Confirmed: E-logs suck

[Duck]

I just went into town for cigarettes. On my way into town, there was a US Xpress parked in a little gravel pullover area just outside of town, with his 4-ways on.

On my way home he was still there. So I stopped & asked if he was alright. US Xpress & Werner trucks frequently get lost in & around that town because I think both companies have some bad directions in their systems. And I also see trucks stop for a minute or two in that spot but never hang out long. I did it once simply because a shipper kicked me out IMMEDIATELY after I was loaded & didn't even give me time to update my paper log.

I'm wearing a Kenworth t-shirt so he realized I was a truck driver & didn't waste any time trying to dumb-down his explanation. A shipper about a mile away detained him until he was out of hours, then made him leave. I know the place. It's a fenced-in, gated facility & they chain the gate shut when they close for the day. Between the gate & the street, there's no room for a truck & all up & down that street there are "no parking" signs. And there are no grease stains on the pavement from parked trucks, so I know it's enforced. All or most of those places in that industrial park are like that.

His e-log parameters are set so he could only "limp" for about a mile, and he left thinking he'd probably find some place to stop. The only place in the area was that gravel pullover area right on the north edge of town where the speed limit goes up to 55.

He needs to sit there for about another 90 minutes. I asked if he could limp another 2.5 miles & he couldn't. There's a little business park with a tire shop, small O/O fleet, truck repair shop & a flatbed trailer dealer and they're all closed & there's no fence & plenty of room, but he couldn't move another inch without getting a violation.

So he has to sit on the side of a 4 lane highway with a 55 speed limit (and 65 mph traffic) parked with his truck less than a foot from the pavement. His mirror was directly over the white line.

WTF?

 

[Injun]

That's not the e-logs. If you falsify your logs to get to a parking spot after the shipper/receiver kicks you out, you're still in violation.

There are two factors at fault: The shipper for wasting his time and the law for not allowing a driver to get to a safe place when that happens.

 

[Uncle Birchy]

That's not the e-logs. If you falsify your logs to get to a parking spot after the shipper/receiver kicks you out, you're still in violation.

There are two factors at fault: The shipper for wasting his time and the law for not allowing a driver to get to a safe place when that happens.

On the paper I know there is a REMARKS SECTION

Of course on paper you would just lose half an hour or so somewhere but dont elogs allow for this as well.or is a safe parking spot not a valid excuse?

 

[Buckboard]

Isn't there that little, "Safe Haven", card you can play now and then? When I was with Werner I got hung out to dry a couple times and would qualcom and talk to logs (Werner has 24/7 logs support...or did) and I'd get an extra 5, 10, 12 miles if I could tell them where I needed to go to be safe. It was not to be abused. There is that way you can drive about 2 miles and hour for a shot distance and trick the satellite. Works good for truck stops creeping around to find a spot when the final buzzer went off signaling....GAME OVER!!

 

[Tazz]

Take the violation. Elogs do not shut the truck off. Elogs did not hold him up until he was out of hours.

 

[krelithous]

I just went into town for cigarettes. On my way into town, there was a US Xpress parked in a little gravel pullover area just outside of town, with his 4-ways on.

On my way home he was still there. So I stopped & asked if he was alright. US Xpress & Werner trucks frequently get lost in & around that town because I think both companies have some bad directions in their systems. And I also see trucks stop for a minute or two in that spot but never hang out long. I did it once simply because a shipper kicked me out IMMEDIATELY after I was loaded & didn't even give me time to update my paper log.

I'm wearing a Kenworth t-shirt so he realized I was a truck driver & didn't waste any time trying to dumb-down his explanation. A shipper about a mile away detained him until he was out of hours, then made him leave. I know the place. It's a fenced-in, gated facility & they chain the gate shut when they close for the day. Between the gate & the street, there's no room for a truck & all up & down that street there are "no parking" signs. And there are no grease stains on the pavement from parked trucks, so I know it's enforced. All or most of those places in that industrial park are like that.

His e-log parameters are set so he could only "limp" for about a mile, and he left thinking he'd probably find some place to stop. The only place in the area was that gravel pullover area right on the north edge of town where the speed limit goes up to 55.

He needs to sit there for about another 90 minutes. I asked if he could limp another 2.5 miles & he couldn't. There's a little business park with a tire shop, small O/O fleet, truck repair shop & a flatbed trailer dealer and they're all closed & there's no fence & plenty of room, but he couldn't move another inch without getting a violation.

So he has to sit on the side of a 4 lane highway with a 55 speed limit (and 65 mph traffic) parked with his truck less than a foot from the pavement. His mirror was directly over the white line.

WTF?

i would never want e-logs in my truck after all the times i heard about the darn thing fucking up maybe they fixed most of it now who knows but i heard stories where e-logs has done a bunch of things LOL. ill stick to my coloring books till there madatory as you know thats all about revenue. maybe these idiots in the goverment are finaly figuring out that mcdondalds isn't a real job what a surprize

 

[Duck]

What happened was "reality".

What's the easier solution, .. trying to wage a one-man war against HOS when even OOIDA & ATA joined together can't get any common sense out of Washington, trying to wage a one-man war against a shipper when your own company would prefer to kiss their ass, or just fudge a paper log & drive illegally to a safe parking spot?

E-logs prevented that driver from using the most common-sense solution to his problem.

 

[Tazz]

Why? Drive to the spot, make a note, when safety calls document the 35 phone calls he should have been making to ops as he ran out of time.

However he chose to sit on the side of the road, let me repeat that, he chose to sit there. Elogs do not shut off a truck, despite popular fantasy. All they do is record what you do.

 

[krelithous]

What happened was "reality".

What's the easier solution, .. trying to wage a one-man war against HOS when even OOIDA & ATA joined together can't get any common sense out of Washington, trying to wage a one-man war against a shipper when your own company would prefer to kiss their ass, or just fudge a paper log & drive illegally to a safe parking spot?

E-logs prevented that driver from using the most common-sense solution to his problem.

trying to get any sence out of washington thats the funniest shit that i heard . yea i admit it id'e probily fudge the papers up a lil so i can get to a safe spot. i would never kiss a shippers ass. the way i feel about we should be paid to sit and sit there if need be while they screw off and we should be allowed to use the bathroom as well and treated like fucking human beings. and we should be allowed to do our ten hr breaks if need be in there parking lot but we know that this is not how it works in reality. and this is my honest opinion of the goverment all the way to the bank . all they do is talk shit and steal our money and there trying to make us there slaves since were now working for them and not them working for us like there suppossed to.

 

[Injun]

There is a REMARKS SECTION on e-logs, too. However, that does NOT negate the fact that falsified logs and hours violations are both violations, with falsification carrying the heavier weight.

There is NO SAFE HAVEN provision for property carrying commercial vehicles in the Lower 48. There is only an extension of the 11-Hour Rule in extreme cases of emergency conditions. Shippers/receivers wasting driver time does not qualify.

 

[krelithous]

There is a REMARKS SECTION on e-logs, too. However, that does NOT negate the fact that falsified logs and hours violations are both violations, with falsification carrying the heavier weight.

There is NO SAFE HAVEN provision for property carrying commercial vehicles in the Lower 48. There is only an extension of the 11-Hour Rule in extreme cases of emergency conditions. Shippers/receivers wasting driver time does not qualify.

yea i know shippers and receivers don't qualify just our wonderfull goverment working for us. though i think that shippers should have laws on how long they can hold a driver up. but thats to much common sence

 

[Duck]

Why? Drive to the spot, make a note, when safety calls document the 35 phone calls he should have been making to ops as he ran out of time.

However he chose to sit on the side of the road, let me repeat that, he chose to sit there. Elogs do not shut off a truck, despite popular fantasy. All they do is record what you do.

I'm surprised that a guy with a Patriot avatar & "MOLON LABE" in his signature line would be arguing in support of what is the equivalent of an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet being attached to every one of us that requires us to conform 100% to rules made up by dumbass Washington bureaucrats.

Those rules do not allow any wiggle room in these situations, nor will they ever, as long as retarded bureaucrats write them & anti-business groups continue to lobby & sue to impose their agenda of eventually having all truck drivers limited to driving 2 hours a day.

I've been in that exact same situation before & I've chosen to blatantly violate HOS rules to get to a place where I can park for 10 hours. But I drive for a smaller carrier than US Xpress & am on a first-name basis with all the office desk jockies and I know I can get them to "fix" the log after I get to a safe parking spot.

I have no idea how it works with US Xpress in those situations, or whether they'll fire a driver or sabotage his DAC if he gets too many log violations.

 

[Injun]

@krelithous , I agree completely. But the laws will remain what they are as long as the business lobby is stronger than the transportation lobby. In other words, 'til Hell freezes over.

 

[krelithous]

@krelithous , I agree completely. But the laws will remain what they are as long as the business lobby is stronger than the transportation lobby. In other words, 'til Hell freezes over.

totaly agree

 

[krelithous]

I'm surprised that a guy with a Patriot avatar & "MOLON LABE" in his signature line would be arguing in support of what is the equivalent of an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet being attached to every one of us that requires us to conform 100% to rules made up by dumbass Washington bureaucrats.

Those rules do not allow any wiggle room in these situations, nor will they ever, as long as retarded bureaucrats write them & anti-business groups continue to lobby & sue to impose their agenda of eventually having all truck drivers limited to driving 2 hours a day.

I've been in that exact same situation before & I've chosen to blatantly violate HOS rules to get to a place where I can park for 10 hours. But I drive for a smaller carrier than US Xpress & am on a first-name basis with all the office desk jockies and I know I can get them to "fix" the log after I get to a safe parking spot.

I have no idea how it works with US Xpress in those situations, or whether they'll fire a driver or sabotage his DAC if he gets too many log violations.

what america needs to do is get up off there asses and take over the country and run these retards out. but like ijun has said till hell freezes over

 

[Blood]

I'm surprised that a guy with a Patriot avatar & "MOLON LABE" in his signature line would be arguing in support of what is the equivalent of an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet being attached to every one of us that requires us to conform 100% to rules made up by dumbass Washington bureaucrats.

In this case the company has initiated a policy requiring the use of elogs by it's employees...
which the dumb sum itches have every right to do.
A whole different discussion than whether elogs ought to be mandated.
So (God help me) I agree with Tazz in this case....
dammit!!

That being said, the M/O of FMCSA for the last few years has been to sift through the logs of some larger companies and extort them into using elogs by levying enormous fines for (mostly) B/S violations but then agreeing to wave the fines if the companies agree to install elogs.
It's their method of ignoring the FACT that (so far) they do not have the authority to mandate elogs.
FMCSA is a bigger bunch of crooks than the crooks they police.
That's where Tazz and I usually transition from a meeting of minds to bashing heads.

That thick-headed friggin' grunt!!

 

[Duck]

In this case the company has initiated a policy requiring the use of elogs by it's employees...
which the dumb sum itches have every right to do.
A whole different discussion than whether elogs ought to be mandated.
So (God help me) I agree with Tazz in this case....
dammit!!

That being said, the M/O of FMCSA for the last few years has been to sift through the logs of some larger companies and extort them into using elogs by levying enormous fines for (mostly) B/S violations but then agreeing to wave the fines if the companies agree to install elogs.
It's their method of ignoring the FACT that (so far) they do not have the authority to mandate elogs.
FMCSA is a bigger bunch of crooks than the crooks they police.
That's where Tazz and I usually transition from a meeting of minds to bashing heads.

That thick-headed friggin' grunt!!

So government bullies the fleets into using e-logs.

Effectively the same as a mandate. They say "pay big fines or switch to e-logs".

If e-logs WERE "officially" mandated, it would be the same thing. "pay big fines or switch to e-logs".

 

[Blood]

If e-logs WERE "officially" mandated, it would be the same thing. "pay big fines or switch to e-logs".

No.
If/when elogs are officially mandated the options will be
A) get compliant by the enforcement date.
or
B) we will shut you down and throw your ass in jail.

 

[Duck]

No.
If/when elogs are officially mandated the options will be
A) get compliant by the enforcement date.
or
B) we will shut you down and throw your ass in jail.

C) we will fire the next "shot heard 'round the world"

 

[Tazz]

Duck it is very simple. There are a very few things a government is supposed to do. As I have asked before give me a better alternative to fund, build, and enforce the use of public roads.

Yeah I know everyone gets tired of hearing it, but driving on public roads is not a right. I will defend with my life if necessary all of my rights. But you and I choose to participate in the use of these roads. No one is forcing you. Right now use of these roads in a commercial vehicle requires compliance to the HOS whether they make sense or not. That driver had several options he chose one that put him and others in danger.

All elogs do is track compliance. Nothing more, nothing less.