Hotshot HOS Question(s)

"Birth" should be at a hospital.

It's Sleeper Berth , as in "Berthing: a compartment in a vessel where one sleeps. " A nautical terminology originally.

Sorry Pack, berth it is. I didn’t even realize I spelled it with an I until I saw your post

**Update**

I sent this email today:

"I hope you had a great thanksgiving! I wanted to touch on a couple of things that I’ve recently learned over the last day of doing research in regards to federal hours of service regulations. I know you may not know a lot of this (it wasn’t easy to find) but I wanted to share the knowledge.

Per the FMCSA manual and trusted sources that I’ve consulted it looks as though having one hotshot driver drive - while the other is sleeping and/or in the passenger seat and logged off duty is a no-go per federal law. Both drivers must be logged on with the driver logged in as driving - and the passenger logged in as on duty - not driving. There are some exceptions to this rule - but they only apply to semi trucks with DOT approved sleeper berths.

This ultimately gives a team a total of 14 hours of driving time in the 14 hour on duty period (11 hours from driver A ,and an additional 3 hours from driver B) before the 14 hour clock is over for both drivers and a 10 hour reset is required for both drivers.

The thirty minute break rule also appears mandatory for hotshot drivers prior to 8 hours of driving, and must be taken away from the vehicle free of all “on-duty responsibilities to the truck or freight”.

I by no means am telling you how to run your company. However, federal laws and regulations are what they are , and with civil penalties up to $26,000, revocation of licensing and the possibility of jail time being in the mix for those that willfully violate federal HOS regulations - I am saying that to move forward as a driver, myself and any team mates in the vehicle would need to comply With the FMCSA regulations. To me, it’s simply not worth the risk. I do this not only to protect myself and my license but also to protect your company as a motor carrier from what could come as a result of not being in compliance.

Having said all of that- this is your show, your equipment, and your rules. If this doesn’t work for you- I understand with no hard feelings and can make arrangements to drop the keys to XXX if needed. "

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I then got a phone call 30 mins later that someone was coming to my house to pickup the truck keys - which they did. So it would seem i'm once again a free agent... but not incarcerated..I'll consider it a win.

I would say the response to your email tells you everything that you need to know about the company. Great call in protecting yourself and your CDL.

Airborne, I think your email was well written and put the responsibility on the correct party, your employer. You got out in time and are much the wiser moving forward.

What puzzled me in reading what you posted is the point brought up about driving a semi instead of hotshot. You are very vague about your preference. Is it the team aspect? Why not get a legitimate job with an OTR company driving team? With a real sleeper compartment? You seem to be a conscientious person so you might do well with a legitimate gig driving for a company that is HOS compliant. I know hotshot driving can be done properly, but it seems to attract a lot of cowboys.

I agree you crafted your email in a proffessional manner and put the ball in their court. You quickly got your answer how they plan to operate.

I am a bit confussed you said you contracted your LLC onto them, but they came and collected the keys. Doesn’t really matter at this point, but normally when a driver contracts onto a carrier the driver has their own power unit and pulls the carriers trailers and loads.

This is a horrible time in our economy to purchase equipment, because of high pricing and rising interest rates.

There are jobs out there, just be careful on your selection. Stay away from lease purchase programs and 10-99 programs.

Hollar if you need information. Best wishes to you!!

Good on'ya for nipping that in the bud. I bet you felt a lot of stress just melt away! That sounds like a rather intense way to earn a paycheck, anyway. Sure hope you'll consider driving a semi, whether team or not. I get the feeling you'd be good at it and would enjoy it much more. Good luck to you and hope it all works out for you soon. Jump back in here to let us know what you end up doing, will ya?