8 Hour Berth Rule....

One thing that might ease your mind is that once you get in a truck you will be on electronic logs , and you'll be able to tell from your qualcomm whether or not you're understanding how this all works. It won't let you mess up, it will tell you when you are committing a violation. I used to kind of study mine at times - like if I had a period of two or more hours off duty during the day I would set my alarm on my phone to wake me up when eight hours had passed during the time I was taking my ten hour break. I wrote down how much time I had left on my clock when I started the ten hour break, then I would wake up early and look at the clocks and see how much time I had now that eight hours had passed so I could compare the two. It will show you right on the screen what you've got. I experimented with different scenarios like that until I started getting the hang of how it worked. I'm starting my tenth month in this career and I really just started using this stuff more often in the last three months or so.

It just takes a while to break into this job and start being able to fully utilize the rules and regulations in a way that will benefit you. That first six months to a year is really just one big learning curve of mostly how to handle the truck in the manifold situations you will encounter, and how to deal with dispatch, shippers, receivers, schedules, traffic, loneliness, homesickness, and a whole host of other things that come along with the territory. Some folks will catch on to the little nuances that help you out a little quicker than others, but you guys have a real benefit working for you by being active in this forum and being exposed to so many other folks who are wanting to excel at this job. Don't fret if you don't really understand it when you get your first job, it will start coming to you when you get to the point of needing to use it every now and then.

Bradley, I'm glad to have you in the forum, and glad to see you're taking it all in. I like to illustrate what we're talking about with an actual experience if I can because it helps folks realize how this stuff can help you in your career. You're doing the right thing, just concentrate on the things at hand right now, and some of this other stuff will come along as you get further into the learning curve.

Keep us posted on how things are going for you, and anytime you need some advice don't be afraid to ask.