Logbook Rules: How Would You Make Them Better?

I would switch it back to exactly as you described but add the 34 hour reset. However, I don't think they would ever do that because it would only make sense - cant have that.

So I would:

Increase the 14 hour clock into a 16 hour clock to accomodate some of the issues described above.

Increase the 11 hour clock to a 12 hour clock to allow for more drivetime.

8 hour break remains.

34 hour reset remains.

As a result of the 14 hour clock increasing by 2 hours, I would completely remove the Split Sleeper Berth provision.

Add an additonal duty status called Off-Duty Break abbreviated as ODB. ODB will pause the 16 hour clock for up to 4 hours, after the 4th hour the 16 hour clock will resume and behave like the current 14 hour clock.

ODB is a duty status strictly for sleeping periods when the driver is too fatigued to safely continue driving. If used in any other way, it is an HoS violation.

I like Dan's suggestion.

And if all that is too hard. There has to be an option to pause the 14. And not just the 2 hr exemption for weather unforseen events.

Best example I have for this is a pick up I had in Buffalo. Nearest real truck stop is in PA about an hour away.

I get to the customer and find out min 7 hour delay. Bam. I'm trapped, weather I go find a place to park or stay there my entire day is shot. By the time I'm loaded I'll have 2hrs to find somewhere else to park.

Daniel wrote:

I would switch it back to exactly as you described but add the 34 hour reset. However, I don't think they would ever do that because it would only make sense - cant have that.

So I would:

Increase the 14 hour clock into a 16 hour clock to accomodate some of the issues described above.

Increase the 11 hour clock to a 12 hour clock to allow for more drivetime.

8 hour break remains.

34 hour reset remains.

As a result of the 14 hour clock increasing by 2 hours, I would completely remove the Split Sleeper Berth provision.

Add an additonal duty status called Off-Duty Break abbreviated as ODB. ODB will pause the 16 hour clock for up to 4 hours, after the 4th hour the 16 hour clock will resume and behave like the current 14 hour clock.

ODB is a duty status strictly for sleeping periods when the driver is too fatigued to safely continue driving. If used in any other way, it is an HoS violation.

You have my vote!

Years ago the logbook rules were much better, in my opinion, than they are today. Basically:

• You could drive up to 10 hours before requiring an 8 hour break
• You could split your sleeper berth and driving time into two segments, as long as each segment in the sleeper berth was a minimum of 2 hours
• The 70 hour rule was the same as it is today. You can be on duty up to 70 hours every 8 days

The 14 hour rule did not exist, the 30 minute break was not required, and the 34 hour reset did not exist. You could still drive about the same number of miles back then as you can today, but the split sleeper berth rule and the lack of a 14 hour rule gave you far more flexibility than you have today.

The split sleeper berth was very simple. Start with an example:

• Drive 4 hours
• Sleep 3 hours
• Drive up to 6 more hours, for a total of 10 when combined with your last drive segment
• Sleep a minimum of 5 hours, for a total of 8 when combined with your last sleep segment

So when you add your last two driving time segments they can not total more than 10 hours. When you add your last two sleeper berth periods they must total a minimum of 8 hours.

At anytime you could take a complete 8 hour break and that would reset your 10 hours of drive time.

I would have added the 34 hour reset to those rules, and in my opinion they would have been as perfect as I know how to make them.

For those of you who have been out there on the road for a little while, what would you do with the logbook rules if it were up to you?

How I would do it is:

Totally OBLITERATE the 14 hour rule. Have 12 hours on duty each day and 12 hours combined off duty/sleeper berth. The only things you log on duty not driving would be pretrip, fueling, and post trip. As soon as you arrive at a shipper or receiver, switch to off duty and send in an arrival macro to your dispatcher to let them know you arent just loafing around. Anytime you stop for a break and you switch to off duty/sleeper berth, it STOPS your 12 hour clock and doesn't affect it until you have 12 hours off duty or sleeper berth. Then it will reset back to 12 or whatever you have left on your 60, whatever is less. When you hit 60 hours each week, do a 48 hour uninterrupted reset. In other words have the weekends off or something that resembles a weekend off, two days off in a row. Also any hours logged above 40 each week should be paid at time and a half. In other words whatever your cpm rate is, add half of that to your current cpm rate and any on duty time logged after that should be paid at the higher rate.

HOS is one of the things I noticed confuses a lot of new drivers. I would recommend implementing the above changes to make it so much easier to get things done.

That new method would also make it a lot easier for a new driver to transition from a standard 40 hr a week job into a trucking job.

Cystuartfi wrote:

Totally OBLITERATE the 14 hour rule. Have 12 hours on duty each day and 12 hours combined off duty/sleeper berth. The only things you log on duty not driving would be pretrip, fueling, and post trip. As soon as you arrive at a shipper or receiver, switch to off duty and send in an arrival macro to your dispatcher to let them know you arent just loafing around. Anytime you stop for a break and you switch to off duty/sleeper berth, it STOPS your 12 hour clock and doesn't affect it until you have 12 hours off duty or sleeper berth. Then it will reset back to 12 or whatever you have left on your 60, whatever is less. When you hit 60 hours each week, do a 48 hour uninterrupted reset. In other words have the weekends off or something that resembles a weekend off, two days off in a row. Also any hours logged above 40 each week should be paid at time and a half. In other words whatever your cpm rate is, add half of that to your current cpm rate and any on duty time logged after that should be paid at the higher rate.

That's okay for OTR work, but on many Dedicated assignments (specifically retail store delivery), reduces the amount of work that can be accomplished in a day. I cannot log off-duty when I deliver to Walmart's. The live-unload requires the driver to be attentive to the operation and at times for a perishable reefer load, supervise what comes off and what goes back on. Many times 12 hours isn't enough time to complete a 6-stop load, the type that earns the highest pay.

I still believe Daniel's suggestion can satisfy the needs of most Interstate drivers; OTR, Regional and/or Dedicated.

Still a rookie so all I ever knew is what is current, and the only thing I'd change is the 14h rule. Make it not tick away while off duty/sleeper berth. I personally don't mind being restricted to 14h days since it allows me to start early in the day and end early enough to where I'll almost always have an easy place to park in a truck stop while still having a productive day.

The only two things that really aggravate me are the 14 hr rule and the 30 minute break. Get rid of those, and I'd be happy.

Increase the 14 hour clock into a 16 hour clock to accommodate some of the issues described above.

So Daniel, I'm assuming you'd want this rule to make sure that every driver is parked for 8 consecutive hours at least once in each 24 hour period? I think that's reasonable, but it still worries me that it forces people to keep running when they really would be better off stopping for whatever reason.

I hadn't considered it until now, but I think it would be reasonable to say that if using the old rules, a driver can only use the split sleeper berth for one cycle, and then the next time they park they must take 8 consecutive hours off. That way you wouldn't have people doing two or three straight days of shorter sleep cycles.

I just worry that any type of 14 or 16 hour rule will force people to keep running for far too long.

And that is exactly correct gtown. There are the otr drivers that just drive,drive, drive drop and hook , and there are otr drivers that deliver, deliver, drive a little and deliver. And everything in between.

How are you going to come up with one set of rules for everybody?

Are you going to tell every pitcher in baseball that they are required to pitch 5 innings? The starters would be like "yeah! Only 5 innings" and the closers are going to be like " 5 innings is too much! "

Wish i had an answer, lol.

Cystuartfi wrote:

Totally OBLITERATE the 14 hour rule. Have 12 hours on duty each day and 12 hours combined off duty/sleeper berth. The only things you log on duty not driving would be pretrip, fueling, and post trip. As soon as you arrive at a shipper or receiver, switch to off duty and send in an arrival macro to your dispatcher to let them know you arent just loafing around. Anytime you stop for a break and you switch to off duty/sleeper berth, it STOPS your 12 hour clock and doesn't affect it until you have 12 hours off duty or sleeper berth. Then it will reset back to 12 or whatever you have left on your 60, whatever is less. When you hit 60 hours each week, do a 48 hour uninterrupted reset. In other words have the weekends off or something that resembles a weekend off, two days off in a row. Also any hours logged above 40 each week should be paid at time and a half. In other words whatever your cpm rate is, add half of that to your current cpm rate and any on duty time logged after that should be paid at the higher rate.

That's okay for OTR work, but on many Dedicated assignments (specifically retail store delivery), reduces the amount of work that can be accomplished in a day. I cannot log off-duty when I deliver to Walmart's. The live-unload requires the driver to be attentive to the operation and at times for a perishable reefer load, supervise what comes off and what goes back on. Many times 12 hours isn't enough time to complete a 6-stop load, the type that earns the highest pay.

I still believe Daniel's suggestion can satisfy the needs of most Interstate drivers; OTR, Regional and/or Dedicated.

Sounds like you want the Canadian HOS rules.

14hrs on-duty, 13hrs driving. You can extend the workday to 16 hrs with 2 hrs worth of breaks (of at least 30 min long each). You need to have 8hrs consecutive break. Can split sleeper in two any which way.