Comments By BrandonCDLdriver

I find it funny you call yourself "grumpy old man" yet you seem to be describing your trainer more than yourself.

You can only be on duty 8 hours before the truck won't move anymore. If I'm not right then the software in my omnitracks needs to be updated.

Sure you can go on duty as long as you want, but I'm assuming the goal is to move the truck. That would be where the 8 hours comes in.

Brandon, these conversations about split sleeper always get confusing. It's especially confusing when people try to help when they really don't understand the rules. Don't confuse "on duty" time with "drive time."

You can only be on duty 8 hours between breaks.

That's not a factual statement. You can be "on duty" for as long as you need to be, even in excess of the eight hours and the seventy hour clock. So you can get back more than eight hours.

Yes it is a factual statement. If you get on duty, 8 hrs later you aren't moving that truck until you take a 30.

My DOT clock resets to 8 hours after a 10 hour break. If I drive 4 hours then take 8 hrs in the sleeper, I get 7hrs back. If I drive for 1 hr and take 8hrs, I get 8 hrs on the DOT clock. Yea I get more drive time, but not flat. I still have to take another 30 to get it.

I guess I'm being too technical.

Definitely go with a trainer. You might actually find out you hate the OTR life. I'm not worried about you driving I'm worried about you hating the lifestyle change that you'll be in for.

But you can't get back 9 hours. You can only be on duty 8 hours between breaks. The DOT clock will never say more than 8 hours. So if you do as the OP states he will get back 8 hours and have to take another 30 to get the rest of drive time.

At least I think so.

I would prepare now for that phone call on Monday by gathering as much accurate information as possible - direct quotes if possible, time of day and date also. When you can give them precise information like that they will be far more willing to believe you. Because there are definitely students who will exaggerate the problems or even be the cause of the problems but place blame on the trainer. We come across people like that in this forum from time to time, people who have never done anything wrong in their lives and everyone around them is an idiot and are clearly to blame for all of their problems.

So you want to make your case the way you would in court. Give them accurate facts and let them know you're simply looking for someone reasonable to work with.

Now if you really, really want to lock this in you should try to record some of his rants. It seems like he's ranting most of the time, so this shouldn't be too hard to do. Hearing about his behavior from you is only 10% as powerful as seeing it or hearing it for themselves.

In the NFL this past year there were a ton of cases where players were accused of domestic violence. Only two that I know of are out of football, and possibly permanently - the two who were caught doing it on camera. It's just so much more powerful and real when you see it or hear it. If you can even get one or two of his rants recorded on your phone it will change everything for you and might spare a bunch of students from enduring this guy in the future.

Even if you intend to stay with him I wouldn't tell the company everything is fine. I would let them know what's going on and how he's behaving, but that you're willing to endure it for a short time.

How long is your training period with this guy?

Wow. I literally just sat down from digging out two voice activated digital voice recorders just for that purpose, and I planned to set my phone to record video next time he has me drive.

My original plan was to talk to training Monday morning and then him Tuesday morning before we hit the road. Maybe I will not say anything to him until after I record his rants.

I am with him for roughly 4 weeks, or until we mutually agree I am ready.

The post I made is directly from my notes, though I don’t have dates and times, as I started from memory Friday. I could put most of it to dates and times from the logs though.

Ok just be careful. If you cross through a state that is a 2 party state and you're recording him without his knowledge you can inadvertently be breaking the law.

Hello,

I know some of the pet-friendly trucking companies....but are they only pet-friendly for experienced drivers ?

Ozark is pet friendly for all drivers.