Your view of the logbook rules

You should probably get at least 4 years in prison for that act of common sense. Probably another 6 months from the EPA if you dump your can out anywhere other than a haz mat certified location. Just saying - the rules are the rules.

I don't advocate running wild and crazy - far from it but it seems like there should be some kind of common sense provision to the law. Stuff happens and you are forced to break the law or do whats right AND SAFE.

 

I started this thread because of the condescending appearance of that morality list. As several of the posts have mentioned, things are a lot different than years ago.

When I started driving in1978, most of the DOT officers I dealt with had the same view as drivers concerning logbooks. They were just a government mandated inconvenience that a driver had to deal with while he was doing his job.

It was a regular occurrence to hand your un-updated logbook to them knowing they were going to write a warning that had no consequences of any kind (never a ticket) while you wrote "something" in it (they didn't really care what).

It was ridiculous to think a logbook had anything to do with their integrity. A person had integrity if he did what he said he would do.

As the years progressed, the DOT has slowly gotten more serious about the books. All that meant was that you had to pay attention to what you wrote. I have made the Omaha to Phoenix run many times delivering next day. I made the Louisville to Reno run several times in under 48 hours.

I would go through every weigh station, match my fuel stops, and I could hand my book to the dot at any point and go on my way. I'm sure many others here could tell the same stories

I can't work nearly as hard as I used to anymore, but all along I would rest when I needed it, not when some pencil pusher thinks I should.

For those of you that "say" you are logging legally, you would be out of hours before the end of the week if you followed the rules exactly. Twentyfive years ago when I was pulling a box, I kept track of the "legal" hours I was putting in so I know for a fact that isn't an exaggeration.

 

Come on now.....Everybody "knows" 55 for trucks is just a "Friendly Suggestion" from Governor Moonbeam.....

 

This was an excellent post and true to the word....

 

any of my old time truckers remember keeping not only ahemmmm a few licenses...several funny books and BLANK manifest's.. that was how we use to roll back then and i understand the times have changed but i just cant work for anyone who runs E-logs or needs to track my every move or some machine telling me my time to stop driving is Up... I always trust my Judgement and dont let a computer tell me whats best for me. Now i see why its so hard to change an old driver..lol

 

My moms cousin was a bullhauler up in Colorado back in the "monfort lane" days and the stories he told me, lol! I can't imagine running as hard as he did.

 

do you really worry that much about "breaking the law"your in the wrong field of work.here is a typical week saturday get up 5am pop couple pills shower jump in truck,hickory nc to la ca be there before cust opens monday am.get load back but stop at el paso for you guessed it pills buy as many cards or bottles i can (have friends)throw them in bunk be back in hickory 48 hrs after left la,run short trip,do it all again saturday.now before all you Dudley do rights have a fit that was over 28 years ago years ago.didnt kill anybody or hit anybody for that matter still run pretty hard some weeks never forced to just like it no dope anymore so dont get on high horse.it was just the way things were done,always asked NEVER FORCED they would say do the best you can.before that pulled single drop heavy most time go around scales get caught......just cost of doing business,nothing better than leaving dallas tx running west spedo pegged running 85-100 windows down cb cracking(oh thats when we used cb)el paso bout 8-9 hrs later,had to watch for mcgee trucks out of bostic nc two stick v-8 pass you like standing still.oh i got off track,do i worry bout breaking law no not mans law,gods law yes

 

It's like this, if you have EVER had your trailer cross the solid white line... you have broke the law(dangerous maneuver violation).... If your tires have EVER broke loose on ice and and your trailer went slightly sideways... you have broke the law(overdriving road conditions violation)... If you have EVER gone down a steep hill pegging 59MPH in a 55 zone, so you could get up the other side with just 1 downshift.... you have broke the law(speeding). If you have EVER entered a speed zone change going 34MPH in a 30MPH, you guessed it... You have just broken a Law.

What does this mean?

We ALL break laws, and to imply we don't... is flat out lying... period.

Stop with the self-righteous banter, you also break the law.