The real core of the daily log is the grid. The grid is divided into 15-minute increments, with midnight, noon, and each hour labeled. Make sure that your CMV drivers know that they must note:
- Each change of duty status on the grid.
- The name of the town and state for each change of duty status. If they’re not actually in a town, they can note the highway number and name of the nearest town, service plaza, mile post, or intersecting roads.
- Pre- and post-trip inspections on the grid as on duty, not driving.
Explain to your drivers that the total hours for all four duty status categories must add up to 24. Completing the grid accurately is essential for safe and compliant driving records, so encourage your drivers to ask if they ever have questions about how to log changes of duty status properly on the grid.
Submitting Driver Logs
Instruct drivers to keep their daily logs in their vehicles for the previous 7 consecutive days. Any time their vehicle is inspected, the inspector will ask to see their logs.
After the 7-day period is over, drivers must send or deliver their logs to their carrier. The latest logs must be mailed within 13 days of completion. Encourage drivers to look their logs over carefully before sending them in to make sure they are complete, signed, and dated.
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Logging Options
The Hours of Service Rule (HOS) allows CMV drivers and carriers to choose from among three logging options. They can:
- Use individual forms for each 24-hour period;
- Use a multi-day log for a whole week’s work; or
- Use an automatic onboard recording device. Automatic onboard recording device is defined by the HOS as an electric, electronic, electromagnetic, or mechanical device capable of recording duty status information accurately and automatically. The device must be synchronized with the operation of the driver’s vehicle and record engine use, road speed, miles driven, date, and time of day. In addition, the device must be able to produce, on demand, the driver’s hours-of-service chart, electronic display, or printout showing the time and sequence of duty status changes, including the driver’s starting time and quitting time.
As we said earlier, drivers must have in their possession records of duty status for previous 7 consecutive days available for inspection while on duty. These records must consist of the information stored in and retrievable from the onboard recording device, printouts, or a combination of the two.
Hard copies of logs must be signed.
In the event of a failure of an onboard device, FMCSA requires drivers to follow this procedure.
- Make a written note of the failure of the automatic onboard recording device, giving the date and time of the failure.
- Reconstruct their record of duty status for the current day, as well as any of the past 7 days for which no record now exists.
- Prepare handwritten records of all subsequent duty status until the device is operational again.
Two Exemptions for Keeping the Daily Log
If any of your drivers are property-carrying or passenger-carrying CMV drivers who operate within a 100-air-mile radius of their normal reporting location, they do not have to keep a record of duty status log under the federal HOS.
If you have drivers who are non-CMV property-carrying drivers who operate within a 150-air-mile radius of their normal reporting location and they return to that location at the end of each shift, they don’t have to keep a daily log under the federal rule either. For your information, 100 air miles is equal to 115 driving miles and 150 air miles is equal to about 172 driving miles.
Employer Requirements
Even though these drivers aren’t required to keep a record of duty status, employers are still required to record:
- The time drivers report for duty each day;
- Their total hours on duty each day;
- The time they’re released from duty each day; and
- The total time on duty for the preceding 7 days if they’re driving for the carrier for the first time or only drive for it intermittently.
Yesterday’s and today’s Advisors only touch on one aspect of the federal HOS and FMCSA regulations for CMV drivers. More driver training is available in the Transportation Library of Training Today.
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