drivers.....for DOT compliance, Great, for companies staying out of hot water, Great

but for the working man (i know some guys swear they do better) it just doesnt seem like a win, but a loss

the idea that "its coming anyway, so get used to it" doesnt make it any better

 

DOT regulations need to become more guidelines than strict rules. Every attempt should be made to follow them, but if it cannot be done then documentation should be noted. However those that would lie and say "forced to leave a customer" when in fact they drove into their delivery, should be fined to maximum extent. No matter what type of system we have there will be those that will not be honest to the system, it's in our nature. All I ask is that everyone is honest with themselves and log it how they do it, right now there are HOS regulations that should be followed, so do your best to follow them. I agree they should change, but no matter what system is in place there will still be issues.

 

The 14 hour clock starts ticking the moment you put yourself on line 3 or 4, and it doesn't stop unless you log a 8 or 10 hour break. Someone who runs their 14s out sitting at a shipper is clearly someone who doesn't understand HOS regs. You don't need to log any more than 45ish minutes at a customer, as I don't know of anyone who would spend more time than that filing paperwork and getting a dock assignment, and backing in. 9 hours is plenty of time for a 8-2 split.