I made my 2 delivery's in Seattle on Friday morning. Directly after I finished I was dispatched on a load going from Portland OR to Concord NC. a run that is 2757 miles long. These are what we call gravy runs because its just a flat out long run for a lot of miles fast.
Most long haul drivers get paid by the mile and for extra stops but not for the first or last stop. So, every time we pick up a load or drop it off we lose time on the 70 hours we can work per week and don't make money for that time, only the miles. The 70 hours we are allowed to work per week is one of the many hourly rules set by the government regulating how much a driver can be worked. Out of that 70 hours we must log working time not paid for things like our daily truck inspections before we start each day (15 minuets every day). We must also fuel the truck and refrigerated unit (also called a reefer) for 15 minuets. so that takes an average of 3.5 hours a week unpaid out of the time we can make money. On top of that, every time we load we have to log a minimum of 30 minuets and also, every time we unload. So for example, lets say I get a load that has 2 delivers on it, like the one I did in Seattle. I picked it up for free and delivered it for free but the 2ND stop was extra. So I was paid $25 for that one stop. Most company's figure what they are paying us in miles includes payment for pick up and 1 delivery and they also, set a minimum of 100 miles on a load or pay us what is called a shag fee for a run that is under that 100 miles. My company pays $45 for a shag. So its not as if they are taking advantage of us on that end. We also have to log a minimum of 15 minuets for every time we pick up or drop a trailer or swap trailers. As you can see we can lose a lot of time on the 70 hour clock and not make a dime.
With a long run like this one tho I will make the most money for my time. That is where the sleep, run, mode comes in. I can driver 11 hours for every 10 hour sleeping break i take. As long as the 11 hours of driving is done within a 14 hour period. The government figures that if you have been working for 14 hours your too tired to drive any more with out a 10 sleeping break. Normally, I would say they were right but, the 14 hour clock never stops ticking once it has started. One exception is the 8 hour rule, but that will have to wait for another blog post.
Let me try to explain the 14 hour work and 10 sleep rules. Say for example I start my day at 6am, I do my truck inspection for 15 min and my 14 hour clock starts ticking (tic toc). I start driving at 6:15 and drive until 9:00 then arrive to deliver the load. At that point my driving time stops. I go into the delivery warehouse and let them know I'm there. They give me a door to back into where they are going to unload the trailer. I get set in the door and then i wait for them to finish unloading. This can take from 30 min for them to do up to 5 or 6 hours depending on the place. I have sat for up to 8.5 hours at a dock before. The only time I have to log for this process is the time I spend on the dock or moving the truck into position as long as i am in the sleeper birth of the truck the rest of the time or i walk off to get a meal but, I have to log a minimum of 30 min for the entire process. So lets say it takes them until 1 PM to unload the load. I then pull out of the dock close the trailer and find a safe spot to wait for the next load. Remember this whole time that 14 hour clock is still ticking (tic toc). I get a new load to go pick up and drive from 1:45 till 4:00 to get to the new load. When I arrive they tell me I have to wait for a door to open. I wait until 5:00 for a door and then get into that door. I wait for them to load me and this takes until 9 PM once I get loaded I log the 30 min loading time and set off but now its 9 PM and I only have one hour left on that 14 hour clock that started at 6 AM that morning. I find a safe place to park and sleep (normally a truck stop or rest area) at 10 PM and I start my 10 hour sleep break.
OK lets break down what happened in that day. I worked non paid for 1 hour and 15 min. and got paid for driving for 5 hours at an average of 50 miles per hour = 250 miles and sat for 7.75 hours and then I am out of hours to work until I take a 10 hour sleeping break. Now I can hear some of you thinking that you only need 8 hours of sleep to be ready to go but in the sleeping break we also fit in eating and showers and maybe catch up on some e-mail or in my case a blog.
A lot can be also done in that 7.75 hour I sat around but it has to be in the sleeper or away from the truck. Not in the drivers compartment or on the dock because all of that time has to be counted as working and that takes away from the 70 weekly clock.
You might also think 70 hours a week is a lot to work but for drivers we can run that amount of time out before the week is done, easy when the loads line up right.
In a load like this one, remember it is 2757 miles long, I don't have to clock any extra time, except for inspections and fuel, because all I'm doing is driving. So I get to drive 11 hours that averages about 550 to 660 miles and then a 10 hour break. I will repeat this process until the end of the run. That means I log 11 driving 30 min fuel and inspection and 30 lunch in 12 hours and then log 10 hours sleeping and restart witch means I get 2 more hours of driving in that day and that means more miles at an average of 650 to 770 per day depending on the states speed limit I am in. More miles means more money thus gravy run, no load or unload time, all miles.
Back to the 70 hour per week rule. I have run mine out. I only had 10 hours left on mine for today so I drove 9.25 hours + my inspection and fuel made for 9.75 hours and when I stopped I have .25 hours on my 70 hour clock. Last Monday i worked for 6 hours total so at midnight tonight i get 6 hours added back on to my 70 hour clock witch means I can run 6.25 hours tomorrow before I have to stop and wait until midnight again to get more hours back. This is important to know so I can calculate weather or not I can make my delivery on time, 4 Am Thursday morning in Concord NC. I have done my calculations and have figured in major city traffic and a few other factors and figure I can make it with around 2 hours on my 70 hour clock to spare. At that point I will ask for a 34 hour reset of my hours.
A 34 hour reset is just that I will sit in sleeper or out getting meals, doing laundry, shopping, go to the movies or what ever as long as I don't work on the truck or move it. After 34 hours all my clocks reset to 0 and I have all my time back.
I bet your wondering where I am if I left Seattle on Friday. I am about 1 hour west of Saint Louis MO and hope to make the KY TN border tomorrow.
I crossed over the Missouri river from Nebraska to Iowa this morning and took this picture .
I was kind of long winded today but really needed to get out the hours of service (HOS) explanation for future post's so you may understand what I will be referring to.
Until next time, be safe.
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