Yes, Truckers have Limits #TruckerTuesday
I was watching Ice Road Truckers awhile back and had to giggle. While I know it’s a reality TV show I didn’t realize how much some things were exaggerated. On one of the shows there was a driver that drove all through the night. He looked totally exhausted and said to the camera, “I’ve been driving 16 hours and still have a few more to go.”
The problem with that? You’re only allowed to drive 11 hrs at a time. After that you have to take a 10 hr break. And you can be fined if you break the rules so there’s no way a driver would announce that to the whole world.
Yes, there are rules and restrictions on how much a driver can drive. No one wants an overly exhausted person at the wheel of an 80,000 truck. That could be deadly. All drivers keep logs on their daily activities.
11-Hour Driving Limit
May drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty.
14-Hour Limit
May not drive beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty, following 10 consecutive hours off duty. Off-duty time does not extend the 14-hour period.
Now there’s more rules than just those two, but my point is that truckers have these rules and abide by them for their safety and the safety of those around them.
It also makes me realize that there’s way more exaggerating on reality shows than I realized 😉
Safe travels!
In Canada, it’s 13 hrs on the road and 10 hrs off the road (http://adrivers.com/hoursOfService.php#.VvZMEp5OlDt). As far as the log books goes, I’m not sure about today but 30-40 yrs ago, many truck drivers didn’t fill out the log book unless they knew they were going through a weight station or the road was lined with smokies aka police. My grandfather was a Hazmat driver for many years and the stories that I could tell you would give you nightmares.
I’m sure it is the same today although most are going electronic now. I’ve heard the Hazmat stories which is why I don’t ever want my Hazmat endorsement 😉
I loved reading your post about trucker regulations.
I always wondered how much was real and what was dramatized! Thank goodness for safety regulations for drivers of those big rigs!