Fact-o-the-matter is - while a majority of drivers "fudge" on their logs - this guy happened to KILL FIVE PEOPLE and had his logs AUDITED as a result. While I'm pretty damn sure he never intended to slide his rig into a school bus, doing so was the reason he was audited.
"Witch Hunt"? Bet yer azz, and deservedly so. I wonder what line he was SUPPOSED TO actually BE ON, when he mowed down the school bus.
I'm a newb, still in school - so WTF do I know anyway. Our instructor told us he's not going to TEACH US how to cheat the logs - but that he might drop (thinly veiled) hints on how to "log creatively for maximum profit".
There are BLATANT CHEATERS, and there are folks who fudge a little, to get the job done.
In a "perfect world", shippers would load appointments on time, receivers would unload on time, dispatchers would look at your logs/QC and dispatch correctly (factoring in weather, traffic conditions, remaining hours, etc.) and FMCSA would return the spilt provisions so that "reasonable drivers" could take a 2-3 hour nap (instead of a full 8) to avoid rush hour and still move the 14 hour stop time.
The incident above, only gives FMSCA more ammo to require carriers to put in onboard computers and institute Zero Tolerance compliance. Maybe if our hours are TRULY VERIFIABLE, they WILL bring back the pre-05 split conditions. Regardless of us being "Super-Truckers", I BELIEVE THAT working for more than 14 hours (without a nap/rest) creates TIRED DRIVERS - and that Tired Drivers are DANGEROUS DRIVERS.
I've done plenty of long distance driving in a 36K lb. bus (personally owned/no logs), and have been forced to drive INTO EXHAUSTION to get the job done - stopping only when I KNEW I had reached the limits of my ability to continue to drive SAFELY ("Mans got to know his limitations" - Dirty Harry).
Even the "saints" among us can probably not claim 100% perfect logs. I'm no saint myself - but DO plan on running as close to compliant as humanly possible. But, if you're rolling through toll-booths while claiming lines 1 & 2, yer gonna get picked off eventually. If you're driving while in sleep deficit on a regular basis - yer gonna get into an accident eventually. If you nail a school busload of kids, yer gonna get hung out to dry. This guy is lucky a lynch mob doesn't drag him out to the NEAREST TREE. How would you feel if YOUR KIDS were on that bus?
Rick