How Do YOU Manage Your 70 HOS?

A couple weeks ago I was critical of a YouTube video where the driver that was explaining the Qualcomm stated he drove for 8hrs a day. I thought that a driver should be trying to drive more than that while he (or she) was out. Fortunately one of the knowledgable posters here, sorry I don't remember which one, pointed out that having to manage the 70 HOS needed to be kept in mind.

I have given this a lot of thought and would love to hear from the experienced drivers how they personally manage their hours. I know that the freight they are receiving and the delivery schedules will always be adjusting how they are running. But when you have options how do you prefer to control your schedule?

Doing the math having 70 hrs in 8 days only gives 8.75 hrs of ON time per day. So it seems that one could either try to limit their on time so that they can drive every day they are out or drive longer hours and except that they are going to have to have a 34 hr reset. Or at minimum be down for a day trying to recover enough hours to get going again.

Does it seem like some DM's prefer one way over the other?

Would you rather have a few more off time hours every day or keep moving and take them all at once in a 34 hr reset?

Again I understand availability and delivery time will effect this, but in a perfect world (LOL) how would you run?

Woody

I manage my 70 hours very carefully. The thing is shippers and receivers can trip you up. For example, I am here waiting to get unloaded, and I have been here six hours already. I might run out of hours (on my 14), or I might get a reset while waiting.

Dave

Thanks Dave, that actually brings up another question I was going to ask. While setting waiting for the load can you be logged as off duty so it does not go against the 70? I know it still goes against the 14 (unless you can spend 8hrs in the sleeper berth).

A couple weeks ago I was critical of a YouTube video where the driver that was explaining the Qualcomm stated he drove for 8hrs a day. I thought that a driver should be trying to drive more than that while he (or she) was out. Fortunately one of the knowledgable posters here, sorry I don't remember which one, pointed out that having to manage the 70 HOS needed to be kept in mind.

I have given this a lot of thought and would love to hear from the experienced drivers how they personally manage their hours. I know that the freight they are receiving and the delivery schedules will always be adjusting how they are running. But when you have options how do you prefer to control your schedule?

Doing the math having 70 hrs in 8 days only gives 8.75 hrs of ON time per day. So it seems that one could either try to limit their on time so that they can drive every day they are out or drive longer hours and except that they are going to have to have a 34 hr reset. Or at minimum be down for a day trying to recover enough hours to get going again.

Does it seem like some DM's prefer one way over the other?

Would you rather have a few more off time hours every day or keep moving and take them all at once in a 34 hr reset?

Again I understand availability and delivery time will effect this, but in a perfect world (LOL) how would you run?

Woody

In a perfect world. I like to drive 8 hours and 15 minutes with only 1 break. I'm a big supporter of managing your hours effectively and never having to take a 34 hour reset. I like to wake up at approximately 4:30AM and start driving at 5:00AM. I'm an early bird.

I balance my days very well. If I need to drive 900 miles I will drive 450 miles each day. Sure, sometimes you need to drive your hours out but I avoid it if I can.

For me this yields many advantages.

Firstly, by the time I'm parking there's always parking spots available.

Having some hot tea with Mint leaves in it in the morning is just about the best way to start my day.

My time out seems to go faster when I'm working every day. When I have time off that's when it makes it seem like I've been away from home forever.

Everyone has their own preference. So when you get out on the road find what works for you!

Thanks Dave, that actually brings up another question I was going to ask. While setting waiting for the load can you be logged as off duty so it does not go against the 70? I know it still goes against the 14 (unless you can spend 8hrs in the sleeper berth).

When you're waiting for a shipper or receiver you need to keep in mind that you must log in some on duty time. Bring in your paperwork to the shipping/receiving office is considered a part of your job so you need to have some on duty time whenever at a facility. But other than that you should be on sleeper berth. I've only been off duty a few times at my shippers and receivers and that was to get a jog.

I think you have your information wrong also. Off-Duty and Sleeper Berth do NOT go against your 70 hour clock.

As soon as you start your day that 14 hour clock will continue ticking. No matter what duty you're on. The point of it is so that you cannot work more than 14 hours in a given day. Example: If I start work at 0600 my day ends at 2000 no matter what I did during the day.

Thanks Daniel, I was really hoping to see your reply to this thread as I have read your posts and know you get a good amount of miles ran.

I think you have your information wrong also. Off-Duty and Sleeper Berth do NOT go against your 70 hour clock.

As soon as you start your day that 14 hour clock will continue ticking. No matter what duty you're on. The point of it is so that you cannot work more than 14 hours in a given day. Example: If I start work at 0600 my day ends at 2000 no matter what I did during the day.

I understand that they do not go against the 70, that's why I was curious about how it can be logged at the yard. I brought up the sleeper berth because Dave said he had been at the shippers for 6 hrs and may run out of time on his 14 hr clock. At 8 hrs (if all that time is logged as sleeper berth) it would not go against his 14 hr limit. At least that's how I understand the split sleeper berth rule. Do I have it wrong?

Oh, I see. Sorry I misunderstood that part.

But basically this is how you want to log yourself when at shippers or receivers.

Driving (to get there)

On-Duty (this is for talking with personnel)

Sleeper Berth

On-Duty (This is when you go in to get your paperwork and talk with personnel again)

-Done-

The main thing is to log some on duty time at your pickups and deliveries. DOT will want to see this.

Another thing, I recommend you just drop the sleeper berth rule out of your mind for the time being. It will only confuse you honestly. In almost a year, I've used the sleeper berth two times only. Its not worth it at your stage. There's a million other things that need to be going through your mind right now trust me.

Basically, just go forward assuming that you will be doing a continuous 10 hour break whenever you do take one. I do try to take my reset at shippers or receivers if they have parking available. Its nice to deal with them not caring how long they take and you start the next day fresh on hours.

In Dave's situation he might not have to use that sleeper berth rule. He can always stay at the facility until his hours come back. Its always better to just call it a day if the facility is taking too long, depending on the current time of course.

Thanks Daniel, great info as always.

And don't worry, the split sleeper berth rule does not have me confused. I know I will rarely use it, but after going through the high road training on log books it is pretty clear. That portion of the training did make my brain hurt a times LOL.

Thanks Daniel, I was really hoping to see your reply to this thread as I have read your posts and know you get a good amount of miles ran.

I think you have your information wrong also. Off-Duty and Sleeper Berth do NOT go against your 70 hour clock.

As soon as you start your day that 14 hour clock will continue ticking. No matter what duty you're on. The point of it is so that you cannot work more than 14 hours in a given day. Example: If I start work at 0600 my day ends at 2000 no matter what I did during the day.

I understand that they do not go against the 70, that's why I was curious about how it can be logged at the yard. I brought up the sleeper berth because Dave said he had been at the shippers for 6 hrs and may run out of time on his 14 hr clock. At 8 hrs (if all that time is logged as sleeper berth) it would not go against his 14 hr limit. At least that's how I understand the split sleeper berth rule. Do I have it wrong?

I am still at the shipper. 10 hours, so I restart my 14.

Dave

I have a hypothetical question. Suppose you have been off duty at the shipper for 8 hours and you are now loaded and ready to go. They have room for you to park and take 2 more hours off to complete your 10 hour break. When you start your truck to move it from the dock to a parking area how does that affect your 10 hour break?