Hours of Service Explained (at last)

What do I mean when I say I only have 38 hours left on my 70 hour clock?

What does it mean when I say my 14 hour clock is ticking?

I will do my very best to explain in layman's terms.

At the beginning of my working cycle (I can't use work week, because truck drivers work for 3 to 6 weeks at a time), I have a clean slate to work with. I get 70 hours on my weekly clock and in the trucking world, a week is 8 days,14 hours on my daily clock, and 11 hours on my driving clock. Now, we all know the day is 24 hours long, correct? Truck drivers are mandated to take a 10 hour break each day so that leaves them 14 hours in which to work. Within that 14 hours, a driver can only drive for a maximum of 11 hours.  Once the clock has been started, it doesn't stop until the driver completes a 10 hour break.  Now, if a driver is held up anywhere for any reason after he has started his day (clocked in, if you will) for longer than 3 hours (combined time, if there is more than one stop), the 14 hour clock is still ticking.  That means the driver will not get to drive the full 11 hours that day.  In the meantime, for every on-duty minute, including drive-time, the 70 hour clock is also ticking. Unlike the 14 hour clock, however, the 70 hour clock does stop when a driver goes off-duty (that includes sleeper berth time). However, if a driver's 70 hour clock runs out of time before the 8th working day, he can reset his clock by taking a 34-hour reset. After being off-duty (including sleeper berth time) for a consecutive 34 hours, every clock resets to default.  I should explain that after a 10 hour break (off-duty and/or sleeper berth), only the 11 hour drive clock and the 14 hour work clock are reset.  And now, the FMCSA have thrown a monkey wrench into the 34 hour reset rule. Now, in order to complete a total reset, the 34 hours MUST include two consecutive times of 1am to 5am.  In other words, if a driver goes down before 7pm for a 34 hour break, he will, in essence, have to take longer than 34 hours for the reset to be complete. So what happens at the end of the 7th day and going into the 8th day if the driver hasn't used up all 70 hours on his clock? Well, he gets to add into the hours that he worked 8 days ago into his today times. Huh? Okay, here we go... Let's say I started working on Monday. On Monday, I worked a total of 10 hours and 11 minutes, then took my break. On Tuesday, I worked for 8 hours and 33 minutes. On Wednesday, I only worked 5 hours and 42 minutes.  On Thursday, I worked for 6 hours and 14 minutes. On Friday, I worked for 9 hours exactly. On Saturday, I worked for 9 hours and 27 minutes. On Sunday, I worked for 10 hours and 39 minutes.  That leaves me a grand total of 9 hours and 15 minutes (give or take) on my clock (supposing I'm using paper logs and have to round up to the nearest quarter hour). Now, on the following Monday, I can add the hours I worked the last Monday making my total for the day, 19.5 hours. So, I work for 11 hours and 20 minutes that day, leaving me with 8 hours. On Tuesday, I roll over last Tuesday, bringing me to 16.5 hours. And so on. I can continue to do this as long as I don't run out of hours. This is what we call "running off the recap." Some of us can do this for months at a time, as long as we don't work too many hours for too many days. If, for instance, a driver pushes hard, and works for 11 hours a day for 6 days, that's 66 hours and now he only has 4 hours left on his clock and nothing to roll over. Hence the 34 hour reset.  But now, we can only take a 34 hour reset once every 7 days. So if a driver pushes too hard for too long, he will find himself sitting more than he would like to.  And so yes, many drivers are complaining about the new rules. I hope you all understand now that a truck driver works longer and harder than any other worker out there. When we are on the road, we don't get days off. I oftentimes work for 4 to 6 weeks straight without a day off. And when I do get home, I only get one day off for every week out there, but no more than 4 or 5 days off.  So, essentially, I'm out for a month and home for a week. And, YES, I love my job!!

New Hours of Service Regulations

The FMCSA (Federal something-something-something ... The powers that be) has given all professional drivers (except bus drivers) new rules with which to comply.  As of July 1, 2013, we must now take a mandatory 30 minute break for every 8 hours of ON-DUTY time (including driving). A lot of us had already been doing that when time permitted, but if a driver is on a tight schedule (or a hot load), a 30 minute break is a luxury we could ill afford. The best part is shippers and receivers are going to have to start taking that into account, as well, and schedule loads accordingly. Problem is I haven't seen it being done, and July 1 is next week! Case in point: I am picking up a load tomorrow morning that is going to Pennsylvania for a total of 2520 miles. The delivery is scheduled for July 4. I will have 5 days to get it there on time. I will have to drive between 550 and 600 miles per day. And in just two days, I will have to include a 30 minute break in that time schedule. As it is, my calculation tell me I need 50 hours to get this load there. I only have 38 hours left on my 70 hour clock. I think a trailer swap is in my future.

The Hurry Up and Wait Game

One thing I have noticed, in the trucking industry there is a lot of this "hurry up and wait" business. The company planners, aka Logistics, will often give me a last minute load so that I have to rush around getting prepared for said load. Sometimes, I will have to find a trailer. Or I might have to start driving without really knowing all the details until I reach my first destination. Often, they schedule the load so tight that initially it looks like I can just barely make it, but with the company's regulations on how fast I can drive, along the way, I discover I'm going to be late. But I continue to push my hours and miles to try to get as close as possible to the scheduled appointment, only to be told (usually just before I get there) appointment was rescheduled for two days from now. Great! So, now I'm sitting for two days. Case in point: I was on a load that delivered the next day but it was a drop and I was given to ok to drop it a day early, since I was arriving a day early. I gave them an eta of 15:00. At 13:00-something, they gave me a new load to be picked up at 15:00 located about 2 hours away from where I was dropping. I had to drive thru Portland (OR) 5pm Friday traffic. Needless to say, I didn't arrive at my drop at 15:00. I got there at 16:30. I left there at 17:00. Meanwhile, I called my dispatcher, aka DM, to let her know I was stuck in traffic. No problem, I'm told. If you can't get to the load by 17:00, just park for your break on their property and pick up the trailer in the a.m. (I have to go down for break anyway cuz I'm nearing the end of my 14 hour day.) so, I hook up to the trailer around 07:30 and finally roll before 09:00 the next day. The load delivers in Missouri in three days. I can drive the distance in three days, but it'll take all three days to get near my first delivery, which was scheduled at 11:00. I won't be arriving until around 18:00. Meanwhile, my 70 hour clock has 28 hours left on it, and I need about 25 hours, give or take, to deliver this load. By the way, it's a three stop delivery of live plants. So they reschedule my first stop for the next day at 08:00. I ask for directions on the in-cab computer and follow them .... To nowhere. I circle the area, even driving into a shopping center, but cannot find my destination. I pull over and call the company. Turns out, someone screwed up and wrote the wrong address, therefore getting the wrong directions. I call the nursery and get correct information. Of course, my clock is ticking the whole time and by the time they are done unloading me, I have one hour and change left on my clock. I cannot deliver to the next two stops legally without taking a 34 hour reset. Thank God the last two destinations were understanding and rescheduled my appointments for after my reset. Hurry up and wait. I am learning to like this game.