HOS Question/advice

I see. So anybody who is allowed to overnight at the shipper can load on sleeper time in the morning, and Errol can park at the Flying J 1/4 mile from the shipper and still load on sleeper time after leaving the truck stop.

Yep, get loaded on Sleeper Berth is the name of the game.

I see. So anybody who is allowed to overnight at the shipper can load on sleeper time in the morning, and Errol can park at the Flying J 1/4 mile from the shipper and still load on sleeper time after leaving the truck stop.

O'nite at the shipper (or receiver) is golden, because you can "sleep" while being unloaded. You could also move & back into a dock in your sleep 😆.

Going that 1/4 mile, even at put-put speed, though, is like rolling dice.

There is also a time limit for us, I think it's 15 min of put-put driving then it will put you on the drive line. Had this happen when I was searching for my morning load once.

From what I've read in high road, at every change of duty status you must show mileage and location. It seems that the QC will, by using gps, automatically show location, and possibly mileage . So by going into off duty during heavy traffic to save drive time, couldn't you be rolling the dice. In 30 min of bumper to bumper you could go 5 miles and change cities. So how could someone take a 30 min "break", travel 5 miles and change cities? Maybe I'm being nieve but to be able to earn a few more cents by fudging logs, you're takings a risk at a fine, suspension, being fired, or losing your CDL , it is extremely pennywise and pound foolish. I describe it as stepping over a dollar to grab the nickel.

I mentioned before, I'm kind of a nerd at following rules. Don't get me wrong what you do is what you do, and non of my concern, and I rather welcome the information, but I have my own morals I have to live by. I will not lower my standards based on someone else's actions. I've heard it countless times before. "Why do I have to do it that way, when Ralph gets away with cutting corners". I say do what you know to be right, and don't worry about what Ralph does. If you start cutting corners because ralph does, you have lowered your standards because of someone else's actions. That's never good imo.

From what I've read in high road, at every change of duty status you must show mileage and location. It seems that the QC will, by using gps, automatically show location, and possibly mileage . So by going into off duty during heavy traffic to save drive time, couldn't you be rolling the dice. In 30 min of bumper to bumper you could go 5 miles and change cities. So how could someone take a 30 min "break", travel 5 miles and change cities? Maybe I'm being nieve but to be able to earn a few more cents by fudging logs, you're takings a risk at a fine, suspension, being fired, or losing your CDL , it is extremely pennywise and pound foolish. I describe it as stepping over a dollar to grab the nickel.

I mentioned before, I'm kind of a nerd at following rules. Don't get me wrong what you do is what you do, and non of my concern, and I rather welcome the information, but I have my own morals I have to live by. I will not lower my standards based on someone else's actions. I've heard it countless times before. "Why do I have to do it that way, when Ralph gets away with cutting corners". I say do what you know to be right, and don't worry about what Ralph does. If you start cutting corners because ralph does, you have lowered your standards because of someone else's actions. That's never good imo.

A driver can't legally take their 30 minute break while in traffic. Regardless of how long the driver is stopped, it does not meet the definition of "off-duty". Do some drivers and some companies cheat? Yes. However, the new rules for electronic logging devices (ELDs) are far more comprehensive and strict in terms of programming parameters than the old ones for automatic on-board recorders (AOBRs) and I expect the FMCSA will really crack down on their carrier audits.

In your op you asked about sources of information. If it hasn't already been pointed out to you, the best source is from the horse's mouth--the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Their rules pertain to any interstate commerce. The definition of interstate commerce is very broad, and a specific truck can be deemed to be engaging in interstate commerce even if it does not leave its home state. If you are truly engaged in only intrastate transportation, then the rules of your home state would apply. They may, or may not be the same as the federal rules.

FMCSA regulations pertaining to road transportation homepage (49 CFR Parts 300-399) On the right you will see the menu box that has links to the regulation guidance. The guidance are lay-language explanations/clarifications of some of the regulations.

PART 395—HOURS OF SERVICE OF DRIVERS

Note that sometimes you will hear something different from a driver or your carrier than what you read in the regulations. If it comes from a driver I tend to ignore it--lots of myths and fallacies are in circulation. Even drivers that supposedly "have been doing it that way for 30+ years". Besides, what better way to learn that looking things up?

If your company tells you something different it may be fine so long as it doesn't conflict with the FMCSA regulations. Company policies can add elements that are not required (like noting your activity in "remarks", i.e., "fuelling"), or they may be stricter than regulations (such as no "personal conveyance"). Be aware that not all carriers are created equal, and regardless of who tells you to do what, if you violate the rules and get caught, you will pay the price.

I have been stuck in traffic, up to 5 hours covering 1/2 mile. Yes, I used "off duty", but it only registers on your log in 5 minute increments. And that 14 hour clock, like the sunset, keeps on a'comin'.

As not4hire says, driver lounge talk is definitely not trustworthy when you talk to law enforcement, or worse, the judge. If you have some information/ rule/ practice/ message from the company, then it's mostly on their authority. Keep in mind the basic principle: whose hands are on the steering wheel?

A few comments on ELD's and moving. Most of the time you stay logged in to the device, so anytime you exceed what the company set for the movement parameter, it will trip the device, and they most likely set the number of times you can trip the device to recording before it notifies Safety you have a bad habit of not logging as you should. There are a few settings for ELD's and moving, you can use distance to the tenth of a mile (Speedometer Speed sensor and/or GPS), clock time to the tenth of a second once there is movement sensed (Speedometer Speed sensor and/or GPS), speed (Starting at 1/10 MPH and above), G Sensor (Commonly known as rollover sensor, and hard braking sensor, even if it is non-recordable as the G Force was not sufficient) if equipped, or a combination of any of them together. There is an input on most for the drive by wire (Accelerator input pulse via the ECM), but the 2 places I did some work, neither used it as the simple act of pushing the accelerator would trigger the ELD to record.

Yeah, I had to delete the part about how to "hopefully" cheat the system and not lose your job. I think there's plenty to worry about without doing stuff like that, especially when you can legally turn well over 3,000 miles a week without risking your job. There's no need to be doing that kind of stuff.

We're trying to teach people the right way to get their career off to a successful start. Getting canned for unplugging the company's equipment isn't something we're going to promote.

Brett, I'm nearly done reading your book the raw truth. Very interesting read. Like the foreword, I'm reading it in one sitting. I'd like to make a couple of comments. You told the story of your trip to NYC. I live in the Hudson valley, and get to "the city" several times a year, often in my car, sometimes via metro north (the train, for those who don't know). You got to the part when you found your way to the belt parkway. I read the words "the belt parkway" and in my mind I yelled NOOOOOOOOO!!!! I'm very familiar with that road, and know commercial vehicles are forbidden. I will also admit I got frightened when I got to the cheating on your log book part, that it's good for everyone, but it came around clearly in the "right" way. Thank you for your candor. One more comment. Your avatar says you're in Attica. I hope you're not residing in the penitentiary lol.

Now I have one more question regarding HOS violations. Is there a difference in penalties for a 15 min violation vs.a 1 hour violation or more. It makes sense there should be , but things don't always make sense, especially when dealing with government.

Brett, I'm nearly done reading your book the raw truth. Very interesting read. Like the foreword, I'm reading it in one sitting. I'd like to make a couple of comments. You told the story of your trip to NYC. I live in the Hudson valley, and get to "the city" several times a year, often in my car, sometimes via metro north (the train, for those who don't know). You got to the part when you found your way to the belt parkway. I read the words "the belt parkway" and in my mind I yelled NOOOOOOOOO!!!! I'm very familiar with that road, and know commercial vehicles are forbidden. I will also admit I got frightened when I got to the cheating on your log book part, that it's good for everyone, but it came around clearly in the "right" way. Thank you for your candor. One more comment. Your avatar says you're in Attica. I hope you're not residing in the penitentiary lol.

Now I have one more question regarding HOS violations. Is there a difference in penalties for a 15 min violation vs.a 1 hour violation or more. It makes sense there should be , but things don't always make sense, especially when dealing with government.

I think this is company based. Prime States "one violation during a 24hiur period". Honestly though, I never get them...maybe twice in 18 mos ..one due to an accident shutting down the freeway but due to our 2hr exemption for such things, it was removed. The other was a drop and hook that had me there WAY past my 14clock due to 47...yes 47 trucks all scheduled at the same time. I was there six hours for a drop n hook and driving 2 miles to the TA tripped me. That one was removed as well. Logs will remove violation s where you moved less than 5 miles. Other companies may be different.