34 hour restart
 

I've been off for both 31st and 1st which satisfied my 34 hour restart. That being said, everything that happened before the 31st is a non-issue (non-contributory) to this new 70 hour cycle that I just started, correct?

Yes, you are correct, you have a fresh 70 hours available to you :D :D

Re: 34 hour restart
 

Correct. If you had 34 consecutive hours off duty, your recap should read 0 for used hours, and 70 for available hours.

Re: 34 hour restart
 

correct

Thanks for the confirmation guys....was having a brain hiccup on that one.

Look at that 3 replies within 3 minutes. How helpful are we!!! :lol: :lol:

Is there anything else we can help you with tonight? A massage, mixed drink, something to eat, take a seat, we are here for you :D

Must admit you guys are right on the ball!! Sure drinks all around...I can sober up before I have to dispatch at 1000. :-)

Even though you have a fresh 70 you still have to have your last 8 days worth of log sheets.

.

I get the whole 34-hour reset from this perspective, here's what I want to know...
It seems that companies want you to stay moving, not doing a reset. If that is the case, why do they push you to run so that you HAVE to reset hours, i.e. give you only enough time to drive hard to drop?
Do companies frown on drivers who take their resets if they want/feel they're needed, meaning, they want you to run at all times except for hometime? :?

I think it depends a lot on the company. There are a few different outlooks here.

I know of some drivers whose companies aren't big on restarts. Theoretically, a truck sitting for 34 hours isn't generating revenue, so keeping it moving makes sense. You pick up hours every midnight, and run off of those, maybe not moving in fast forward, but you are making progress everyday. It also keeps you under freight more often. As long as the freight the company runs isn't that hot, it works out well.

On the other hand, I used to work for a company that got me home every weekend. We would pretty much run 11 on, 10 off (not counting "not driving" time) all week, bleed the log book for every available hour, then go home on Friday night or Saturady morning. Start fresh on Monday with a new 70. running hot freight in a 7-800 mile range, this worked beautifully.

Ultimately, it's a matter of do they want to run more steady, or run hot then shut down. It all depends on the company attitude, and I'm sure things like type of freight, length of haul, even number of trucks available. It's all a complex mathematical equation with no two people using the same calculator :)

As long as you can get 2500-3400 miles a week, either with doing a restart or not doing a restart. I think that is what most companys want. But if you only got like 1500 miles and say you need a restart then yeah they might complain or say something to you. Most companys want you to avg at least 2500 miles a week when there is alot of freight.

The law says you must get your rest and the restart is part of that. A ggod company will run you and hopefully you can reset at home or someplace you want to be. Not Hunts Point or Dominicks or Huger Sc or some other armpit place in America. Keep a legal logbook, make good money and dont let dispatch twist your arm to run illegal, but dont run out of hours on a load, dont accept the load if you cant run it from start to finish or reject it and besure to comment why in the qualcomm or to management. No load is worth a LIFE, good luck.

Now I'm pretty sure you mean 70 hours in 8 or 60 in 7, correct? :?

Somehow I am confused,

b)(2) Having been on duty 70 hours in any period of 8 consecutive days if the employing motor carrier operates commercial motor vehicles every day of the week.

(c)(2) Any period of 8 consecutive days may end with the beginning of any off-duty period of 34 or more consecutive hours.


OK, so if I only work 8.75 hours a day, I will have my 70 hours in 8 days,

and can in essence work 7 days a week, 52 weeks a month.

8.25 hours X 8 days = 66 driving hours an 8 day week

Remember too, that is ON-DUTY time, not driving time we are talking about!

but with out a 34 hour reset, you will have 1 1/2 days a week more to hat, ie. 12.125 more hours, so in the same 9 1/2 day time period you can put in 78.125 hours of driving time but have no time at home with the family.

Nah, I think I will stick to my 11 hours max driving time, no more than 70 / 8 days and spend a day and 1/2 a week with the family.

I hear you 100 PERCENT, however, for OTR, that day and a half is spent at a truck stop...not home with family!

My SO's former company (who, by the way has an excellent reputation) pushed him to the max!! Whether you had the hours to roll off or not, his dispatcher constantly pushed him, till she finally pushed him right into quitting. As far as I'm concerned, it's his CDL, not the companies, and no one is going to be coming forward if something happens. The other thing, you can only drive so many days at 11 hours driving before you probably need some sort of break to be SAFE - for you and other drivers!!

If a company wants those wheels turning daily, they need to let a driver run his logs the way he wants...I'm thinking that should be less than 11 hours driving, but what do I know? :?

The best dispatcher I ever had never pushed his drivers. He would ask if they could do this or that and if the answer was No he might ask when it could be done but would never push the issue, lay out the guilt trip etc.

Now the "funny" thing is that while he actually had fewer trucks on his fleet than most of his counterparts in the office (3 or 4 fewer) his fleet was constantly one of the top 2 for miles ran every month and he had the lowest turnover of any fleet at that company.

By not pushing, making sure his drivers were well rested, etc his fleet ran efficiently, which is something so many do not have any concept of.

AMEN!! Wise man, that dispatcher...

FROM YOUR LIPS TO GOD'S EARS!!! And, more importantly, this post should be mandatory reading for all dispatchers and management!

Uturn.... I think YOU should start a trucking company! I will be first in line to work for you! (I HOPE you'd hire me!) :lol:

SAY WHAT??? Now, I am confused also!! :shock:

Yeah, KayCee!! I'm SURE you want to clear this up for the newbie who asked the original question, right?

And BTW, Uturn..... you are only required to keep SEVEN days of PREVIOUS logs. Not counting the CURRENT one.

We work in an industry where 15 minutes can cost us hundreds of dollars or more. Let's ALL try to be more ACCURATE in any figures we post for the newbies - and each other!

tottaly wrong. your logs for last 8 days have to be available for on the spot dot approval. although anything in the past year will cause problems for you when dot audits your company and you have to explain why it is worth the fines they have to pay just to keep you around. my company feels if the fines don't cover the cost of profits and insurance premium increases, I become a liability. ain't no such thing as a free lunch

nope,your wrong

395.8

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I swear! I don't know what SOME guys were doing in CDL school! Sleeping, I guess!

I would NEVER have driven a rig off the lot if I didn't understand the regs! I REALLY wish "someone" could QUOTE me the reg (as the Rev always does,) that backs up THIS statement!!!

Hey, Dawn..... I got a "customer" for ya!! :lol:

I thought about quoting the reg back when Uturn first said that you had to have the last 8 days, but I was lazy and didn't want to look it up (hence my blank post after his).

What - do you think you are a moderator? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :wink:

last 6 months, cool. 8) :oops: i was thinking last 7 days plus today :oops: sorry. shucks i stayed stoned on crack and drunk all thru cdl school and orientation and then the first 6 months driving, i think, or maybe i am just an old burned out hippie, yea that is it. :? :party:

It would TAKE a "super human" to understand ALL the regs! And nobody expects you (or me) to BE one. But, SOME of these regs are fairly simple to remember and quote properly for the newbies. I'm SURE you know your stuff! I just meant that we should be careful NOT to make silly mistakes on some of the more BASIC issues that newbies wonder about.

Besides.... I was actually talking to that Crackhead, ChopperBob!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Slow freight
 

Please tell me if I'm wrong. I'm a Werner noobie. I say this not to invite ridicule (I've prolly already heard it :) ), but to establish the fact that there's a limit to how flexible my logging can be.

As I see it, to get good runs, I've got to distinguish myself from the 300 or so other drivers my dispatcher is handling.

I'm only going to drive 70 hours in 8 days - whether I do that in 6.4 days or 8 days is a function of when freight I'm close to is available.

Now I can distinguish myself by refusing to move freight because I've set a limit under the allowable 11 for relatively arbitrary reasons - or I can distinguish myself by taking freight when it's available knowing full well that my dispatcher knows the status of my clocks and (theoretically) plans with those in mind. No matter how much I drive, I'm going to get 10 hours sleep per day.

Aren't the hours "additive", meaning that if I don't consume them in one 70 hour period, they'll be available in the next 70 hour period?

Sure, I hate the idea of sitting in Armpit, UT for 34 hours - but if my dispatcher is playing favorites, I want to be one of them.

Thanks in advance for any advice and/or comments.

You cannot carry hours over from one 70 hours period to another. What you can do is reset the clock with a 34 hour break. Once you take the 34 hours, you have 70 hours again.

Gman: You might want to revist this one. I think the poster meant "can he carry unused hours out of his 70 OVER the 8 day period."

As the 8 day period is a "rolling" period, any unused hours out of his 70 WOULD be available for the next day (and added to what he gets back from the 8th day back,) or if not used, would be available for the NEXT day. Am I right?

There's no such thing as a "70 hour period." Only an 8 day period.

I think Mowman is offering a valuable point for discussion:

Should one try to limit his daily hours to the Crackaces system of 8.75 so as NEVER to HAVE to take a 34 hour reset? Or should he take the loads as offered, even if it burns up his hours and he HAS to reset?

Not being a Solo driver, this rarely becomes an issue for me.... so I am NOT stating facts or answers. Merely trying to "clarify" the question, so that the poster gets the best answer.

Mowman- your dispatcher has 300 drivers? Yowza! :)

Ya? well you lost me there :? You trying to say there is a way to drive without resetting? I thought you had to reset period.

Yes, I see what you mean, Golfhobo. I think I misread his post.

Glasman2, you are not required to take the 34 hour reset. It is only an option, which you are legally entitled to take, if you want. As long as you don't exceed your 70 hours within an 8 day period, you will not run out of hours and don't need to reset your clock. Before the last hos change, I would sometimes pace myself where I could continue running without sitting over night to gain more hours. It is an individual decision. Since the 34 restart, I usually run harder and take the reset. I think the reset is the only good thing about the new hours of service which works for the driver. It does help to have a day to rest.

OK understand now, thanks.
I agree needing time to rest more so if your new and not use to driving all the time. Plus give you some site seeing time in, if your in an area to do it.