On Duty Time- Real World Estimates

Pending passing my road test on Wednesday, I will be starting with my new employer the following week. I am aware that my trainer will help me learn the ins and outs of logging at my employer, but I'm just curious what drivers on this forum average as far as on duty, not driving each day.

I know that there has to be time logged for fueling, pre-trip, post-trip, checking in with shipper and receiver, etc...

Am I correct to assume about 1-2 hours a day?

Pending passing my road test on Wednesday, I will be starting with my new employer the following week. I am aware that my trainer will help me learn the ins and outs of logging at my employer, but I'm just curious what drivers on this forum average as far as on duty, not driving each day.

I know that there has to be time logged for fueling, pre-trip, post-trip, checking in with shipper and receiver, etc...

Am I correct to assume about 1-2 hours a day?

I typically use about 30 min ODND for every 10 hours Driving.

It depends on whether you are doing live loading/unloading, drop n hooks, or simply cruising all day. We typically log a 7 min pretrip, a 7 min loading/unloading, a 15 min drop n hook, 10 min scaling, and actual time fueling (usually 10-12 minutes). If actually laying over and stopping (a solo driver would have to show post trip at end of every shift) we show a 15 minute post trip. Thats how we do it at my company but other companies may vary in how they want you to log on duty not driving.

So for a solo OTR driver it sounds like shooting for an average of approximately 8 hours of driving per day over an 8 day period should prevent me from having to reset.

I know that would be a "perfect world" scenario, but I'm just trying to help my learning curve a little. I know from reading Brett's book and some of the other articles on TT that time management is important for a rookie driver to learn.

So for a solo OTR driver it sounds like shooting for an average of approximately 8 hours of driving per day over an 8 day period should prevent me from having to reset.

I know that would be a "perfect world" scenario, but I'm just trying to help my learning curve a little. I know from reading Brett's book and some of the other articles on TT that time management is important for a rookie driver to learn.

Two of my trainers had me do 15 min a day... but not pattern... so 12, 16, 17... as long as it was in that range.

One friend was brought in for not logging enough on duty time. Newbies are checked more than experienced drivers.

I usually do my fuel time (1 min for each gallon pumped), however long it takes me at the guard gate at customer (usually 8 to 10 min)... and 15 to 20 min at the end of day for post trip.

My FM doesn't allow resets unless repairs or home. If I have 5 hours on my 70 he will run me 5 hours then I'll get back hours at midnight. I do try to stay under 9 hours of drive and on duty though. Not always possible

Shoot for 9 a day and that leaves 2 hours somewhere the you need to cut out during your eight days. This has nothing to do with your on duty not driving time though. Each company has different expectations for everything. At CRST we are to show a 30min pretip which is night and day compared to Sues' company. And for the rest of it,well if it's believable it's acceptable. If you log 5mins for fueling for 200 gallons of fuel your going to have to do some explaining if you get your logs checked by DOT.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to post. I really appreciate this little TT community and can't wait to be able to contribute more!

No problem. I Lima Oscar Victor Echo hot guys in uniform hahah

Thanks everyone for taking the time to post. I really appreciate this little TT community and can't wait to be able to contribute more!

Rule of thumb is fine,...except we only have two thumbs and 8 fingers. Expect the unexpected and for things to waver from your plan, adjust accordingly. Your delivery time, available hours, weather and traffic will typically determine the amount of hours you can and should drive each day. Absolutely, trip planning is essential to optimizing your performance. As you gain experience you will know better what to expect.

One other point, although 7 minutes for pre-trip has been mentioned, as a rookie driver I'd plan on at least 15 minutes. Walk around your truck and trailer at a leisurely pace and you'll burn 2 right there. Personally, I never record less than that, but that's me. Also allow more if you are picking up a trailer with no idea of who was under it before you. You would be amazed what you'll find that others missed. At a minimum tires, rims, brakes and air hoses should be thoroughly checked and look for any external damage. Safety...safety first.

Good question! Keep em coming!

At West Side regional drivers do resets on their weekend home time and Fleet OTR drivers if solo run on recaps as their home every other weekend. As a team fleet driver i go home every other weekend but my experienced codriver is a master at time management and usually figures out how to get us each a rolling reset on our weekend out. For example we will slow down a bit, and run as a solo to allow the non driver to reset. whoever wont be getting good recap hours back gets reset first, to ensure we always have the hours available to make it home the following saturday.

When i was solo sometimes i volunteered to stay out 2 weeks at a time and ran on recaps. Id try to stay around 8 or 10 hours in those times.