Still Struggling To Understand HOS

Topic 26669 | Page 2

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PackRat's Comment
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All you are required TO LOG is the pretrip, per DOT. A company can add to this by requiring you to also log a post trip inspection.

Recap hours are previous Driving and On Duty combined from 8 days previous, IF you didn't burn through your clock by day 7. If you did, you need to take a 34 hour reset.

DOT:

Department Of Transportation

A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.

State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.

PackRat's Comment
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Any inspection you perform AND LOG must be performed On Duty, Not Driving.

Old School's Comment
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Donna, there's considerable debate on this topic. You stated this...

I always take 15 minutes off duty at the beginning for a pretrip and 10 minutes on duty at the end for post trip.

I'm assuming you meant "on duty" for your pre-trip inspection.

As far as I know, there's not a particular time required by the FMCSA rules that you are required to log for these inspections. It's generally accepted that you allow a minimum of fifteen minutes for your pre-trip inspection. It's tough to convince an officer that you did a thorough inspection in five minutes. Some people don't log a post trip inspection and never seem to have any issues when they go through an inspection with an officer. Others insist it must be logged. I am not aware of any FMCSA rule requiring it.

If your company has a policy on this you should go with what they say.

Pre-trip Inspection:

A pre-trip inspection is a thorough inspection of the truck completed before driving for the first time each day.

Federal and state laws require that drivers inspect their vehicles. Federal and state inspectors also may inspect your vehicles. If they judge a vehicle to be unsafe, they will put it “out of service” until it is repaired.

CSA:

Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA)

The CSA is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities that are related to commercial motor vehicle

FMCSA:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

The FMCSA was established within the Department of Transportation on January 1, 2000. Their primary mission is to prevent commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries.

What Does The FMCSA Do?

  • Commercial Drivers' Licenses
  • Data and Analysis
  • Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement
  • Research and Technology
  • Safety Assistance
  • Support and Information Sharing

Fm:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.
Donna M.'s Comment
member avatar

All you are required TO LOG is the pretrip, per DOT. A company can add to this by requiring you to also log a post trip inspection.

Recap hours are previous Driving and On Duty combined from 8 days previous, IF you didn't burn through your clock by day 7. If you did, you need to take a 34 hour reset.

Only time I get a reset is home time. Haven’t been home in two months. I run recaps every week.

DOT:

Department Of Transportation

A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.

State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.

andhe78's Comment
member avatar
First you have daily rules: you can't be on duty more than 14 hours.

Probably one of the biggest fallacies I see out here-you can literally be on duty nonstop for a week, just have to take a ten before you can drive again.

Joel D.'s Comment
member avatar

Well I’m going to keep on trying to understand how HOS works, because it is interesting. I love the thought of managing your time but at the same time it does feel very much like an alien concept to me coming from a kitchen cook background which is what I currently do for a living. But saying that everyone in life manages their time to a certain degree, but trucking seems to take it to another level.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Grumpy Old Man's Comment
member avatar

Well I’m going to keep on trying to understand how HOS works, because it is interesting. I love the thought of managing your time but at the same time it does feel very much like an alien concept to me coming from a kitchen cook background which is what I currently do for a living. But saying that everyone in life manages their time to a certain degree, but trucking seems to take it to another level.

Take the High Road Training here. You can start with HOS if you want.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Joseph I.'s Comment
member avatar

I was told when I first started that once you start your clock (On Duty/Drive) you have 14 hours of which 11 is the most that can be On Duty or driving and sometime within the first 8 hours of driving but after 3 hours you must take a 30 minute rest break. After you are On Duty or driving for your 11 or whatever you are doing that day you must go for 10 hours straight of Off Duty /Sleeper Berth to reset your clock. That is the simplest way to handle 90 percent of all you will ever need for HOS rules and all you need in the beginning. At least until there are rule changes.

Sleeper Berth:

The portion of the tractor behind the seats which acts as the "living space" for the driver. It generally contains a bed (or bunk beds), cabinets, lights, temperature control knobs, and 12 volt plugs for power.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Joel D.'s Comment
member avatar

So as I understand stand it, in any 24 hour period, you have 14 hours of on duty time,11 of which can be driven, but no more than that. After which you have to take a ten hour break to reset your 14. Is that right?

G-Town's Comment
member avatar

So as I understand stand it, in any 24 hour period, you have 14 hours of on duty time,11 of which can be driven, but no more than that. After which you have to take a ten hour break to reset your 14. Is that right?

Not quite...

You can drive up to 11 total hours total within a 14 hour maximum period of on-duty. You can continue working on-duty beyond 14 hours but cannot go on the drive line again until a reset with either a 10 hour break or a 34 hour reset is completed.

Keep in mind that the 14 hour clock will count down once you log-in as in-duty.

Study this:

Learn The Logbook Rules (HOS)

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

  • Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
  • Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
  • Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
  • Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

Logbook:

A written or electronic record of a driver's duty status which must be maintained at all times. The driver records the amount of time spent driving, on-duty not driving, in the sleeper berth, or off duty. The enforcement of the Hours Of Service Rules (HOS) are based upon the entries put in a driver's logbook.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
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