The Trucker Resources channel is here to help you find the solutions to anything in the trucking industry. Whether you are a company driver, Independent contractor or an owner operator with your own authority, there are so many ways to succeed in this industry. I would like to help you do that. I will interview truck drivers from all aspects of the industry that are successful. I will review products for company drivers and owner operators. I will help you learn how to build relationships with employers, brokers, mechanics and shippers/receivers. Then we will also have a little bit of fun by exploring truck shows and a few other things.
My name is Rob Finch. I have been driving for 20 years with 12 of them being as an owner operator . What I have learned about this industry is that there are many ways to succeed and nobody can do it without the help of others. After 20 years in the business I still call on friends, mechanics, and yes even my dad to make sure I get it right.
I also started driving in 2002. Having used both ELD and paper logs over the last 20 plus years, I have to say I did like using the ELD when I had it in my truck just because I hate doing paperwork and the ELD really took care of a lot of that. At the same time if I had my choice of running paper logs or running an eld... I would pick paper logs. I can't sleep more than 5 or 6 hours. Sitting around the truck stop for four or five hours yeah no thanks I can't do that. I would rather get on the road and get my day over with.
Thank you for that great point. I am somebody that has no problem sleeping 7 or 8 hours, but I know a lot of people like you. Thank you so much for talking about this.
Very well said. The peace of mind of not having a violation. With paper there are so many things that you could make a mistake on. As a company driver there is no arguing with a dispatcher about running or not
With how much it costs to have a high quality dashcam these days anybody that does not have one is nuts. $100 can get you a great quality day and night with a lot of technology. It is by far my most important piece of equipment!! Think about this, It can also help you if you are at fault. You could be in an accident that it looks like you did something reckless or malicious and a dash cam could show that you actually just made a mistake!!
My first two weeks with a ELD drove me nuts. I went into violation several times to the point the company made me take a 34. While sitting there I came to terms with it. I said to myself if that's all I'm allowed to do that's all I'm going to do. Also realizing there are no minimums only maximum which means if I want to leave 1 1/2 hours of drive time on the clock so I can park in a nice place I can. There are no more 18 hour days in my life.
Since the ELD keeps track of our HOS and Duty Status then like most of the working Community we should be Compensated for ALL our On Duty Time wether Driving or Not Driving and for Mandatory Down Time. 🤔😎
I don't know that I agree with that but at the same time it has been a long time since I was a company driver. I get paid by the load and try to figure all of the time involved into it. That is definitely a good subject for discussion, and I might use it in a future video on the ELD Subject. Thank you!!
I started working for CF in the late 70's in Richfield, Ohio. No dought the best job I ever had. When CF, and CFX split in the late 80's, I knew it was bad news for the hard working union guys and women. I made it just in time as I retired at 55 and still a get a healthy teamster check every month. God bless the union worker.
I leave the Pittsburgh area and drive 70 miles east of Dallas laydown for 4 hours and head into odessa no they can't track my 1981 cabover freightliner screw the DOT screw scales screw ELD's I haven't did a 34 reset in years
The only problem I have with Elds it always take a long time to relax after driving then after 10 hrs I was not ready to get up, when I first started driving the company had what they called tack of Graf it wasjust a round piece of paper you put in this clock every day did you get my e-mail I sent the other day? Be safe
Yes, I did get your email. Sorry I didn't respond, I will soon. I'm a little jealous of your upcoming trip lol. I had to laugh at you talking about that little card. I have heard of them. I should see if I can get my hands on one. That would be a great piece of trucking history. Weren't they somehow part of the Odometer?
@truckingresources4240 yes they were part of the Odonmeter but you could chet them really easy, say you overslept you could turn the clock back so you only was off 10 hrs or say you run 7 mn pass the hour you could log it in the last hr stay safe my friend
Paper logs are a pain in the butt...back logging things to work out HOS... tearing up.logs and redoing them. Staying up doing that when you could be sleeping. I think they should still use ELD, but it should be more flexible for drivers.
I think that the recent law changes made it a lot more driver friendly. The only thing I would like to see different is maybe being able to split the whole way to 5 on 5 off.
The reason i left trucking is because elds, since they started using them truckers now have more stress just by monitoring the time left. And in the end have caused more accidents, pay by the hour and every road will be safer and owener operator's better rates .
Like everything else in life, ELDs have advantages and disadvantages. Here's my opinion on both. I don't miss keeping track of miles by state. I don't miss having to fill out my log every day, and at every stop. Basically, it does my paperwork for me. BUT... The exactness of the time is problematic. I can now be 2 minutes ,or less, late to stop and that's a violation. A little to damn picky for me. It makes me leave early to load, which takes me away from home and family. That is inexcusable to me. For instance, if I load in Cincinnati, 2 hours away, I used to leave in the morning, load and go . Now to get my full driving hours, I have to leave 10 hours early. I hate that. It doesn't bother me coming home, I PC that no matter how far it is. That's legal, but Landstar gets annoyed at times. I didn't know that the 14 hour clock gets extended, I'm gonna have to investigate that. The whole going to the shop procedures are aggravating as hell. I basically told LS to kiss my ass on that debacle. The fact that it reverts to on duty when I stop is wrong. Should go to off duty. 90%, or more, of the time when I stop, I'm done for the day, or at least for a while. The fact that there is no "on duty, not driving" setting which I can control is ridiculous. In Nevada, there is a test track that takes 2 hours to get to after arriving on the property, driving down a very unimproved dirt road at about 10 miles per hour or less. So, I use PC, but LS doesn't allow 4 hours, so that's a violation. There is an exception in the law for unexpected delays such as traffic and weather, but no way to enter that into the ELD. I have a satellite tracker on my truck, so being tracked doesn't bother me at all, and you are correct, we are all tracked, all the time. Overall, I don't have enough of a problem with it to want to go back to paper. Maybe sometimes, but not always. And, like all of the rest of the changes over the years, I have learned to make it work for me most of the time. I told a New York DOT officer that once. It's their job to make the rules, and my job to figure out how to make them work for me. He wasn't sure how to respond, so he just sorta shook his head. Anyway, this is a very interesting subject, and a very good choice for a video.
You are very right about all of that. There's a lot to talk about there and I will definitely be addressing a lot of it in an upcoming video, or maybe a live. I'll make sure you know about it. Another thing that I was thinking about as I was reading yours is that I have not yet gotten into curfews. If I have to shut down at 4pm or like today when I chose to shut down early and get an early start, I don't have to wait until dawn. Great points as always Michael!!
My company has a "no tolerance" stance on HOS compliance. Any violation against HOS results in a 7 day suspension wherever you happen to be. I started driving over the road in 1984 and I understand how things used to be. I am on-board with my acceptance of ELDs and I too like the positive changes they have brought about. The problem that I have, is that perfection has become the enemy of very good. Traffic delays, no available parking spots, can sometimes put you in jeopardy of going over on your clock. I even went a minute over because of a cratered parking lot in a truck stop. Also, prove to me that the 70 hour rule is necessary, or has a justifiable impact on safety. The 70 hr rule just messes with providing reliable customer service and leaves you stranded far from home and family. If every company and the FMCSA are heading into an era of nothing short of perfect compliance then they should have to prove convincingly that every rule is necessary and appropriate... nothing short of perfect rules. The 70 hr rule was conceived of in the 1940s as a weak substitute for the Fair Labor Standards Act provision of a 40 hour work-week for most other workers. I can negotiate for myself to get a day off, if and when I need to. I can negotiate a relaxed ETA, on my return run. I can also work for as long as I need to, day after day, with a good night's sleep. I don't need a government bureaucracy forcing me to sit idle in some motel or truck stop being lonely and miserable while the customer I am serving contemplates other options.
I agree with the 70 hour thing 100%. Everyone is different and I shouldn’t be punished because of the way my body and mind works. Ever since I turned 30 years old 5 hours of sleep a night is all I average so I don’t need 10 hours in between shifts. And why can I work 21 days straight and 100 hours a week in the oilfield but can’t do it in my own semi.
Thank you for the great comments. I agree with your problem with the 70-hour rule. I admittedly don't work a lot of hours but if I am out on the road for 14 days, I find that recapping can sometimes screw me. If you stay on the road, you can only average 10 hours a day or take a day and a half off. Totally agree and will be addressing this in an upcoming video.
Yeah yeah yeah. Heres the old man ramblin again. Lol. I ran outlaw most of my career. Multiple log books. Etc. To the point in my last 4 yrs i drove i tried it the legal way. I never ran an eld. Not sure if my old warped mind can understand it. But thats probably the main reason ill stay retired. Surrendered my cdl 5 yrs ago. I still drive cmv's ocassionally. Wont say where. But its not very far anymore. Heres my contention however. Im sure they claim eld's make for safer drivers. Same arguement they used in the early 90s concerning the cdl license. "Safety". Sure we had wrecks back then. I cant say its more or less than nowadays. But the level of stupidity ive seen on the road since i retired. Is way more dangerous than when we had less fancy trucks. My first truck i drove was a 67 gmc crackerbox. My last truck was a 98 pete 379. Maybe it was my upbringing. But i wasnt anymore safer from that old67 crackerbox. To that fancy pete 379. My point is the older i got. The more i needed my naps and sleep. So i took whatever breaks i wanted. Traffic wasnt as bad back then in the 70s,80s . And even while we needed to be alert and attentive. Its moreso nowadays. And the level of common sense nowadays is quite low. I attribute alot of that to the lack of communication. I.E. cb radios etc. You talk about being tracked etc. Im sure youve heard they can bust you out by your gps. Something pretty much every truck runs in it. I never cared much for electronic engines. Not so much because of they monitoring your driving habits. But because i could work on those old motors on the side of the road. And didnt have to have a philadelphia lawyers degree to do it. Although i do have certificate in diesel mechanics. All beit, from 1977. Ok im gonna shut up. Ive rambled enough lol. Be safe out there brother
I loved that ramble lol. You are right on quite a few things. The roads are way more dangerous now and a lot of it just as you said, lack of communication. Thank you for all of the comments. I'm going to use some of that in an upcoming video as hearing from the old timers, meant as pioneers of our industry, has really brought up a lot of things that I haven't thought about. Thank you for that and all of your years in our great industry!!
I never drove with an ELD i retired before they were mandatory. But i have talked to some old drivers that are driving with them and they really do like them. The only problem i can think of is if i am 1 hour from being home i am going to drive that extra hour. That is my only complaint
I agree with you. That has only happened once to me and there was a huge snowstorm coming in behind me. I was home for the snowstorm and we'll leave it at that lol.
You can keep that new shit, I drove these trucks when they were new and there is nothing today can compare to a 359 or an A model kw.. Screw the new def burning junk!!
