Past Your Drive Time

If you drive past your 11 hours and your looking for some place to park up how would you log that in ? Can you put that in as a 395.1 or just say you were looking for parking ?

Are you talking about 395.1(b)(1)?

“If unexpected adverse driving conditions slow you down, you may drive up to 2 extra hours to complete what could have been driven in normal conditions. This means you could drive for up to 13 hours, which is 2 hours more than allowed under normal conditions. Adverse driving conditions mean things that you did not know about when you started your run, like snow, fog, or a shut-down of traffic due to a crash. Adverse driving conditions do not include situations that you should have known about, such as congested traffic during typical “rush hour” periods. Even though you may drive 2 extra hours under this exception, you must not drive after the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty, and you must comply with the minimum 30-minute rest break provisions.” If you do use this exemption, be sure and record in your log, along with a notation describing the circumstances. Also include the FMCSA ruling number for reference: 395.1(b)(1).

There'd BETTER BE an actual "unforeseen condition" that you can PROVE to justify using that rule.

And since we're coming into winter - this is something that a lot of drivers THINK you can use - just because the weather was crappy.

YOU CANNOT USE BAD WEATHER (or anything else you knew about ahead of time) to use this exception. This gets a little sketchy and becomes a "judgment call", now that we're getting into winter. Like you can't chain up at the Donner Pass chain-up area, with 1/2 hour on your 11 - then take the exemption to try and get through. You should have planned on shutting down BEFORE.

Example - I-95 was shut down in parts of N/S. Carolina recently after Hurricane Matthew. This was published information that a "reasonable person" should know about - so you can't use the I-95 shutdown (and the re-route) to grab another two hours.

Example - (and this happened to a member here last week) - you are stuck ON a shut-down highway for 5 hours, due to a traffic accident. Traffic finally gets rolling and you only have 15 minutes left on your 11 hour clock. You CAN use this exception to get somewhere to safe to shut down (truck stop/rest stop/weigh station) - or even use it to get to the shipper/receiver. BUT YOU HAVE TO SHUT DOWN THERE and take your 10 hour break.

BUT BE CAREFUL USING THIS EXCEPTION - because you still CANNOT EXCEED YOUR 14 HOUR CLOCK.

Now - keep in mind - your 14 hour clock IS ACTUALLY A 13.5 HOUR CLOCK - because you MUST TAKE A 1/2 HOUR BREAK at some point during your On Duty Time. So - chances are - if you did a pre-trip and had a fuel stop over the course of the day - you burned up MORE than a 1/2 hour - so you likely wouldn't even be able to use the FULL TWO HOURS of the 395.1(b)(1) exception - without exceeding your 14 hour clock (which has NO EXCEPTIONS).

As others have mentioned - this is about TRIP PLANNING - and you are better off shutting down an hour EARLY - than creating an HOS LOG VIOLATION by shutting down LATE. Now - this can happen to ANYONE - but as you get more miles OTR down, the incidence of desperate panic to find a place to shut down before you clock runs out - becomes almost NON-EXISTENT.

This "Exemption" sounds kind of complicated - it really isn't - and shouldn't be used as an excuse for POOR TRIP PLANNING. You might get away with it ONCE - but if you start using it all the time you are GONNA GET CAUGHT.

Rick

Using "safe haven" or 395.1 as an excuse for violating HOS will not get you out of trouble. When the GPS lady calls your name like your mom did, you are in violation.

Your best deal, as suggested, is to factor your total drive time as TEN HOURS so there's no sweat for that last hour. On your 30 minute break, plan your stops for the rest of the day.

Assume all truck stops and rest areas start filling up by 5:30pm, and nothing will be left for you by 7pm. Yes, you may know of a dependable stopping place, but use these times for general rules.

I learned this from experience (and if you tell anyone that I told you, I'll deny it): Swift lets you slide two times in a month on HOS violation. Then on time #3 you get to talk with the Safety person. But, just like borrowing $20 from a friend, don't depend on this.