Hours of Service

A

alx

Site Supporter
Aug 19, 2009
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Chateauguay QC.
10
I address this question to my esteemed collegues from this site. There is lots of buzz around about trip recorders and I feel that this may become pertinent.

What are the parameters used in formulating the hours of service crietria in North America.
What allows for distinct driving, working and sleep times, between Canada and the USA.

We must stress that the major concern here is safety.

Can the disparity in Driving and working time be caused by the following:

1) More traffic in Canada than in the Bosnywash corridor.
2) Canadian drivers are more fit than their US counterparts
3) Canada has more and better equipped service facilities along the major arteries.
4) Montreal and Toronto are 5.5 hours apart , allowing a return trip in a working day.

I would appreciate any input.

Thanks
Alex
 
Alx,

I have always believed that Canada has a 13 hr driver because you can do:

Toronto-Montreal rounders
Calgary-Vancouver
Edmondton-Vancouver (close) 13.75 hrs
Winnipeg-Edmonton

You get the picture - you can run major corridors in the 13 hr driving time.
 
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Rounders

I tend to concur.

That tends to show that safety is only as important as the administrators deem it.

That, then proves that this whole concept is simply a sham.
If you are tired after 10 hours of driving , you are tired and should not be allowed to drive.
Monetary factors should not come into play and certainly should not trump safety concerns.

Prior to imposing EOBR's, the separate North American jurisdictions should come to a consensus as to what is safe. Once these terms are streamlined, manadatory recorders can be looked at.

This is important seeing that all the changes except the 34 hr reset have been detrimental to carrier productivity.
It is like watching a cat and mouse play.

The admistrators slowly take away every advantage that was gained by the carriers as time goes on.
 
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"The admistrators slowly take away every advantage that was gained by the carriers as time goes on."

Here is the big question ALX : Why? If we had the answer to that there would be a revolt! (Well not us...we would all keep going to work.... 10 or 12 of us would converge on Parliment to make a statement....that's the Canadian way! LOL)
 
I have always found it interesting how the powers that be try to regulate the human body. I have known drivers who can jump in fresh in Toronto and drive to Atlanta and still be fresh when they get there. They pace themselves, they eat right and they get plenty of rest before they leave. Other guys need to get out and stretch in Cambridge. Everybody is different. How can you regulate how many hours sleep he had before he left?
He could be up all night for whatever reason, start his log and be perfectly legal for the next 10 hours. Does not make sense?
I am more nervous seeing a 4 wheeler pull a camper or boat down the highway with out of state plates. He can drive forever and no body seems to care.
 
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You know what a pet peeve of mine is about logs? I check the logs of drivers and, for the most part, they are spot on. But you get the odd driver, usually one or two of them, who stand in the office waiting for their truck be available and talking about being worried about their hours...and it's only 9am! So what I knowis that the tricks driver use to mess with their logbooks is either to (a) lie about their shift start time, (b) lie about their on duty time or (c) lie about their driving time...as long as they have no receipts or time-stamped documents. If a driver is waiting around the yard or a shipper for a load or something, he is still awake even though how he legally documents it on a logbook is not exact or even accurate. Logging your sleep for real (berth time and "off duty" time) would be interesting to try and enforce with drivers who think it's ok to run two logbooks. I write up drivers who do not hand in log sheets that are accurate.
 
Packrat

I see what you are saying. My question is why we are allowing it.

I have been almost exclusively off the highway for the last 12 years but do go out on emergencies (I greatly enjoy it). There is little more beautiful than the scenery along Interstate 87 between Lake George NY and Plattsburgh NY on a snowy night like tonite. I can still drive 18hrs if I have to, that is what the body is used to.
For some reason I am always tired around 3:00pm, even if I woke up at noon.
Anyway that is not the issue here.
What should concern us as carriers is the justification used by various governements when determining hours of service rules.
SAFETY is claimed as the primordial concern and this is why they are thinking of mandating EOBR's.
While the USA and Canada have more than a 20% gap in the allowable driving time. That 20% is not negligible.
One of the two must be wrong. Which one is it ?
Allowing the powers that be force groundlesss legislation down carriers throats will cause undue damage to our ability to make a profit.

Does anyone one know of an association that represents the rights of the smaller carriers and owner operators?
 
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Drivers seem to regard it as a game and bank the "2 hours in the berth" thing to use when they aren't really in the berth. The reality is that drivers will foolishly try to keep driving and log it different from how they perform and then complain later on that they are out of hours, leaving those of us in operations to ask WTF are you doing???
 
I'm probably going to regret putting my 2 cents in but here it goes. I believe the only reason there is such a difference in driving times between Ca and the US is the powerful trade unions and lobby groups in the US. The Unions want more membership so less driving time means more trucks needed to move the freight. As far a E Logs go I think they will be the best thing to happen to this industry in a long time, just think about it, drivers are rested and ready to work, the administration alone that will go away, it basically should make audits a breeze, rates will have to go up and shippers/receivers will have to become efficient or they will pay waiting time because no carrier will be able to sit around without compensation. We are a small fleet, 42 trucks, it will affect the real high milers but if you are really honest with yourself and you did a real log book check how legal are they really? Trust me if the driver is ever in a serious accident they will find out everything - risk vs reward.
 
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