The Joys of Logging
#21
I always used brackets.
Lets say I was in the sleeper from 12 am to 7am and then off duty from 7am to 10am. In this case I would bracket everything from 12 am to 10 am on the remarks time line and draw another line at the 7 am mark. From the "long" bracket I would then draw one remarks line down to state my location. Then when I would go on duty to do a VI I would bracket that time and make a new remark line stating location and activity. It satisfies the requirements and makes the log look a lot nicer. Never had any problems or even negative comments from any DOT type or company safety department. Now.... how would you have logged the same off duty time if you had the chitz and went from sleeper to truckstop (line 1)... and back... every hour during that time? And more importantly.... how would you log the time going through the cab to get outside to BE on line 1?? :lol2:
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Remember... friends are few and far between. TRUCKIN' AIN'T FOR WUSSES!!! "I am willing to admit that I was wrong." The Rev.
#22
I'm quite sure that any DOT officer looking at your logs would have been smart enough to realize that the entire time from 12 a.m. to 10 a.m. (especially with their knowledge that 10 hours was required if ANY line 1 time was logged,) was spent at the same location as the flag you gave at 12 a.m. I'm sure he would have been pleased and satisfied with a remark flag at 10 a.m. showing the same location, when you changed your duty status from OFF DUTY to line 4.
Now.... how would you have logged the same off duty time if you had the chitz and went from sleeper to truckstop (line 1)... and back... every hour during that time? And more importantly.... how would you log the time going through the cab to get outside to BE on line 1?? :lol2:
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My Trucking Blog: http://matcattruckin.blogspot.com/ Website I am making for drivers: http://www.4thedriver.com As I sit looking all around, Confusion and uncertainty is all I found. The answers are there, But I do not know where. Optimistic and hopeful dreams, Are all I have so it seems. The future I do not know, So all I can do is take it slow. But I do know it will work out, So I wait and watch without a doubt. Last edited by matcat; 05-02-2009 at 09:51 PM.
#23
Second, one must understand that (unless you are teaming) it is impossible to change from line 1 to line 2 directly (or vice versa) without BEING in the same location one was at the last time one flagged going OFF DUTY (either in the sleeper or on line 1.)
You mentioned "unless you are teaming". That means it is possible to change from line 1 to line 2 without being in the same location. That is why the FMCSA has specifically said that you must note the city and state on your log for any duty status change. And yet you said before that "BTW, there is no requirement to 'flag" the location when going from line 1 to line 2 or back."
Third, "bracketing" is not a requirement. One can show just a single flag through the time element that the duty status changed (along with the location,) and it is understood that one is still at that location, regardless of duty status, until another flag shows a different location...or you begin line 3 (driving.)
§395.8 Driver’s record of duty status. (c) For each change of duty status (e.g., the place of reporting for work, starting to drive, on-duty not driving and where released from work), the name of the city, town or village, with State abbreviation, shall be recorded. It doesn't say "only line 3 and 4 duty status changes". It very clearly says FOR EACH CHANGE OF DUTY STATUS, THE NAME OF THE CITY, TOWN, OR VILLIAGE, WITH STATE ABBREVIATION, SHALL BE RECORDED.
#24
Yes I do know how and what a legal bracket is, I just drew that line to do it real quick. but unless I am missing something and assuming that line 3 was a different line, that is exactly how it would look, only the bracket would be drawn as an arc below the time line grid.
My point was that you cannot continue the "bracket" line on the TIMELINE below your line 3 entry. It should have stopped when you went on line 3. According to J.J. Keller's instructions for scannable logs, you don't need either a continuous timeline, OR even a remark line when you started driving from the same location you went off duty at. I realize the regs state (or may be interpreted) differently. But, J.J. Kellar has a long and successful relationship with the DOT and their computers. I believe you need a vertical line in the TIMELINE grid for EACH change of duty status, but not a FLAG line in the comments section unless the location has changed. However.... I would always include a flagged location remark for a change of duty TO line 3 or 4 following a required OFF DUTY break (even though the location is the same.) Going back to your original post, what you do is consistent with the examples in the J.J. Kellar scannable logbook. But, I would include a vertical line in the TIMELINE for each change of duty status. For the sake of the computer recognition, I would even include one for a change from line 1 to line 2 or back. However, I don't believe a "flag line" in the remarks section, showing the location, is required. I ALSO don't believe it is necessary to bracket an entire 10 hour break (or 34 hour restart) on the timeline grid. Especially if you include a location flag for the time and location that you go back on duty. NOW.... will you PLEASE edit your post and omit the LAST fork in your "dinner fork line?" I am really tired of scrolling because you overstepped the limits of the program!!! :hellno:
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Remember... friends are few and far between. TRUCKIN' AIN'T FOR WUSSES!!! "I am willing to admit that I was wrong." The Rev.
#25
PLEASE EDIT YOUR FORKIN' POST!!!
__________________
Remember... friends are few and far between. TRUCKIN' AIN'T FOR WUSSES!!! "I am willing to admit that I was wrong." The Rev.
#26
(c) For each change of duty status, the name of the city, town or village, with State abbreviation, shall be recorded.
#27
Senior Board Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: East Central IL between the corn and the beans
Posts: 4,977
Anyone get the impression when it comes to log books golfhobo's starts out with either:
Captain's Log, Stardate...... or Dear Diary.......
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Finding the right trucking company is like finding the right person to marry. I really comes down to finding one whose BS you can put up with and who can put up wih yours.
#28
Hey I like that, I am going to start using Captain's log and Stardate on all my logs!
__________________
My Trucking Blog: http://matcattruckin.blogspot.com/ Website I am making for drivers: http://www.4thedriver.com As I sit looking all around, Confusion and uncertainty is all I found. The answers are there, But I do not know where. Optimistic and hopeful dreams, Are all I have so it seems. The future I do not know, So all I can do is take it slow. But I do know it will work out, So I wait and watch without a doubt.
#29
My logs are always clean, clear and proper! I've had NO DOT officer spend more than a minute looking them over, because they are "spiffy" enough for them to know that I am doing it right. Well.... except that ONE guy! HE was right that I was wrong, but I was right that HE was wrong! No problem.... I carried a spare "driver" in my sleeper! :clap:
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Remember... friends are few and far between. TRUCKIN' AIN'T FOR WUSSES!!! "I am willing to admit that I was wrong." The Rev. Last edited by golfhobo; 05-03-2009 at 09:35 AM.
#30
If that's the case, you've never really had your logs checked out on the road. The neatness of the log is irrelevant to the correctness of the log. |

