[lowrange]

Originally Posted by orangetxguy

yes carl, i would.

First, i can only, by "company" policy travel 660 miles in a "day". I have laid over in louisiana numerous times, over the last 4 years. same here on the miles, but i was talking about common situations where cheating just a little bit will make your life a whole lot easier:

- 30 or 45 minutes here or there is the difference between getting a load or not, the difference between spending the night at the house or at a truckstop

- 30 or 45 minutes means you wake up on the njtpk headed south or it means you wake up in connecticut at 7:00 heading toward the gw. If you don't like that, use atlanta instead.

- you claim you always, always get in a 10 hour break before you unload in the morning, so that you can drive away legally. Wow.

- so, do you do your paperwork on line 4? Do you unload on line 4 when there is something you have to do? All your time farting around at the tankwash, all line 4? Wrenching on the truck at the house...line 4?

makes me think of the old joke, we're not trying to determine if you'll sell yourself, we're trying to determine your price! To this point otg, you are pretending you do everything by the book and that's complete bs? All i'm trying to do is find out how much more accurate you are than the average driver.


second. Nobody can forsee an accident. I am not going to hang my azz "out to dry", just so i can be home. When i am ready to sit at home, i plan it. I take more than a night. I take a week. I take 4 days. I do not worry about being "home" for just an evening.

However...i am single...so there is no real rush for me to be here.


In 30 years of filling out log books, i have never been hit with a "violation". Lol...i have received "letters" from the company, for infringing on "policy" (mostly over the company miles per hour average), but as far as how logs are viewed by the dot, i have never been cited. alright, but we're not talking about what you've been caught at so far.

i can not tell you the numbers of times my logs have been checked, by dot officers, there are just to many times to count. oh yeah, i know how to make it look right, particularly if the roadside inspection doesn't have access to every electronic thing tracking me.

What the guy in this incident, this accident, did, was wrong. He has only himself to blame. If his bosses and dispatchers condoned it, they should be facing charges as well. i agree. He was way out of line. I'll remember that the next time i read something on that website thinking they'll give me the important facts.

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[Orangetxguy]

Originally Posted by golfhobo

Ok, Stan..... I hope you are logging this on line 5!! :lol2:

No, in at least ONE of the original articles you linked to, it was mentioned that the bus was owned by Chippewa Trails. That would be a CHARTER company.... not the "local" school district. That would make Mr. Rasmus a "cdl holding PROFESSIONAL driver" not just some guy who drove the school ACTIVITY bus.

As Cueball said, this was a MOTORCOACH, with a professional driver. And I might add that, although I have always driven "fast trucks" (anything over 70mph) I get passed by these guys all the time!

He was, no doubt, "flying low" on his way back to the hometown of the band that night, and apparently the truck crash was just SECONDS ahead of him, outside the distance of his low beams. But, I still say, an ALERT and younger driver, MIGHT have noticed the tail and running lights of the truck way up in the distance doing something erratic! Not enough evidence in all the stories to know for sure, but I think this was more of a "chain reaction" type accident. Probably nothing could have changed the outcome other than the trucker being rested enough to STAY ON THE ROAD!

Regardless of whether some of you/us want to "fudge" a little now and then, NONE of us should take the chance of FALLING ASLEEP at the wheel!

People DIE when we do that!

LOL....I do not have a "Line 5" in any of my logs.

Then again...I drink so little, INBEV would go broke, waiting for me to buy beer. So would Seagrams, if they waited for me to buy 100 proof.


As far as the driver this entire thread was dedicated to...His azz belongs in jail. Yes....the bus driver should have been well rested..and younger.

But as far as the truck itself, that driver should have been doing his job good. Had he been doing that, there wouldn't be any need for him to face any type of charge.

I do believe his employer and it's management, knew that this driver was falsifying logs, and should be held equally accountable.

[Hawkjr]

damn i go to sleep and the thread blows up to this?? DAMN.. talk about a hot topic

[lowrange]

Originally Posted by avc

Right, break the law to make the money, that's what America is all about !!!

Think Dick Cheney rigging the oil markets with Kissinger so they and Exxon could make trillions for themselves and their clients while destroying the entire world economy.

Hey if corruption is all right with you guys, it is all right with me, maybe we should all join the Mexican drug cartels and start pulling dope along with our loads too !!!

Let me just tell the whole joke in case someone hasn't heard it.

This fat old fart like me sees this smokin' hot young babe working at the food court at the Pilot in Breezewood (she's mine mother****ers! Stay away!).

Anyway, he says to her, 'You are so fine! would you give it to me for a million dollars?'

She says, 'What!? Are you serious!? A million dollars!? Uh..., well...I guess so.'

He says, 'I just fueled up and got a $100, would you come out to me sleeper and do it for that?'

She gets offended and says, 'what kind of girl do you think I am!?'

He says, 'that's been determined, now we're working on a price...'

Some of you posers want to come off as angels. Great, maybe you really are good about logging accurately. But, we know it's not completely accurate, we're trying to have a little truth (very ironic considering considering your position on logbooks)

[lowrange]

Originally Posted by zipy46

There is no 'safe haven' rule ...

if you are out of hours...the truck cannot go.

Companies say its 'ok' to find a safe haven if the drop causes this to occur......

but when I ask them in orientation to show me this in the company handbook or the DOT regs...

they oddly avoid my question like a case of the herpes!

Haaaa !

Yep!

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by golfhobo

On a side note.... I want to say how much fun it is to have a conversation with you guys on these varied topics without every post I make having the usual "you are wrong" reply by a certain poster! :lol2:

Pointing out the obvious gets tedious after a while.:thumbsup:

[lowrange]

Originally Posted by sportster65

Ram it, Cowboy. I never said I was perfect or did no wrong. What I did say was I did not cheat or fudge my logs. For those of us who can add, subtract, multiply and divide it it not that hard. For those like you who can't it may be tough. And yeah, I did have those days where I was friggin tired and had trouble keeping my eyes open, guess what, I pulled over and stopped the 75,000 LB missle I was guiding.

Being honest isn't hard, for you it may be since you have a developed a habit of not being that way. You are the problem with the indusrty, thinking it is OK with running long, fudging your logs, and putting others at risk for a few pennies a mile. Until you and those like you are gone from the industry, it will continue to attract slime and scum, and will continue to condone illegal activity.

I guess that Kevin Rutherford is a bad person. He seemed to be suggesting at least some fudging (it's just a pun, don't get excited) is pretty widespread.

[lowrange]

Originally Posted by zipy46

I talked to this fellow who works pulling tankers with dangerous chemicals on board...

They are tracked and monitored to make sure they run legal and compliant.

One time a fellow got hotheaded because they were late on his hometime and

he decided to 'make a run' for it so he could get home and out of the truck.

.......within 2 hours the State Patrol had him in custody.

Wow. Must have been some bad stuff, though, like ammunition and explosives. In that case, there should be no surprises.

[Rev.Vassago]

Tone it down please. There is no reason for the personal attacks.

[Orangetxguy]

Originally Posted by lowrange

i was talking about common situations where cheating just a little bit will make your life a whole lot easier:

- 30 or 45 minutes here or there is the difference between getting a load or not, the difference between spending the night at the house or at a truckstop

- 30 or 45 minutes means you wake up on the njtpk headed south or it means you wake up in connecticut at 7:00 heading toward the gw. If you don't like that, use atlanta instead.

- you claim you always, always get in a 10 hour break before you unload in the morning, so that you can drive away legally. Wow.

- so, do you do your paperwork on line 4? Do you unload on line 4 when there is something you have to do? All your time farting around at the tankwash, all line 4? Wrenching on the truck at the house...line 4?

makes me think of the old joke, we're not trying to determine if you'll sell yourself, we're trying to determine your price! To this point otg, you are pretending you do everything by the book and that's complete bs? All i'm trying to do is find out how much more accurate you are than the average driver.

I log my paperwork on line 4, on duty not driving. I log my pre-trip and post-trips, on line 4. I log fuel, 30 minutes, on line 4, I log loading time inside the plant on line 4, and I log unloading time, inside the plant on line 4. Both of those are a "Company Requirement". I do my paperwork while I am getting loaded, and while I am getting unloaded, because when I am able to be "off", I do not want incomplete paperwork to be an issue.

I log my time at tank washes as is required. I allow 15 minutes for dropping the tank and checking it in. Once I drop that trailer, I am no longer under dispatch. I do not have to log any time at all, except as "Off Duty".

I make every effort to arrive too load and unload, with "fresh" hours. There are times, when I do drive for 3 or 4 hours, to arrive at a plant to load or unload. I log it like I work it. I do not sleep at plants (some of these plants are not safe to be sleeping at). Period. Delay of dispatch pay depends on my location. If I am sitting at a plant, I can not charge "delay of dispatch". If a Shipper or a Consignee has requirements that cause delays, I want every dime from them I can legitimately get.

As far as "wrenching" on my truck. I do not repair my truck. That is what mechanics get paid to do.
I take my truck to certified shops, for any and all repair work. IF I change a wiper blade, put oil in the engine, replace a light bulb, or put air in the tires, that is all done while I am pre-tripping, post tripping or fueling, and included in the time logged. Sometimes I do show 45 minutes for such things.
I am not a good enough mechanic to perform my own repairs, nor do I own shop tools. I place a great value on my home time, and the last thing I want to do, is work on that truck. Yeah..I could save a ton of money doing repairs myself. BUT...exactly how much would I pay in a lawsuit, when it was found that I was doing safety sensitive repairs myself? AND...you can not claim your time as a tax deduction, even if you are certified, unless you log it.

This last repair session, my truck got repaired ( steering gear box, head gasket, and a transmission issue resolved), while I flew to see my girlfriend and had 3 enjoyable days with her. I place a higher value on that time than others I guess.

I have only been offered a new load once in two years, before getting to a tank wash. So I am seldom pressed to get anywhere...Though god does know that I wish they would offer me loads faster!

In 4 years of driving up into the Northeast, I have crossed the "GW" exactly one time. If I am going to CT or MA, I usually take I-81 to I-84, and travel I-84 north around NYC. It saves time, even though it is an extra 49 miles that are not paid. If I am in NJ and headed north, I take I-287 north to the NY Tollway, which I then take to I-84. I had enough traffic in Seattle over 16 years of local driving. I don't need to experience NYC.

I drive through Atlanta plenty. I time my arrival to hit the loop at noonish. Once I am on I-85 headed to Greenville or Charlotte, I do not worry about traffic. I go with the flow.

Like I said earlier. I plan my hometime. I am also flexible enough to take "hometime" on the road. I enjoy spending 3 or 4 days exploring new places. Especially if I get "delay of dispatch" pay while doing so!