Hours of service violations and eager truck drivers

The CDL regulations state that a truck driver may not drive over 60 hours a week (roughly speaking with subtle variations, there are some instances when a driver may operate a little over 60 hours)

According to The "Truckers Report.com website: http://www.thetruckersreport.com the Hours of Service Rules were adopted way back in 1934 and updated every few years or so depending on the number of accidents attributed to tired truck drivers.

Read in depth here:
http://www.thetruckersreport.com/hours/new_hours_of_service_rules_for_truckers.shtml

Ok, we estabilished that the laws says one thing... now what happens in the real world where trucking companys want to get X amount of work done and drivers hungry for a paycheck want to get X amount of money in they're paycheck?

People break the rules.

When I was a young man, especially when I was paid time and a half... I frequently went over 60 hours... when you deliver home heating oil and it's a blizzard, the DOT relaxes the hours rules. When the temperature drops below say 20 degrees, for a certain length of time, people might freeze to death if their tank runs empty.

Ice storms also cause public saftey issues when oil tanks cannot be filled - those instances of working till you drop are understandable (especially if you're wanting a fat pay check!)

But... when you're so tired that you hit a curb, you need to park the truck!

Tractor Trailer drives are supposed to fill out a log book

Log books are required to track a drivers hours on duty, but if you're running under 100 mile radius, you don't have to keep a log. This does not mean you're legally allowed to drive when you're too tired to drive.

What happens if you hit someone and you're over hours?

Whose CDL is in danger?

YOURS

The company might get in trouble, but YOU are definately going to get in trouble.

The company can easily afford to pay the fine

You probably can not afford to pay the fine

The fine is going to be 'peanuts' for the company to pay (slap on the wrist)

The The Fine YOU have to pay is going to be more than a months pay

And if someone dies?

YOU ARE GOING TO JAIL, probably not your company

When was the last time I was so tired I hit a curb?



Delivering the US mail last December. I drove 26 consecutive days delivering Mail during the Christmas season extra run from Frederick's Tilco Post Office Warehouse to Shady Grove in Gaithersburg 16501 Shady Grove Rd, Gaithersburg, MD.

From Frederick Maryland CDL Truck Driving Jobs

The run was just under 100 miles, I believe it was 49 miles each way, so technically we were not required to keep a log, but 26 consecutive days?

What do you think would have happened if I refused to drive one of those 26 straight days?

We'll never know, because I was hired as a Christmas temporary driver, seasonal driver and wanted to have that job full time... so I didn't complain.

What I wanted was the health insurance that came with being a US Postal Contractor driver, not a US Post Office employee, but an employee of a US Postal Contractor. As an aging baby boomer driver, I was aware that I have health issues that need to be addressed. And as a often self employed person, I never had health insurance for very long, so I really wanted that job.

In the end, I was fired, Fired for being sick?

Yup, you see it turns out that Maryland is a "Right to Work" state. You can be fired for any reason within the first 90 days of employment.

When was I fired?

The 89th day.

Moral of the story?

If you're too tired, park the damn truck.

You can always get another job:

They need us MORE than we need them

Demand EXCEEDS Supply

This site is not responsible for libel, any driver who ever worked for a truck company is welcome to rate any company they worked for, of course if they got fired, they might not give an accurate description of what it was like to work there.