HOS Rules; New 8/2 Or 7/3 Split

There is something wrong with a rule that requires so much effort to understand. Also, in my eyes this rule benefits companies' productivity, but hurts drivers' quality of life.

Andrey, once you do it a few times it is a lot more simple . I don’t really agree about hurting your quality of life. Some people want a 10 hour break . Some do NOT. I don’t require a lot of sleep so a lot of times I am up and bored waiting till I am ready to drive . Some other drivers need as much down time as they can get. If I can turn a load faster it benefits me as well as my company. If a company TRIES to force you to split break and plans on you doing it constantly THEN it’s a problem. They cannot dictate for you to Split because only the driver knows how much rest they need.

I love that response Papa Pig!

Anytime I can increase the productivity of the company it is to my benefit. That is the beauty of truck driving. It is the competitive part that so many drivers don't get. Trucking is all about getting the most done. Maximizing our hours of productivity is key to being successful and happy with this job. We are in charge of our levels of productivity, and the rules allow us to push some limits when we are comfortable with it.

I understand where Andrey is coming from. We have to have some kind of peace with the life we live out here on the road, and each of us has his own ways of making sure that happens. Ultimately we have to make sure we are staying safe and able to do a great job. We determine those matters and not our dispatchers.

If a driver feels he needs a full ten hours then he definitely should take it. We are individuals after all. Each of us has our own motivations and personal preferences. I use the split sleeper about once or twice a week when on the road. I use it to help me be more productive. it is limited in it's value. There are certain circumstances that dictate when I need to use it. If it is beneficial I take advantage of it at the proper time.

I use it when it benefits me.

Here is just one example. I stopped and took a shower, had lunch, and took a 45 minute nap. Waited for the clock to hit 2 hours off duty and rolled.

Got to the receiver and ran my clock out getting unloaded (I’m hourly, so I am on duty) and finally at 2 am I was able to go park. My company limits PC to 20 minutes/25 miles, and while I have gone 45 minutes, they frown on it. So I pulled down to the lower dirt lot at Westrock in Solvay and went to sleep.

Got up at 8 and had breakfast, and by 10 am, I had run out of smokes. But since I had been in sleeper berth for 8 hours, I ran to the Waterloo Petro, went off duty for 2 hours (and back to sleep), got up with a full clock minus the 45 minutes driven and rolled home.

I have also used it when I could not get a full 10 in and still make my appointment. I was about 15 minutes shy. So I got 8, rolled to the customer, went to sleep until my appointment time, crept over off duty, and started my clock when the 2 hours was up, which was only a few minutes, after creeping over.

Learn to use the split berth. There are many times it will help you manage your clock to your advantage