Leaving Hours On The Table

Given going over HOS is bad and planning ahead you tend to find 2+ hour gaps in truck stops, especially in mountainous or urban areas do you guys find you often end up leaving an hour or more unused to account for traffic and accidents and generally screwiness?

I know I could use the additional time provision if there is an accident that really delays traffic but how do you even do that? Figure out where you were delayed then google "wreck on I-81 SB at 1400 on XX/YY day?"

It'd be kind of nice if you could "borrow" an hour or two one day and just"pay it back" the next without it having to be an actual accident or freak snow storm or something.

Just a question and some musings about HOS

I have my Garmin GPS connected to my phone for real-time traffic updates. If it tells me that there is a significant traffic delay ahead, I will pull off at the next rest area or exit off-ramp to verify with Google maps. And also get on the CB to get more details from the trucks coming the other way. So, in the immediate circumstance, I'm off-duty while I'm figuring out the reality of the traffic situation rather than sitting in the traffic on the drive line. If it is a short delay, I'll stay there while off-duty and let the traffic clear or find a detour to get around it.

If it appears that the traffic delay will be long, let's say more than 2 hours, then I can sit there for the 2 hours, which will pause my clock with the 8/2 split.

Another strategy involves rather than driving through a major city during rush hour, use the 2-hour 8/2 split to pause your clock and wait to drive through that city after rush hour.

Sadly corporate won't let us split

I have my Garmin GPS connected to my phone for real-time traffic updates. If it tells me that there is a significant traffic delay ahead, I will pull off at the next rest area or exit off-ramp to verify with Google maps. And also get on the CB to get more details from the trucks coming the other way. So, in the immediate circumstance, I'm off-duty while I'm figuring out the reality of the traffic situation rather than sitting in the traffic on the drive line. If it is a short delay, I'll stay there while off-duty and let the traffic clear or find a detour to get around it.

If it appears that the traffic delay will be long, let's say more than 2 hours, then I can sit there for the 2 hours, which will pause my clock with the 8/2 split.

Another strategy involves rather than driving through a major city during rush hour, use the 2-hour 8/2 split to pause your clock and wait to drive through that city after rush hour.

Sadly corporate won't let us split

I have my Garmin GPS connected to my phone for real-time traffic updates. If it tells me that there is a significant traffic delay ahead, I will pull off at the next rest area or exit off-ramp to verify with Google maps. And also get on the CB to get more details from the trucks coming the other way. So, in the immediate circumstance, I'm off-duty while I'm figuring out the reality of the traffic situation rather than sitting in the traffic on the drive line. If it is a short delay, I'll stay there while off-duty and let the traffic clear or find a detour to get around it.

If it appears that the traffic delay will be long, let's say more than 2 hours, then I can sit there for the 2 hours, which will pause my clock with the 8/2 split.

Another strategy involves rather than driving through a major city during rush hour, use the 2-hour 8/2 split to pause your clock and wait to drive through that city after rush hour.

Schneider? It's one of them things where they probably don't want to deal with the violations that occasionally arise from the splits not being used properly. Rather than using the labor hours to better train drivers in using the split, it's cheaper and easier to not allow it, by policy.

Yea, it's a pain but as I'm hourly it's not the end of the world.

Even getting paid to sit I'd still feel better accomplishing something if I could go off duty/sleeper and then push a bit more work later in the day.

For instance right now I'm sitting waiting to pick up a preloaded tanker. It's not loaded yet, I could be on sleeper then push further North and only need 7 or 8 hours tonight before I can start tomorrow to drop the relay. As it stands I'll sit here(paid but unproductive feeling) and losing off my 14h and still needing 10h off tonight

Sadly corporate won't let us split

I have my Garmin GPS connected to my phone for real-time traffic updates. If it tells me that there is a significant traffic delay ahead, I will pull off at the next rest area or exit off-ramp to verify with Google maps. And also get on the CB to get more details from the trucks coming the other way. So, in the immediate circumstance, I'm off-duty while I'm figuring out the reality of the traffic situation rather than sitting in the traffic on the drive line. If it is a short delay, I'll stay there while off-duty and let the traffic clear or find a detour to get around it.

If it appears that the traffic delay will be long, let's say more than 2 hours, then I can sit there for the 2 hours, which will pause my clock with the 8/2 split.

Another strategy involves rather than driving through a major city during rush hour, use the 2-hour 8/2 split to pause your clock and wait to drive through that city after rush hour.

Schneider? It's one of them things where they probably don't want to deal with the violations that occasionally arise from the splits not being used properly. Rather than using the labor hours to better train drivers in using the split, it's cheaper and easier to not allow it, by policy.

Yea, it's a pain but as I'm hourly it's not the end of the world.

Even getting paid to sit I'd still feel better accomplishing something if I could go off duty/sleeper and then push a bit more work later in the day.

For instance right now I'm sitting waiting to pick up a preloaded tanker. It's not loaded yet, I could be on sleeper then push further North and only need 7 or 8 hours tonight before I can start tomorrow to drop the relay. As it stands I'll sit here(paid but unproductive feeling) and losing off my 14h and still needing 10h off tonight

Sadly corporate won't let us split

I have my Garmin GPS connected to my phone for real-time traffic updates. If it tells me that there is a significant traffic delay ahead, I will pull off at the next rest area or exit off-ramp to verify with Google maps. And also get on the CB to get more details from the trucks coming the other way. So, in the immediate circumstance, I'm off-duty while I'm figuring out the reality of the traffic situation rather than sitting in the traffic on the drive line. If it is a short delay, I'll stay there while off-duty and let the traffic clear or find a detour to get around it.

If it appears that the traffic delay will be long, let's say more than 2 hours, then I can sit there for the 2 hours, which will pause my clock with the 8/2 split.

Another strategy involves rather than driving through a major city during rush hour, use the 2-hour 8/2 split to pause your clock and wait to drive through that city after rush hour.

Schneider? It's one of them things where they probably don't want to deal with the violations that occasionally arise from the splits not being used properly. Rather than using the labor hours to better train drivers in using the split, it's cheaper and easier to not allow it, by policy.

The positive aspect is that your 14-hour maximum day can't become an 18-hour+ day. I started driving at 20:00 last night. I am being unloaded right now. I arrived at consignee at 07:30 and it is 09:40 now. By the time I park somewhere for my 10-hour break, it will probably be after 12:00. That's 16 hours, which is actually pretty good for reefer. I have had where being off duty at shipper/receiver leads to 20+ hour days. Sometimes I will intentionally not use split, even if it's technically available because I am too tired to drive hours that split would avail me. I don't think that you are missing too much by bot having split sleeper available.

It's not a deal breaker or anything but not having the option at all has seemed like a pain.

On the other side of the spectrum of not having it available would be carriers pushing you hard to always use it despite, as you said, being too tired to feel safe.

On the other side of the spectrum of not having it available would be carriers pushing you hard to always use it despite, as you said, being too tired to feel safe.

Only the drivers who allow them to push.

Sadly corporate won't let us split

I have my Garmin GPS connected to my phone for real-time traffic updates. If it tells me that there is a significant traffic delay ahead, I will pull off at the next rest area or exit off-ramp to verify with Google maps. And also get on the CB to get more details from the trucks coming the other way. So, in the immediate circumstance, I'm off-duty while I'm figuring out the reality of the traffic situation rather than sitting in the traffic on the drive line. If it is a short delay, I'll stay there while off-duty and let the traffic clear or find a detour to get around it.

If it appears that the traffic delay will be long, let's say more than 2 hours, then I can sit there for the 2 hours, which will pause my clock with the 8/2 split.

Another strategy involves rather than driving through a major city during rush hour, use the 2-hour 8/2 split to pause your clock and wait to drive through that city after rush hour.

Schneider? It's one of them things where they probably don't want to deal with the violations that occasionally arise from the splits not being used properly. Rather than using the labor hours to better train drivers in using the split, it's cheaper and easier to not allow it, by policy.

If it’s Schneider, no split AND no PC.

Now I have both, but I value the PC the most. I don’t abuse the privilege, but it’s there when I need it.

It's not a deal breaker or anything but not having the option at all has seemed like a pain.

On the other side of the spectrum of not having it available would be carriers pushing you hard to always use it despite, as you said, being too tired to feel safe.

Law prohibiting coercion prevents us from being pushed if we are too tired, sick, out of hours, vehicle not safe to drive, or weather conditions are not safe to drive.