Having Fun With Your Logs

You definitely set the standard for how to operate. My head is constantly in my books. I rarely if ever need to take a reset. Occasionally I'll take one to set me up for the next couple weeks.

I fixed some issues and got a trailer missing a door delt with by getting the store to understand they need to unload it so we can repair it, in exchange I said call us as soon as you have a dock open and we will place it for you and then get it over to the shop.

The DM (not my regular). Thanked me profusely, he had been trying to get that done for months. He told me he wished I was on his board and said any chance he has he will get me whatever he can. My TM frequently calls me to handle sensitive loads.

I just keep trying to emulate your lessons and carry on on that manner.

It's been a busy week for me, so I'm just now getting to this post. I wanted to revisit this to better explore the differences between resetting and recapping.

You didn't explain what exactly it is you did that made you a genius vs the other guys. Saying the other drivers had to reset doesn't necessarily mean they did anything wrong, or that you did anything better. The fact that they "burned up their hours" may simply mean that they maxed out their clocks each day, making them more productive than a driver that runs on recap hours.

I hear this false notion all the time that having to do a reset is always bad. That's just not true. It's a mathematical fact that a driver maxing out his/her days by driving their full 11 and resetting will be far more productive that a driver doing recaps. So I just don't see where you are coming from with your idea that the other drivers screwed up somehow. Unless of course they wasted on duty hours somewhere, but you didn't say that.

Simply put: All things being equal, driving hard and resetting will beat recapping every time in overall productivity. It's often overlooked that drivers running on recaps are also "sitting around" while the other drivers are still rolling.

You didn't explain what exactly it is you did that made you a genius vs the other guys. Saying the other drivers had to reset doesn't necessarily mean they did anything wrong, or that you did anything better.

Thanks Turtle. I realize the post was done hastily and didn't have the clarity that it should have. I apologize. Like you, I am too busy to really focus on too much else these days. First off let me say I certainly do not consider myself any kind of a genius at this stuff. I am probably the luckiest dumb guy on the planet. I honestly mean that. There are many days and experiences I go through in trucking that only serve to confirm that fact. I've had a lot of good fortune in trucking. Most of which came to me by pure luck.

The point of the post was that my dispatcher considered me a logbook genius. That honestly was only because I was available when all of his other drivers were not. That was the point about running the recaps. On this dedicated account I serve we have loads going out seven days a week. Our driver manager is responsible for making sure those are covered. It just happened on that particular day I was the only driver available. It was a freak set of circumstances that caused all the other drivers to be on a 34 hour reset. I was not. That was because I was running recaps.

I hear this false notion all the time that having to do a reset is always bad. That's just not true. It's a mathematical fact that a driver maxing out his/her days by driving their full 11 and resetting will be far more productive that a driver doing recaps. So I just don't see where you are coming from with your idea that the other drivers screwed up somehow.

Turtle, I honestly don't see anything in my post that implies I believe the other drivers were screw-ups. I am sorry if it came across that way. I didn't intend that. I don't care how you slice up the pie. You can be highly productive on re-caps or burning through your 70 and doing a 34 hour reset. I actually prefer doing a reset and doing something I really enjoy during that time. It has been my habit for many years to do that. Recently I have been realizing that in my particular situation it works best for me to run re-caps. Either way you slice it you still have a limit of 70 hours. One is not necessarily more efficient than the other, unless the demands of your particular job work better with one or the other, and that could change from week to week. After my eye surgeries I finally got to return to my dedicated account. It had changed somewhat. Running recaps seems to be a little more efficient and productive for me now.

The point of my post, which was not made clear, is that it is best to have fun out here when doing this. Do it the way that works best for you. Be smart with your approach and do good trip planning and log book management. Be a Top Tier Driver. Do it in such a way that your driver manager thinks you are a genius.

I hear this false notion all the time that having to do a reset is always bad. That's just not true.

I totally agree with that.

It's a mathematical fact that a driver maxing out his/her days by driving their full 11 and resetting will be far more productive that a driver doing recaps.

I can't agree with that one. There are way too many variables to lay it out to a mathematical formula.

It's often overlooked that drivers running on recaps are also "sitting around" while the other drivers are still rolling.

Very true Turtle, and an astute observation. I agree with you. There is still only 70 hours out of the pie though. Slice it how you will. You get 70 hours in eight days.

Thanks brother for encouraging me to clarify some of these things here. It needed to be done.

Very interesting discussion between Old School and Turtle about hours of service. I think PackRat runs on recaps also. I look at it as just a personal preference. I was taught early on that I could drive 8.75 hours every day to infinity and never have to do a 34 hour reset. Or, I could drive out my 11 hour clock until I used up my 70 and then take some time off for the 34 hr reset. So far, I’ve chosen, for the most part, to take the 34 hr reset. Maybe when I get as old as PackRat, I’ll reconsider and drive on recaps. Lol.

I like getting those 600 mile plus days, so to do that I have to drive out my clock. To each his own.

First, I realize, and have said many times, that the variables will usually dictate how a driver runs, as well as his or her personal preference. Load availability, appointment times, traffic and other delays all play a role. But for the sake of an educational discussion for all new drivers reading this, I believe it's important we discuss the potential of each method, and provide some substance from which the reader can weigh their options.

You know I respect you a ton OS, and I'm not trying to be argumentative here. But in this discussion and others, intended or not, you have implied that resets in general are a "rookie mistake". I accept that I may have misinterpreted what you were saying, and if so I apologize. Just as you desire to educate the others, so do I. That's why I feel it's important to show the other side of the coin.

There is still only 70 hours out of the pie though. Slice it how you will. You get 70 hours in eight days.

This is actually incorrect, and here's a simple way to demonstrate that.

True, a driver running recaps will only have 70 hours available in which to drive during those 8 days.

But a driver running resets can exhaust his 70 in five or six days, reset on the 6th and 7th, then have an additional 14 available on the 8th day. Therefore, a driver running resets can have 84 hours available in which to drive in 8 days, a clear advantage.

You speak of availability. In my view, the resetting driver is available for more runs more often.

Again, I bring this up only for educational purposes. East driver can choose how he or she wants to run. Neither way works perfectly every time.

At ABF Freight, Teamsters union, we run on a 7 day/60 hr cycle. All recaps, our clock never resets even though we have close to 60 hrs off every weekend.

I’ve asked a few other drivers and no one knows why our contract is set up this way, just has been for many many years.

Just want to ask my rookie question...

Does the recap/reset hold more value to what division the driver is in? Tanker, Intermodal , Dry Van , Flatbed etc.... And if they are on a dedicated account or not??

I would think it does. A regional driver that's only out M-F has no worries about the 60 or 70 hour clock. Being OTR , I'm constantly trying to shave time on mine as I drive recaps exclusively. A driver not doing recaps will have a different viewpoint.

Same, I'm supposed to be regional but it doesn't really exist out of my terminal so I'm usually out a few weeks. Pretty much exclusively recaps and I'm always trying to preserve my clock.

I run a regional 5-day week, so I never try to save hours. In fact, I stay on duty all day, only going off duty when I shut the truck off at night.

The division you're in or type of runs you make can and will play a difference in what type of driving method you employ. For example, some reefer schedules are all around the clock. So they can really play havoc on your hours, and you may have to bounce all over the place with your schedule.

The resets vs recaps thing isn't specifically what I was trying to address. Each driver will have to do what works best for them. However, the blanket implication that doing resets is bad is what I take issue with. To that, I respond with a simple question:

If you are faced with the choice between the two methods, and have the ability to do either, which has the greatest potential for productivity?

70 hours in 8 days (recaps)

Or

84 hours in 8 days (resets)

Around here, we preach that this business is performance-based. Personally, when given the choice, I'm going to shoot for maximum performance. I'm going for the reset method.