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Who Must Comply with Hours of Service? – HOS Overview Part 1

graph_image2The Federal Department of Transportation, (DOT) enforces a variety of safety regulations on anyone who operates trucks in interstate commerce. These regulations are numerous, and complex. They are confusing, aggravating, and overwhelming. But fear not! I will attempt to simplify one of the most important categories of regulations: hours of service and logbooks.

What are hours of service?

The DOT believes it must limit the amount of time truck drivers spend behind the wheel. Without these regulations, they think drivers will drive until they collapse from sleepiness and exhaustion, causing mayhem and death.

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Real Life Perks and Pitfalls of a Rock Star Coach Driver

This is part II of our series on how to be rock and roll coach driver. You might want to start this read with Rick’s five (not so easy) steps to breaking into the coach business. 

coachCongrats! You made it through the first installment of my story on becoming a coach driver and you’re back. I suppose you want to know what two questions I ask any wannabe entertainment coach driver. Your answers will tell me everything I need to know about your ability to handle the life once you’re in.

  1. How often does your company get you home?
  2. How often do you need to get home?

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What Happens When the Touring Ends

“Money, get away. Get a good job with good pay and you’re okay.” ((c) Roger Waters/Pink Floyd)

So, what is the best part about driving in the music industry?

WINTERS OFF!!!

inside_busThe majority of tours either come off the road by Mid December in preparation for the holidays, or head for warmer climes (South of the Equator) over the winter. This leaves the transportation side of the North American business and it’s associated drivers with down time.

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Japanese Trucking Companies Turn to Women to Fill Driver Shortage

Japanese commercial transportation firms are turning to women to help overcome the nation’s growing shortage of truck drivers. It’s a trend many US-based transportation companies would like to kick-start in 2015.

As is the case in the United States, Japan’s commercial transportation industry has long been dominated by men. However, with the Asian nation’s population rapidly aging, Japan faces crippling worker shortages across a variety of critical industries. The shift is forcing everyone to re-think acceptable gender roles in the workplace.

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Executing the Five-year Plan and Pitfalls to Avoid

shackLast week I told you about my 5-year plan and this week I’m going to tell you more about how I’m following through with it.

I was able to find a property with an older 2-bedroom mobile home on it along with a shop that had originally been a small convenience store and bait shop. The other beautiful thing about this property is, 1800 feet from the driveway the road dead ends at a boat launch into the Tennessee River. I paid only $12,000 in cash for all of it with the intention of removing both the mobile home and the bait shop and building a three-car carriage house with an apartment above.

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How are Hours of Service Recorded? – HOS Overview Part 2

Before looking at the rules, first we’ll look at how to account for a driver’s hours. In order for a DOT inspector to determine if a driver is complying with the hours of service rules, they must know how many hours a driver has driven. Traditionally a driver would record their hours of service on sheets of paper called log sheets, or logs. With the proliferation of smartphones and mobile devices it is becoming increasingly more common for the driver to use an app to create Electronic Logs. Below is an example of a electronic log.

Englund_Log

Read More »How are Hours of Service Recorded? – HOS Overview Part 2