Scheduling...

HI All-

First, let me say that I have gotten more information off this site in the last two weeks, than I have found elsewhere on the net in the last two years, so THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

I still do not understand, though, how the scheduling thing works. Can someone explain to me how many hours a trucker is allowed to drive b/f taking a break, etc.? Does it matter if you are driving during the weekend or on a holiday? Oh, and how do companies handle paying tolls? SO many QUESTIONS!!!!!!!!

"Can someone explain to me how many hours a trucker is allowed to drive b/f taking a break, etc.? "

11 hours driving or 14 total on duty then a 10 hour break in a 24 hour day. But this may change again as the courts threw out the revised hours of service.

"Does it matter if you are driving during the weekend or on a holiday?"

No, most OTR companies run on weekends. You may not be able to load or unload as most places will be closed. Forget weekend and holiday pay, most companies do not pay extra for that. You are just a warm body to them. However there are a few and far between companies that pay very well, but those are not open to new drivers as a general rule.

"Oh, and how do companies handle paying tolls?"

Most of the larger companies have electronic toll tags. That means that you do not need to carry large ammounts of cash. It gets billed to the company.

"SO many QUESTIONS!!!!!!!!"

Ask.

And thats the bottom line because Big Joe said so.

Did you have orientation when you started working for this company? The new HOS should have been explained to you as well as the toll policy which I am sure is the same as the fuel stop policy in that they better match your log books.

In my honest opinion and I mean no bad feelings by this, if you are having this much trouble doing your logs then you need to get your truck back to the terminal and talk to someone in log auditing or the recruiter that did your orientation. Because you are just waiting for trouble.

Ask them for help. They will appreciate it. I have 5 drivers and if one of them needed help I know they would ask rather than be out there risking out of service. On top of the 11/14 hr rule, you have the sleeper berth rule, the 34-hr restart...it isn't that hard but there is more to it than the old HOS.

If you don't want to ask the comp, email me and I will send you what my drivers get in orientation and I will do my best to assist you.

Hope I didn't offend you. That was not my intention. Keep her safe out there.

MiniFoxx

I would like the info you give your drivers as I am interested in all the info I can get. The more I know the more I know what to expect :-).

Thanks.

Did you get the emails that I have sent to you?

MiniFoxx/Freightliner Flatbed

I did receive it, but I have not had a chance to look it over yet.

Thanks for sending it and to answer your question, I do not currently drive for anyone, as I have not even completed driving school, yet.