Duty Hour Log Book Cheating?

After reading the ~87 page, "so you want to be a truck driver" mini-book, I was curious about the discussion of shutting down per the rules versus driving an extra hour or so to make a drop and 'fudging' the books. I'm not looking to be a total cowboy or anything but, I could see where this might have significant financial impacts.

~30 years ago, I watched my father 'lie' on his logbooks and stay out of service at home until the calendar caught up with him; I have no intention of doing that as I found it pretty reckless to drive that way even though he had multiple awards for the most miles driven with 'no accidents'.

With electronics logbooks, is this even possible today without running into immediate fines and other trouble? Then there is GPS tracking, cameras, RFID, weight scales (and associated electronic tracking), etc. to consider.

How do you balance 'on duty' hour limits with the realities of earning a living and being close to a destination?

TIA, Sid

I'm not really understanding what you mean by "on duty hour limits".

But I will say with elogs there is NO cheating.

Did if you are properly trip planning than you needn't worry about cheating. Get in a wreck while trying to cheat and you'll see an even greater financial impact.

The stuff we used to do are now stories for the drivers counter at the local rat trap. I use them to show students how the industry has gotten safer and quality of life is a tad better. I don't have to deal with a dispatcher pushing me to violate hos for a load. I don't have to worry about giving the wrong coloring book to DOT etc.

I'm not really understanding what you mean by "on duty hour limits".

But I will say with elogs there is NO cheating.

My father drove from California to Oklahoma City non-stop several times and then waited for his log books to catch up.

I'm thinking about being out of legal hours of 'drive time' and being an hour away. Do I take a mandatory rest period and miss a drop and then start over the next day with a 1 hour drive and unload or, chance it and unload late in the day, rest overnight and move on to my next pick up point.

I'm not really understanding what you mean by "on duty hour limits".

But I will say with elogs there is NO cheating.

My father drove from California to Oklahoma City non-stop several times and then waited for his log books to catch up.

I'm thinking about being out of legal hours of 'drive time' and being an hour away. Do I take a mandatory rest period and miss a drop and then start over the next day with a 1 hour drive and unload or, chance it and unload late in the day, rest overnight and move on to my next pick up point.

I have been in those situations. That is why communication is so important now. Yes, you shutdown get up the next day and drive the hour in. Stuff happens out here. Just have to make sure to communicate with your dispatcher.

I'm not really understanding what you mean by "on duty hour limits".

But I will say with elogs there is NO cheating.

My father drove from California to Oklahoma City non-stop several times and then waited for his log books to catch up.

I'm thinking about being out of legal hours of 'drive time' and being an hour away. Do I take a mandatory rest period and miss a drop and then start over the next day with a 1 hour drive and unload or, chance it and unload late in the day, rest overnight and move on to my next pick up point.

Trip planning will help to reduce the chances of running out of hours. But as Patrick said...”things happen”. Times have changed, no triple books, no foolin’ the clocks with e-logs in place.

I'm not looking to be a total cowboy or anything but, I could see where this might have significant financial impacts.

You'll have much more significant financial impact by learning how to be a Top Tier Driver. Once you understand the importance of proper trip planning and how to execute a daily plan that takes in consideration all the things that factor into your weekly success, you'll discover you don't need to cheat to make a good living at this.

My dispatcher and I were having a discussion just recently where he told me the safety people in our company forced him to fire a couple of his drivers for their continual abuse of the HOS rules. He was disappointed because they were good producers. The problem was that they couldn't seem to produce well without cheating. He made this comment: "Neither of those drivers were accomplishing anything like you are, but your logs look as clean as possible. I just wish I could find three or four good solid drivers like you." With the advent of government mandated electronic log records, none of those old school methods are going to be tolerated. It's just not a viable option today.

Here's a few articles to help you understand what you can do to gain the financial edge out here...

Show Me The Money

One Out Of Five Drivers Does A Great Job

Can You Hang With The Big Dogs?

What It Takes To Be A Top Tier Driver

Thanks Old School! I read on or two of those yesterday but, rereading them was certainly helpful after reading these posts.

With the elogs , no cheating without consequences. Got it!

Comments regarding attitude at shippers really strikes home. In other jobs, it was obvious the people who where a "pain the #$#" or just plain unpleasant to be around always had a difficult time versus the pleasant people who just did their job smiling along the way, reaping the rewards whether it was going to lunch on time or getting a 'coffee' break others missed.

U can move ur truck a short distance without activating the clock, say ur customer/load is next door to the truck stop, or u slept onsite of the customer....U can then hookup and be ready to do your pre trip before your clock has started....advantage to doing this is if loading is delayed, say one time for me 8 hrs at fedex delay (got some good sleep), u can then start ur clock after loading is done....

Now theres personal conveyance(up to 200miles), where for personal reasons u can use the truck to drive to wally world, or for pizza, or go home...u are not allowed to advance a load (of course no trucker will ever do this🤪😜😇😇😇😇...

Yeah, there are actually a few things you can do that would be considered cheating the logs, like logging something under the wrong duty status, taking advantage of the new personal conveyance laws, taking advantage of the safe haven laws, or like Mik mentioned moving the truck at a slow speed or short distances at a time to prevent the device from logging your movement as driving time.

There has never been a system in the history of the world that has prevented all cheating in all ways. I'm not saying this to encourage anyone to cheat, but several people mentioned "cheating is dead" when in reality it is not. But do remember that you may make a little extra money in the short term by cheating, but people do lose their jobs for getting caught cheating. I would highly, highly recommend you do things by the book, especially in the beginning. You have enough things to worry about as a new driver without dipping your toes into even more dangerous territory.