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Originally Posted by 9ball
i don't see what the problem is --
65 mph multiplied by 70 hours = 4550 miles.
70 hours is 10 hours a day for seven days so why can you not log 4500 miles in one week?
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Here's why: Every time you begin a new day....you are required by the FMCSR's to do a "pre-trip" inspection. All time doing said inspection must be logged on line 4. Even if you only show 15 minutes for the inspection ...you are using up 1 hour and 45 minures in a 7 day period.
Now, in the event that you have someone tell you that you don't have to show any time for pre-trip inspections..they are only half right, because if you don't show it, the only way its going to get by the DOT or a safety audit is if you show the time on the post-trip. Failing to do it on one or the other.....is gonna get you burned and cost you big $$ for a log violation and the fines will be assessed for EACH violation. So if you get nailed for 7 violations....you could be looking at $3500.00...or more, just to get out of the scalehouse. If the offense is determined to be "egregious"....a judge can assess a fine of $11,000.00 and suspend your CDL.
Then, every time that you fuel, get loaded, get unloaded, do a drop and hook you are also required to go on line 4 and show those times as well. If you run 3 loads a week, then you are expending another 1 hour and 30 minutes. So....at a minimum you will have used up 3 hours and 15 minutes. So now you are down to 66.75 hours of driving time. Then add in the fueling times.... at least 45 minutes a week...now you are down to 66 hours.
The further problem is that you will have to do a real "song and dance routine" to convince someone that you "averaged 65 mph" for the whole 66 hours....something nearly impossible. Plus you would have to start and stop exactly on the quarter, half or full hours. And you'd best have a truck set at 70 mph, and have a real serious and sincere demeanor about you.... the DOT Officers that you will encounter are not stupid, nor are they fools.
They also have computer programs that they can plug your stops into and those programs know the speed limits just like my programs....and if you have logged 65 across roads with lower speed limits....you just bought yourself a speeding ticket....even if it happened in a different state, because the Fed granted the states DOT's to do it.
Now what is important to remember is this: You are permitted 70 hours in an EIGHT day period..... once you have expended the 70 hours you are going to pick up a ZERO at midnite....so you will sit for 24 hours before you pick up any hours to run.
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lets say you were in the southwest and texas all week. you could log 65 or 70mph.. :?:
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Maybe, maybe not. If you read the paragraphs above, you would have part of the answer. Beyond that, lets say you are wandering around AZ, and your route shows you coming from the east through NM on I-40 then climbing up to Flagstaff....and right there...in the rest area just past Flagstaff on I-40, you get pulled in by DOT....he looks at your logbook, then looks at your bills...you've got 46,000 lbs of goodies in the box.... its quite possible you've got a serious problem on your hands trying to sell that "65mph" "average speed".....
Folks, other than that....I've logged 7981 miles in FIFTEEN days, and while its only 532 miles per day average....it wasn't easy, it was grueling and given the fact that it involved multiple loads, weird pickup times, weird delivery times, some waiting time.....it was actually "brutal". I called for a shutdown of at least a day....just to sleep and rest. I have quite a bit of stamina doing this....but even I know when to holler "Uncle". Stamina to do this requires alot of acclimation to the job, and being used to having your circadian rythyms all screwed up and being able to live with it. Also being able to sleep on demand...without regard to where or when. And on top of it all....keep your logbook straight.
Besides, maintaining a high average speed means being able to keep the left door closed for a lot of hours.....and its harder to do than you think.
Keep it right, keep it legal, and log it like you drive it!! In the end, if you screw up and have an accident...there is a very high likelihood you will get sued, and the lawyer suing you is going to get the last six months of your logs to examine...they will be "dissected" minute by minute, the fuel stops crosschecked and all the rest....and if his auditors find errors...the least of your worries willbe the LEO's....your big problem will be the judge and jury in a civil court that is going to nail you to the wall and take your income for the next 20 to 50 years to pay off a judgement caused by your foolishness or stupidity....and on top of that....kiss your CDL goodby.