1/2 hour break still going smoothly

[TeamCaffee]

"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." - Henry Ford

This quote from Henry Ford reminds me of the new HOS.

We think we can easily get our 1/2 break and so far we are finding this to be true.

This break is causing us to think ahead and plan our day to include stopping for the prescribed amount of time. So far I have found the break to be beneficial and a chance to relax.

The practice I was able to do before the break became mandatory has paid off as I know that if I wait till the last minute to take a break something will go wrong. Now if I start driving as soon as my clock starts after four hours I am looking for a place to stop, if I have loading time in the middle of when my clock started I look to stop no sooner then seven hours so I do not need to stop twice.

When under secure loads this break gives me a chance to get on line and see what is happening on EO and also on Team Run Smart. If we are not on a secure load I plan to get out and walk. So far this week every load has been a secure load so the stretching of the legs is not working to well. Bob has used the time to use the in cab FIT system to exercise and this has helped him to stay more alert.

We spent a lot of time a few years ago arguing and sending in letters not wanting this 1/2 hour or the new restart. While listening to the sessions we heard driver after driver asking to be able to take a break and also that they not have to start running in the middle of the night when their 34 hour restart was complete. The drivers got what they wanted and now we all get to comply like it or not. Would have we stopped for 1/2 hour before this NO but now we will and I think in time we will come to [FONT=arial, sans-serif]enjoy this break. [/FONT]

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Some will always look at the negative side of things it's human nature. This gives you a legal chance to stop and smell the roses. That little antique shop you always wanted to stop at or that little used bookstore but never had the time

 

[layoutshooter]

I am happy this works for you. As with EVERY cookie cutter regulation it will NEVER be good for everyone and harmful to many. Keep in mind, anyone could have taken that 1/2 break, by choice, when ever they wanted. Now it is LAW, forced. That is NEVER good.

We lost money on our first load under the new regulations. We were forced to run our TCU for 40 minutes longer that was needed. That is lost profit. Those kinds of losses will be common.

I cannot "enjoy" the break. I know I will get very sleepy, every time, just like what happened last night. It took more that an hour to get back to where I felt safe again. Most of the time when I was really feeling bad I was in heavy DC traffic, a bad combination. I know no solution to this.

Then there was the stress of the "running late" notices caused by the breaks we had to take, without those breaks we would have made our projected delivery time by 20 minutes, we would have saved 40 minutes worth of fuel burned up in our TCU, and I would not have been driving is a less than optimum condition for an extended period of time.

For OUR operation, and many others, this forced break is a waste of time, money, fuel and dangerous to our operation. It also cuts that much time out of our 14 hour clock, less time to work, less income.

I see no benefit and much loss under the new regs.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

I am happy this works for you. As with EVERY cookie cutter regulation it will NEVER be good for everyone and harmful to many. Keep in mind, anyone could have taken that 1/2 break, by choice, when ever they wanted. Now it is LAW, forced. That is NEVER good.

We lost money on our first load under the new regulations. We were forced to run our TCU for 40 minutes longer that was needed. That is lost profit. Those kinds of losses will be common.

I cannot "enjoy" the break. I know I will get very sleepy, every time, just like what happened last night. It took more that an hour to get back to where I felt safe again. Most of the time when I was really feeling bad I was in heavy DC traffic, a bad combination. I know no solution to this.

Then there was the stress of the "running late" notices caused by the breaks we had to take, without those breaks we would have made our projected delivery time by 20 minutes, we would have saved 40 minutes worth of fuel burned up in our TCU, and I would not have been driving is a less than optimum condition for an extended period of time.

For OUR operation, and many others, this forced break is a waste of time, money, fuel and dangerous to our operation. It also cuts that much time out of our 14 hour clock, less time to work, less income.

I see no benefit and much loss under the new regs.

Sweet Lord Joe you work in a regulated industry...
Sounds like it's time for a career change

 

[layoutshooter]

Sweet Lord Joe you work in a regulated industry...
Sounds like it's time for a career change

OVM, regulations SHOULD be based on SOUND science, not junk science. It may be getting time for a change. I cannot afford to continue to lose money due to bogus regulations.

I can't WAIT to hear the song you sing when they come after you 4 wheelers, and they will, it is only a matter of time.

Regulation for regulation sake is ALWAYS bad. There is NO WAY you can prove this makes the roads safer, in ANY way, shape or form.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Some will always look at the negative side of things it's human nature. This gives you a legal chance to stop and smell the roses. That little antique shop you always wanted to stop at or that little used bookstore but never had the time

I love how van drivers can give valid opinions about things they don't deal with.

 

[layoutshooter]

Some will always look at the negative side of things it's human nature. This gives you a legal chance to stop and smell the roses. That little antique shop you always wanted to stop at or that little used bookstore but never had the time

I am not looked at the negative side, I am looking at the reality of how this IS affecting our business.

Will it work for many? OF COURSE it will. Will it HURT many? OF COURSE it will.

It was ALWAYS legal to stop and take a break, who every stopped us? There would be no more loss of time then the forced breaks caused.

I seldom be able to stop and spend 30 minutes in that little mom and pop gun shop. On MOST of our loads, I can't leave the truck without waking up my wife.

I am happy this works for Caffee's and everyone else it works for. It is not going to work for me. No amount of "positive" thinking can change how my body works. I am now FAR more dangerous than I was prior to these regs. That is the facts, they cannot be changed.

 

[moose]

Well, the new HOS became a big problem for me.
i did anticipated the unexpected- but i was defiantly not prepared for this:
the PeopleNet system simply collapses the new software.
you'd think the EOBR guys will be the ones better prepared, but they dropped the ball big time.
i also learned the hard way what a costumer service feels like, with a company that know you are forced to use their product...it sucks!
luckily for me, i have a printer in the truck & was able to download my last 9 days off of the website, print it out & sign.
rather then that, i choose not to post my personal experience with the new HOS, for the simple rezone that i face very different challenges then most of you expediters.

Oh &BTW " The drivers did not got what they wanted".
it came close, but a near miss.
all the FMCSA had to do it require a 30 min. after an 8 hours of line 3 or 4 combined.
the way the rule is set, drivers are been forced to drive until a magical clock tells them to stop regardless of how much work they did along the way.
because brakes that are taken along the day, not only do not stop the 14 hours clock, from now on drivers that are taking ANY rest other then the 30 min. are penalized twice!!!
or even 3 time if they take a brake too early.
all the rule had to say is simple nce you have accumulated 8 hours of line 3&4 you need to rest for 30 min.
simple as that.
there for any brake taken, stop the 8 hours clock.
but the FMCSA is not about safety, they are not concerned about accumulated fatigue. all they care about is enforcement.
this is why we are taking them to court.

 

[davekc]

Looks more like a case of the Caffee's adapting to something that makes little sense.
Which is what most of us will be doing.......adapting.

 

[paullud]

Some will always look at the negative side of things it's human nature. This gives you a legal chance to stop and smell the roses. That little antique shop you always wanted to stop at or that little used bookstore but never had the time

I'm taking this as a joke since clearly we can't just pull into the antique shop's parking lot.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using EO Forums mobile app

 

[paullud]

Looks more like a case of the Caffee's adapting to something that makes little sense.
Which is what most of us will be doing.......adapting.

We can all adapt but the irrational regulations that are imposed on the industry need to be addressed or we will just be facing worse in the future. If we take each ridiculous regulation like a battered wife that just burned dinner the DC crew will think that they can keep doing it without a fight. The options we have are to put money and people behind groups like OOIDA to give them power or sit back, apologize, and ask for another even though we did nothing wrong.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using EO Forums mobile app

 

[Deville]

"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." - Henry Ford

This quote from Henry Ford reminds me of the new HOS.

We think we can easily get our 1/2 break and so far we are finding this to be true.

This break is causing us to think ahead and plan our day to include stopping for the prescribed amount of time. So far I have found the break to be beneficial and a chance to relax.

The practice I was able to do before the break became mandatory has paid off as I know that if I wait till the last minute to take a break something will go wrong. Now if I start driving as soon as my clock starts after four hours I am looking for a place to stop, if I have loading time in the middle of when my clock started I look to stop no sooner then seven hours so I do not need to stop twice.

When under secure loads this break gives me a chance to get on line and see what is happening on EO and also on Team Run Smart. If we are not on a secure load I plan to get out and walk. So far this week every load has been a secure load so the stretching of the legs is not working to well. Bob has used the time to use the in cab FIT system to exercise and this has helped him to stay more alert.

We spent a lot of time a few years ago arguing and sending in letters not wanting this 1/2 hour or the new restart. While listening to the sessions we heard driver after driver asking to be able to take a break and also that they not have to start running in the middle of the night when their 34 hour restart was complete. The drivers got what they wanted and now we all get to comply like it or not. Would have we stopped for 1/2 hour before this NO but now we will and I think in time we will come to [FONT=arial, sans-serif]enjoy this break. [/FONT]

I see some one has drank the kool aid.

 

[Deville]

Some will always look at the negative side of things it's human nature. This gives you a legal chance to stop and smell the roses. That little antique shop you always wanted to stop at or that little used bookstore but never had the time

If I wanted to stop & smell the roses I would have been a florist.

 

[ATeam]

Would have we stopped for 1/2 hour before this NO but now we will and I think in time we will come to enjoy this break.

Diane and I would have stopped for breaks, and some of them would have been 30 minutes or more. Indeed, that was our practice under the old rules. But now, under the new rules, we need to plan ahead, not for anything having to do with stretch and refresh breaks but, because there must be a break of at least 30 minutes before eight hours of driving have elapsed, which means the break must take place at certain times of the day, depending on your schedule at the time.

The effect of this is to reduce flexibility about the number and timing of our breaks in the course of the day. You like taking breaks you did not take before. We dislike the loss of flexibility in taking the breakes we used to take.

 

[layoutshooter]

Let's get on thing straight. I am NOT trying to trash TeamCaffee. These regulations may well work well for them. That in NO way means that it will for our business. To assume that it works for one and therefor MUST work for all does not work.

These regulations WILL cause us to lose money and often run in an unsafe manner.

I THOUGHT, please correct me if I am wrong, that when drivers were asking for a "break" they were mostly talking about returning to a split sleeper berth rule that could stop the 14 hour clock. Enough time to get a good, solid nap, and still have the full remainder of the work day left. That kind of flexibility would go MUCH further to relieve congestion on the roads as opposed to what these new regs are doing.

The new 34 hour rule is a total joke and there is NO way to justify it. That rule IS going to make congestion worse.

 

[paullud]

because there must be a break of at least 30 minutes before eight hours of driving have elapsed,

Isn't it 8 hours after coming on duty? Basically 8 hours after you started your PTI.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using EO Forums mobile app

 

[ATeam]

Sweet Lord Joe you work in a regulated industry...
Sounds like it's time for a career change

The industry was regulated when Diane and I entered it ten years ago and we went in with our eyes open, accepting the regulations of the time. But something very bad has developed. It is as if someone took the brakes off the regulatory machine and it is now running out of control. That fact that we are in a regulated industry does not mean that every new regulation is a good one.

I have not done a study of the new regs of the last ten years but they include:

1. Taking away the 5-on/5-off freedom teams had to drive/sleep on the schedule. It was a real challenge to learn how to drive 10 hour shifts and we'd go back to 5/5 in an instant if the regulators would let us.

2. Scenario: Driver driving down road hears his phoine ring and answers it by picking it up with his hand. The fine for that did not exist ten years ago. Today it is up to $2,750 and your motor carrier can be fined up to $11,000 for that single act. I agree that cell phone use should be illegal while driving but what does it say about the regulators when they impose fines of $2,750 and $11,000? What does it say about how truckers are regarded?

3. How many times have the Hours of Service changed in the last 10 years? How many times did the regulators argue that these changes were based on pure science?

4. The regulators treated us with tripple-redundant background checks to do certain kinds of loads. One of the checks were for TWIC cards that were sought and applied for at significant cost to drivers, and those cards are seldom used as intended and are a joke in many places where used as not intended.

5. Medical info must not be delviered to the state to keep your CDL current.

6. CSA ... 'nuff said.

There is more. It is another post under another topic to categorize the developments and regulatory attitude shift. My point is that just because the industry is regulated, it does not mean we should accept the new regs for that reason.

 

[layoutshooter]

Looks more like a case of the Caffee's adapting to something that makes little sense.
Which is what most of us will be doing.......adapting.

Not all will be able to adapt. My body is what it is. At age 62 I doubt that a life long way of reacting is going to change just because Miss Annie says it has too.

If Caffee's can adapt, or even enjoy it, more power to them. All I know is that it has already forced me to drive when I should not have been and has already caused me to lose money on a run. Will it always cost us profit? Nope. Will it always make me sleepy? Yep.

 

[ATeam]

Isn't it 8 hours after coming on duty? Basically 8 hours after you started your PTI.

You are correct. It the required break must take place no later than 8 hours after your 14 hour clock starts. It is not about time spent driving, it is about time spent on duty (line 4) and on duty (line 3). My mistake.

 

[jrcarroll]

OVM, regulations SHOULD be based on SOUND science, not junk science. It may be getting time for a change. I cannot afford to continue to lose money due to bogus regulations.

I can't WAIT to hear the song you sing when they come after you 4 wheelers, and they will, it is only a matter of time.

Regulation for regulation sake is ALWAYS bad. There is NO WAY you can prove this makes the roads safer, in ANY way, shape or form.

I do agree that what the future looks like for the vans does seem to say " it is coming" LOGS, Scales, etc.

However do you think it will be any easier for you as you run along in your "big truck"? NOT! it will also get much worse as time goes along.

From the begining the regs where there and over the years have changed, so now that the latest changes have been made, you need to adapt or change your line of work.

I for one have been using the new rules for a few months and do not see a problem with them. Having to run logs while in both a cargo van and box truck.