Are those the same guys that say that everytime something changes?
They said that about the speed limit and they said it about piss tests.
Then they said it about fingerprints, but they are still around.
I am being forced into running electronic logs
- Thread starter Mike
- Start date
They said that about the speed limit and they said it about piss tests.
Then they said it about fingerprints, but they are still around.
2xR
******* Derelict *******
I've heard one horror story about the e-logs. It will log you as driving, when technically you aren't. For instance, you stop, fuel, and park at the Pilot long enough to take care of the three S's. Most drivers would log line 1 when they finished fueling to begin their 10 hour break. You then decide you'll probably puke if you eat another Subway sandwich this week, so, you jump back in the truck and drive next door, or, across the street to the T/A or Petro for dinner. You took the truck because it woulda' been a long and dangerous hike, plus, when the meal is done, it's nap time. Bam!!! You just got busted for driving when you was off duty. The e-log doesn't know the difference between personal conveyance, and, haulin' freight. That sucks.
Hey Mike... is QC instigating this, or, the O/O's insurance company? You're good help... they would probably like to keep you. There must be a work-around.
Hey Mike... is QC instigating this, or, the O/O's insurance company? You're good help... they would probably like to keep you. There must be a work-around.
R
Racer X 69
Guest
Our terminal is one of the last affiliates that isn't using them, and QC is pushing us really hard to start using them.
My biggest issue with this is that I am one of the crash test dummies for this. If all of the drivers here were using it, I wouldn't mind so much. Knowing the other drivers are going to continue getting loads that I can't get now is what annoys me.
just thinking here. what would happened if everyone that has e-logs started to unplug the power and discontent the sat at the end of a shift ( e-log shift) then drove down the road 100 miles or more, then took a 10 hr brk and after the break plug every thing back. what could the company do? if you blame it on a computer problems, just wandering,
saddlesore
Well-Known Member
Hopefully I can "hide out" for another 4 years..... then .... tell the Employer...."ADIOS MOFO"
2xR
******* Derelict *******
Yes... I believe you are.
R
Racer X 69
Guest
When I worked at the power company they put a bunch of technology in the pickups that the collectors (the guys that go out and collect or disconnect on delinquent accounts) drove, including a GPS system. On of them though he would be a smart guy and disconnect the unit so he could continue his habit of effing off and spending a good portion of his day at his house watching TV and not doing his job. The company got hip to that real quick and confronted him about it. He claimed it must have been accidentally disconnected when he stuffed his coat behind the seat where the equipment was.
As a mechanic I was asked to devise a second system and hide it in the vehicle. I did as I was asked to do. The next week this dimwit went out and acted as before, "accidentally" disconnecting the system.
A week after that he was looking for a new job.
He only had 5 years to go before he could have retired and started drawing his state pension.
What a maroon.
Sean McQuaid
Whiny baby
Actually that "one hour" I mentioned was something of an error. I just remembered a time when I had a night delivery in Newark, N.J.. The delivery/unload finally happened within an hour of my clock running out for the day. And you are NOT allowed to shut down where I delivered. P.D.T. was the only option (obviously) to get me somewhere I could shut down. I was not familiar with N.J. laws about shutting down anywhere other than a truck stop or rest area (so I did not even consider Wal Mart - etc.). I put in for P.D.T., and was approved as I was MT. So I proceeded to deadhead south on the N.J. TPK to get to the nearest truck stop/service area. We all know how it often is in the N.E. (especially anywhere near N.Y.C.) getting a spot in one of these places after 5 in the afternoon. Well that's how it was for me. One service area after another had no available spots, so onward I went until I got to the PA TPK interchange. I then decided to make my way to a drop yard we used in Fairless Hills, Pa (which also has a decent shower facility). End result, the trip to shut down was almost TWO hours, and I still had no Qualcomm message saying P.D.T. has ended. Matter of fact, I did not get the "P.D.T. has ended" notification until well after I showered and was in my bunk. I think if the folks I drove for who I do not even want to trouble myself with a keystroke on (We all know who was the only big carrier approved for this e-logging and who pretty much pioneered it), just about anyone else will allow you to get home or wherever if you are at the end of your 11 or 14 and not under a load. If anyone allows ONLY up to ONE hour for P.D.T., that may have been the only redeeming thing about who I worked for (the redeeming thing is I had far more than an hour to get wherever I needed to go to shut down). Who can really say who will adopt this and who will not? But I can tell you that the days of running a short distance for a good meal - etc. when you're off duty will be gone for those who end up with this. Not without asking for P.D.T., and if they do it by the book, you won't get it if you're under a load. You'll be under more scrutiny than you are now with the e-logging, and you'll be doing constant log corrections because I know that to this day, the system still puts you on the wrong duty status in the situations I mentioned in my post yesterday.
Hopefully this will be of some help for any reader (member and non-member alike) who has come to this thread and has concerns about a system they have not had the dubious privilege to use. In the end, if you're not under a load, you'll get home if you're within 100 miles or so if the company allows as much P.D.T. as I was allowed on this particular instance. If you are under a load, it won't matter if you're 10 miles from home. Pass that 11th or 14th hour - BAM - log warning or violation (a warning happened to me twice because I went a minute or two too long in getting to a truck stop to shut down - get too many warnings, and you start getting hit with violations). So I'd suggest (to those running with e-logs) looking for a place to shut down when you're within an hour of your H.O.S. running out for the day.
Being allowed by your company to consider running around empty as "PDT" is a very shady area I don't want to be in.
As clearly as I can understand FMCSA, the only time you can be considered driving a truck for personal use is when you are not hooked to a trailer. Under CSA, I would focus on what FMCSA allows rather than depending on what my company tells me.
In my situation, I know I cannot pull my trailer back home under "personal time" because I pull a tank and the tank isn't considered empty until it has been cleaned.
As clearly as I can understand FMCSA, the only time you can be considered driving a truck for personal use is when you are not hooked to a trailer. Under CSA, I would focus on what FMCSA allows rather than depending on what my company tells me.
In my situation, I know I cannot pull my trailer back home under "personal time" because I pull a tank and the tank isn't considered empty until it has been cleaned.
bigyellowpete
Town Bike
The rules in Canada for personal use are about the same. No trailer, and less than 60 miles I think.
trucker2011
New Member
is the theory that DOT will be able to spot cheaters of logsheets faster or just lazy admin people not wanting to have to do as much work?
bigyellowpete
Town Bike
I think that they want EOBR's paired with some type of GPS system, so not only is your log paperless, but the locations are stored as well. That way there is no screwing with the data. If it shows people the real productivity under the law, it should drive up rates as well as wages, so I am not 100% against it in theory. I am happy to let the big boys out there sort it out while I run around on loose leaf in my pre-emissions truck though.
Cave man trucking at it's best.
Cave man trucking at it's best.
R
Racer X 69
Guest
Electronic logs are supposed to be "easier", and less likely to have errors and are sold to trucking companies as "simplifying" the driver's log process. Also, there is no need to send in a trip pack with paper logs in it, or have something else to hand in if you are back at the home base at the end of the day, because the log is forwarded to the appropriate office via satellite communication.
Making it easier to bust log cheaters, and allowing for more laziness in the office are just fringe benefits of the system.
EOBR's (electronic on board recorders), when implemented for all trucks, will be used for ensuring rules compliance (busting cheaters).
I think this is what is going to happen to me. They mentioned a GPS system being involved.
bigyellowpete
Town Bike
If a decrease in mileage, and home time, results of this "experiment", will they be adjusting your compensation package to make up for it? I think I would be asking my employer that question right off the top. If the answer wasn't satisfactory, a little resume polishing would result.
Creature of the Wheel
Well-Known Member
here at "red swift," i've been on the paperless/EOBR since last april. i was one of the first dozen to have been put on it due to having less than 20% compliance. despite that, i haven't heard a single thing from the higher-ups or anyone. each terminal/division is different. i'm based out of their main headquarters. phoenix/arizona division will look the other way as long as it's within reason and if you're one of their favorites. i happen to be one of their favorites, and it's not due to kissing ass. i get shit done and don't decline loads unless there is absolutely no way in hell i'll be able to get it there on time.
the paperless logs blow, though. there are many times when the signal dies out and there's a long blank space between where it stopped working and when it finally found a signal. those times are usually the times i'm sleeping. i hate waking up to the qualcomm beeping rapidly showing me on line 4 when i'm on line 2. then there are times where it doesn't register when i went on to line 1 or 2, and when i get rolling 10.25hrs later, it starts popping off with a 14hr violation. due to the frequency of that bullshit, i have been stuffing the qualcomm underneath the bed mattress so i don't have to hear the damn thing and/or see a flashing red light out the corner of my right eye.
unlike so many shit-talkers saying they'll be hanging up the keys. i am actually doing that in less than a month. technical school beckons! i'm going into something a helluva lot better and is expected to grow 25% by 2015.
the paperless logs blow, though. there are many times when the signal dies out and there's a long blank space between where it stopped working and when it finally found a signal. those times are usually the times i'm sleeping. i hate waking up to the qualcomm beeping rapidly showing me on line 4 when i'm on line 2. then there are times where it doesn't register when i went on to line 1 or 2, and when i get rolling 10.25hrs later, it starts popping off with a 14hr violation. due to the frequency of that bullshit, i have been stuffing the qualcomm underneath the bed mattress so i don't have to hear the damn thing and/or see a flashing red light out the corner of my right eye.
unlike so many shit-talkers saying they'll be hanging up the keys. i am actually doing that in less than a month. technical school beckons! i'm going into something a helluva lot better and is expected to grow 25% by 2015.
As soon at the Terminal Manager officially tells me about this, I plan on having a discussion with him about it. Due to the way we run, I know I will be stuck with worse loads while the other 90% of trucks not running the Elogs will get the better runs. The result will no doubt result in me running less miles.
I'm waiting to see what happens, but already looking into possibilities for other jobs if this turns out to have much of a negative impact on my income.
BigMACK
Member
I can feel your pain Mike. We started the Elogs in September of 2010 and I have to tell you that I to have had to stop to take a 10 hour break within 15 miles of my house. If I had paper logs I could make adjustments to stay within the legal limits of location, but the elogs do not recognize what we can do on paper and keep it legal.
I am a short haul driver and was hired with the impression from the company that I would be home every night. And now all that has changed and there is nothing I can do about it except look for work elsewhere. I have also seen a loss in income, about a $3000 drop per year so far. I have always been the kind of driver that has never needed a full 10 hours. It's just to much time for me, I don't care what the statistics say. But what can you do? Nothing with one voice. It will take a state full of truckers to make anything happen.
I am a short haul driver and was hired with the impression from the company that I would be home every night. And now all that has changed and there is nothing I can do about it except look for work elsewhere. I have also seen a loss in income, about a $3000 drop per year so far. I have always been the kind of driver that has never needed a full 10 hours. It's just to much time for me, I don't care what the statistics say. But what can you do? Nothing with one voice. It will take a state full of truckers to make anything happen.
I can imagine what it did to drivers who were doing daily runs like that. I am in a similar situation where where alot of our freight is one day out and one day back, and some of it you can go out and back same day. Elogs is going to make those loads really suck.
One of our loads goes to Brownsville, Texas. 11 hours driving is going to leave you about 30 minuted short of making it there. So now, a very easy two day run (drop and hook at the border) is going to take up 3 days.
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