Last friday I got pulled in by DOT at Clifton Park NY which is usually a tough spot. Five bays were being worked by the cops and I was pulled into the first spot. The officer as very polite and smiled, he asked for my log, registration and medical card etc, as I am on Elogs he stood on my step and I had the door open for him to check the screen, he looked at my floor and walked off with my documents etc never even checking the vehicle and returned about 10 minutes later, handed me it all back and said “Ok, on your way and have a good weekend”
“Is that it ?” I asked, “I’m usually here an hour”
“Your truck is imaculate outside but I looked at the floor which is also spotless and when a floor is that clean I don’t bother checking the vehicle because you obviously look after it”
So there you have it guys, clean the inside of you cab clean and get on your way.
On my company thats a $50.00 extra check for level 3.
hi pat
i remember how clean you used to keep your cab, every time we stopped at spittlefield market for our 45 {or was ita 120}break, out came that bloody paint brush and yellow duster. 
then you would say,wont be a min just got to buff my dash,go and get the cowboy frenches and teas, i fell for it every time 
dont think you ever bought one you tight git them were the days
cheers diesel
Your truck’s only three weeks old for Petes sake 
Still ain’t paying Mick Ha ha.
And Charles, my truck is not 3 weeks old, I got it second hand and it had 140,000 miles on it when I got it, it’s a 2011, not 2012 mate
The bad thing is that when I mentioned to him that we get paid for clear inspections he said “Thats good, I’ll keep and eye out for you in future and stop you if I get the chance” 
It’s amazing what people think when they open your door, I have some wood effect lino type device on my floor and one of the border guards greeted me with “You’re the one with the wooden floor” at a recent check at the border. Of all the trucks that pass through there it amazed me that he remembered my bit of lino.
I try to keep my truck clean and always keep on top of my windows and mirrors no matter how dirty the rest of the motor, that combined with our good safety rating usually keeps me rolling through any DOT checks, but when I do get called in they just give me a once over and I’m on my way again, keeping a respectable looking outfit pays dividends I think.
AS I use loose leaf logs, which as I write them out myself, they’re always legal I’ve had them checked a few times and everytime I’ve been complimented on how neat they are, another thing that keeps them off your back 
Im in bother by the sound of things, I always empty my mountain dew bottle though before each shift 
Tidy truck and a clean floor it is then.
fly sheet:
mountain dew bottle
You have an en-suite too 
It definitely pays to keep your windows, and mirrors clean, and the dashboard clutter free.
A clean interior certainly helps, as it is seen as an indicator to your work ethic. Neat logs and biting your tongue also help divert further inspection.
When you run dedicated lanes, you would be foolish to do anything less.
Our safety dept is ultra hot on logs, and inspections. I had a letter this morning, highlighting I had put the same date on following logs. On the second day I was off duty, an easy fix but they caught it. A call to the office was required, but just a telling off this time.
We run on logbooks and I must admit, they are a pain and so antiquated.
You will be surprised how many so called drivers have problems understanding them, filling them out properly, and well recap is another story.
I hardly ever recap unless I’m up North where we run 70 in 7, down South as I usually run my 11 every day, I always find it quicker to bite the bullet and have a reset.
We had a bloke at my place who used to fill his dsah with crap every time he run through a scale, that way he’d get pulled in, get a clean inspection and nick $50 bonus 
how does the driving and working time over there differ to in the UK?
Opps wrong topic 
taffytrucker:
how does the driving and working time over there differ to in the UK?
I do 70/8 set up which means I can work 70 hours in 8 days, not that I ever do.
14 hours on duty and 11 driving with a 10 hour off duty period or I can take 2 hours off mid shift followed by 8 in the sleeper to make up the 10, the day still can’t exceed 14 hours from start of duty and the 8 must be in the sleeper and not off duty, then when you re-start you can only go till 11 hours since the end of your first 2 hour break before another 2 hour break is needed, this can be a pain to work out and some get caught out but I use elogs and it tells me exactly how long I have between every break.
The 70 hours rule does not allow me to run into the 8th day even if I only did 60 hours, the 8th day must be work free and a 34 hour restart is needed before the next working week.
taffytrucker:
how does the driving and working time over there differ to in the UK?
There seems to be a huge hole in your research if you have already accepted a job offer without knowing what hours you are able to work / drive
we do flat work and i always keep the cab tidy any kit not in use squared away load neatly strapped chain sheeted and i can honestly say i have only been pulled in 3 times in 18 years yet some of my counterparts seem to get pulled on a regular basis and yet the gaffer cnt figure out why 
On the road again:
taffytrucker:
how does the driving and working time over there differ to in the UK?
Not at all i have tried looking on severeal sites but cant come up with anything thats why i asked
taffytrucker:
On the road again:
taffytrucker:
how does the driving and working time over there differ to in the UK?
Not at all i have tried looking on severeal sites but cant come up with anything thats why i asked
It’s all available on DOT sites under ‘HOS rules’
Pat Hasler:
taffytrucker:
On the road again:
taffytrucker:
how does the driving and working time over there differ to in the UK?
Not at all i have tried looking on severeal sites but cant come up with anything thats why i asked
It’s all available on DOT sites under ‘HOS rules’
Thanks pat thats great and tbh I have a problem learning things from text long as I got a fair idea of the basics I pick the rest up on the job worked out ok when started driving in the UK so figure cant be much different lol.
all your posts Pat are a wealth of info love the roadside dinner ones they will come in handy lol
You also have to take into account that you have a different set of regulations north of the border
In the USA you can drive 11hrs a day and be on duty for 14hrs, during that 14hrs you can work for a maximum of 13hrs, so if you drive all of your 11hrs, that gives you 2hrs on duty but not driving, you have to use this time for your pre-trip inspection, fuelling and checking in at a shipper/receiver. So if you’re on a long trip and run six 11hr days, you’ll have hit your 70hr limit by the end of day 6 when you add the on duty not driving time to it. Then it’s time to park for 34hrs and then you have reset the log book and can start again with a fresh 70hrs. Or you can stretch your 70hrs out over the 8 day period and then when you start day eight you get back the hours from day one, this way you never exceed 70hrs in a rolling 8 day period.
In Canada it’s 70hrs in 7 days, 13hrs driving a day, 16hr duty limit, but to do 16 you must have 2hrs (in min 30min blocks) off during the day to go over 14hrs, you can have 8 off at night and add the missing two hours to the next day’s off duty time or even nick it from the day before if you’ve been off duty for 12hrs or more. You have a 36hr reset period rather than 34hrs and if you’re recapping (staying under 70 all the time) you must have 24hrs off before the end of the 14th day.
newmercman:
You also have to take into account that you have a different set of regulations north of the borderIn the USA you can drive 11hrs a day and be on duty for 14hrs, during that 14hrs you can work for a maximum of 13hrs, so if you drive all of your 11hrs, that gives you 2hrs on duty but not driving, you have to use this time for your pre-trip inspection, fuelling and checking in at a shipper/receiver. So if you’re on a long trip and run six 11hr days, you’ll have hit your 70hr limit by the end of day 6 when you add the on duty not driving time to it. Then it’s time to park for 34hrs and then you have reset the log book and can start again with a fresh 70hrs. Or you can stretch your 70hrs out over the 8 day period and then when you start day eight you get back the hours from day one, this way you never exceed 70hrs in a rolling 8 day period.
In Canada it’s 70hrs in 7 days, 13hrs driving a day, 16hr duty limit, but to do 16 you must have 2hrs (in min 30min blocks) off during the day to go over 14hrs, you can have 8 off at night and add the missing two hours to the next day’s off duty time or even nick it from the day before if you’ve been off duty for 12hrs or more. You have a 36hr reset period rather than 34hrs and if you’re recapping (staying under 70 all the time) you must have 24hrs off before the end of the 14th day.
So how would that work then if based in Canada?? when in canada drive by their rules and buy US rules when in the US?