Quote:
Originally Posted by golfhobo
There's really NO WAY for ME to run more miles. My truck outruns the speed limit, [along with the "flow" of traffic that is doing the SAME!] and therefore the number of miles I can run in my "allotted" 11 hours of driving.
Except that when you hide alot of stuff on Line 1 & 2 and use trucker math on Lines 3 & 4, it gives you more time on your 70 to run. Speed averaging for example. Ain't a long-hauler out there that doesn't do it. But is it legal? No.
Quote:
Look at it THIS way: DOT doesn't want me to be driving after 14 hours on duty. Let's say, within that 14 hour window, I can drive the maximum miles allowable, by speed limits, attainable within the 11 hours allowed to be driving. But, traffic slows me down, or I stop for a break or three. Or I sit (and nap) at a shipper for 3 hours waiting on someone to pick my lettuce! Point is... sometimes I get there too early. Other times, I might be OVER 11 hours driving, but UNDER 14 hours on duty. I've HAD several breaks. I'm NOT breaking the "spirit" of the law. Or I scaled at the wrong time, or passed thru a tollbooth too early....
I've slept for AT LEAST 10 hours before starting my day. Sometimes, I have to leave one place early in the morning to be "in position" for a load later in the day. I get LOTS of time off while waiting, but not a full 8 hour "sleeper berth" break. Then, I get the dispatch to go get my load. I waste 4 hours waiting to get loaded. Then, my BOL and/or scale ticket says I was there at a certain time. But, I need to lay down some miles.
If you're at home, and get up at 8 a.m., and only get 4 hours of work in for the day, do you want someone telling you that you have to "go to bed" at 10 p.m. that night??? Are you still a CHILD??? I haven't had a 10 p.m curfew since I was 8 years old!
If you want MY "take" on it.... here it is: We should be allowed to drive 11 hours PER 24 hour day, period! As a "team driver" I can NOW maximize my hours to drive nearly 14 hours a day! Just give me 11 (or 12) hours of driving time in 24 hours, and let ME decide when to take a nap, and for how long, and where! Just let me GET my 11 hours worth of miles!
By forcing me to try to GET my 11 hours driving, within a 14 hour window, after wasting 6 hours at shippers doing NOTHING, you make me drive FASTER, LONGER without breaks, and "POSSIBLY" beyond my 14 hour window and "fudge" my logs!
I totally comprehend the DESIRED regulation for an 8 hour continuous sleep every 24 hours.... and THAT is what the regs are aimed at. I am NOT in favor of the "old" 5 and 5 system! But, I RESENT being "timed" at every fuel stop or scale or weigh station along the way towards getting my 600-700 miles per day! Some days, I might not GET that many! FINE! "I" know when I'm sleepy and need to "restart."
I'm all FOR keeping truckers from running 18 hours a day with no sleep! But, there has GOT to be a better way of doing it!
And.... if you read the final ruling on the fmcsa website, you'll see that I am NOT the only one who feels this way!
Hobo
I understand what you're saying but unfortunately the law is not open to interpretation. Whether you agree with it or not is irrelevant.
Put it to you like this: say you're sitting at an intersection and a drunk plows into you and kills himself. Opposing lawyers go over your logbook, qualcomm records, receipts, tolls, shippers/receivers logs etc. Oops, seems like you were 15 minutes over your 14 when the incident occurred. Guess what? The attorneys will argue that had you been running a 100% DOT complaint logbook, you would have been shut down and not been there. Which means you go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200.00. Say goodbye to your house, car, savings, CDL, etc.
That's why ALL that stuff has to match up and you MUST log it like you do it. Otherwise you're breaking the law and exposing yourself to HUGE liabilities.
