Comments By Steven E.

Let me look.

I am growing very frustrated. We have rented a Ryder truck for a trip out to California for a trade show. I am having a VERY difficult time trying to set up the Geotab ELD they use. No one - NO ONE- at Ryder can explain how it works. I have downloaded and installed the Geotab Drive app which is supposed to keep track of your HOS, but it won't recognize the truck - I keep getting an error message on my phone saying "No connection to the vehicle. Ensure that the telematics device is communicating." I was told that this was because the truck was not in the Ryder database but I checked with Ryder and it is in the database - they can track its location. If I cannot get this set up before I have to leave can I use paper logs?

I ask this because my primary job with the company is not as a driver. I am Technical Support for our instruments, meaning helping people with operational questions about musical instruments. This is a very small company which has no Transportation Department and no fleet or regular drivers - they only time they need something like this is once a year for the annual trade convention.

I am starting a trip next week. I will be picking the truck up from Ryder early in the morning and will take it to my company where it will be loaded. While the truck is being loaded I will not be doing anything related to the trip but will be handling customer service, answering the phone, quality-checking instruments (the company is a musical instrument manufacturer). Am I still considered "On Duty" even if I am not involved in the loading or any other activity involving the truck?

I start out on, say, a Wednesday and drive 8 hours. I continue though the week until I come to Tuesday. Let's say I've logged 68 hours in 7 days. That means I have 2 hours left. The following Wednesday I gain back the 8 hours I drove on the Wednesday I started out plus the 2 hours I had left over = 10 hours available. Correct?

And, this is driving time, not total On Duty time?

Also, if I've logged 70 hours by the time 7 days are up, I'm not allowed to recap - I have to take a 34-hour rest?

So at the end of 8 days if you still have not worked a full 80 hours but you have done everything else - the 10, the 8, the 30 minute break - the clock resets whether you have taken 34 hours or not? From your reply. it seems if you do it that way the 34-hour limit would never kick in. But, you're right - I'll get one anyway, because I will be there for the entire convention (the NAMM convention which lasts four days).

That's what I thought. So, the thing to to do is, try to start with a full clock when starting the trip. One other thing: If you reach a 7-days but you have been on duty only, say, 40 hours or 50 you can keep going until the 70- (or 80-) hour limit is reached?

I am driving to California from Chicago next week for a trade convention. I'm picking up a Ryder Class B truck the first part of next week and I have to arrive in Anaheim by 7:00am Monday Morning. I'm trying to clarify my understanding of HOS. Which applies to me - the 70-hour time or the 80-hour time? Also I understand that taking a 34-hour break at any time automatically resets the clock and starts a new shift. Correct?

That's what I thought. Makes sense.

As I mentioned in another post, I am doign my first run using an ELD. The company is renting a truck from Ryder. My question is, when I am ferrying the empty truck from the Ryder facility to where it will be loaded for the trip, does that have to be logged, or can I wait and start my log when I actually leave the company after the truck is loaded?