New FMCSA rules July 1st 2013

[toonertoo]

We had the PCM Thursday, that we all have to take our lunch on the road. All 30 minutes, consecutively. Oh My, we will now find out who has been skipping through their lunch.

I take mine throughout the day, 10 minutes at a time. I don't like that I can no longer do that, as it will put me in neighborhoods at dark time in winter I do not want to deliver in dark. I really don't know how I will sit for 30 minutes, and not need a nap. I guess I will take one of those books with me, that have been pining up that I want to read.

The problem for me is, I have done it this way since they started slamming us every day for the last 5 or 6 yrs. There is no way I can get all my business off taking 30 minutes mid day.

But its a law, not a choice, and I think if people just do it, the company will be forced to put some of those cut routes in every day, to adhere to the new law or suffer missed packages. We have to follow the rule, they have to fix it so we can.
Many of the drivers have been forced to take their lunches and breaks at the end of the day. Mostly because it was easier to do that, than fight management and dispatch.
At 1 oclock every day, or at least near that time, we all need to call in and say, Im going on lunch, til 1:30, I start my pick ups at 3:30, until 5. I have 40 businesses left, I can only do thirty, in 2 hrs, the rest will be missed. Or whatever your route requirements are. We need to let them know early. This could be the light at the end of the tunnel, the way I see it.....

 

[oldngray]

We had the PCM Thursday, that we all have to take our lunch on the road. All 30 minutes, consecutively. Oh My, we will now find out who has been skipping through their lunch.

I take mine throughout the day, 10 minutes at a time. I don't like that I can no longer do that, as it will put me in neighborhoods at dark time in winter I do not want to deliver in dark. I really don't know how I will sit for 30 minutes, and not need a nap. I guess I will take one of those books with me, that have been pining up that I want to read.

The problem for me is, I have done it this way since they started slamming us every day for the last 5 or 6 yrs. There is no way I can get all my business off taking 30 minutes mid day.

But its a law, not a choice, and I think if people just do it, the company will be forced to put some of those cut routes in every day, to adhere to the new law or suffer missed packages. We have to follow the rule, they have to fix it so we can.
Many of the drivers have been forced to take their lunches and breaks at the end of the day. Mostly because it was easier to do that, than fight management and dispatch.
At 1 oclock every day, or at least near that time, we all need to call in and say, Im going on lunch, til 1:30, I start my pick ups at 3:30, until 5. I have 40 businesses left, I can only do thirty, in 2 hrs, the rest will be missed. Or whatever your route requirements are. We need to let them know early. This could be the light at the end of the tunnel, the way I see it.....

Many routes are over dispatched like that and UPS got away with it by people skipping lunches. Now maybe they will add more routes? No, the overlords won't allow that but expect to get blamed for all the missed pieces that are not your fault. center manager will have to explain them to his bosses but will not be allowed to add more routes = more harassment

 

[over9five]

This could be the light at the end of the tunnel, the way I see it.....

Exactly! You guys need to use this to your advantage. This is a gift from God!

 

[Limper]

Exactly! You guys need to use this to your advantage. This is a gift from God!

​Don't get your hopes up. Orion is here to stay, and it's underlying purpose is to cut routes due to mileage savings.

 

[toonertoo]

My thinking is, if you have only done commercial, resisting the common senseness of doing those few straggling dr's, that will cost you time later, that you will have to do after pickups, what can they say? Also leaving business that are open after 5
That is my plan.
And I will spread my plan to others who are going to be slammed to the wall, with this new law. Glad its daylight til 9.
For this very reason, miles will increase. And routes are going to have to be put back. Period.
My route had 3 cars, now it has 1.5. One guy has 90 commercial and 50 pick ups. It is math.

 

[scratch]

I skipped my usual 10 minute morning break after I got my air and business off and added it to my twenty minute lunch break at 1:00 yesterday. I like to break my lunch hour into four parts, I take another 10 minutes at my last pickup stop and the last twenty before I drive in. I eat on area, I have no restaurants to cool off in. I will just have to move my lunch and break times around to fit my schedule better. This is one of the few times I like the government butting into things, its ridiculous that we have some people that wait until the end of the day to eat lunch back at their Center. This will cost UPS money.

 

[Brown287]

You mean to tell me we could of split up our lunch like that. Now you tell me.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

You mean to tell me we could of split up our lunch like that. Now you tell me.

When you enter your lunch/break times on Monday look at the lunch portion---there should be room for you to enter up to 3 different lunch periods.

 

[toonertoo]

Yea, it will. It will also open up slots for more drivers. It will cost UPS more, and it will cause us to earn more money and pay more in taxes.
That is why it was done. Its no big secret that many took no breaks at all, just to get home. x number of drivers increasing their pay by 1.5 to 4 hrs a week, because they have been cutting corners every way they could to get off at a decent hour.
There is no way to cheat it, we were told people will be checking, so not to mention the reams of paper for those reports.
During that one half hour, you wheels cant move, your diad cannot be used. And it looks like you cannot take the diad and put yourself back in service, then go back on lunch, when someone comes to your truck and asks for a pkg. It says it must be consecutive. Time will tell.
I thought I was in romper room when this was announced. The crying.............. I lost sleep over it myself. I never took all mine at once, but I took it. Mostly after 5. I guess by the time it gets dark at 5, I will have figured out how to get those bad areas off. Otherwise, I guess I will be marking them emergency condition, not safe at night. That will be another thread, probably from a fired toonertoo.

 

[toonertoo]

We could always split it, no more.

 

[toonertoo]

You mean to tell me we could of split up our lunch like that. Now you tell me.

When you enter your lunch/break times on Monday look at the lunch portion---there should be room for you to enter up to 3 different lunch periods.

We always could, No more. We used to also be able to take just 10 minutes, or 5, if we needed to get done early and that is all they took out, No more.
They say its for safety sake, I call bullcrap. Its all about the money.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

We always could, No more. We used to also be able to take just 10 minutes, or 5, if we needed to get done early and that is all they took out, No more. They say its for safety sake, I call bullcrap. Its all about the money.

I didn't notice anything different on Friday. We have not had the PCM that you are all talking about. I am on vacation this week and will look for any changes when I go back on the 8th.

 

[iruhnman630]

There is no way I can get all my business off taking 30 minutes mid day.

Their problem. Not yours. 30 minutes before your pickups start, go on break and send a message telling them how many commercial stops didn't get done.

 

[iruhnman630]

Peak '13 is really going to be interesting coordinating with helper hours. Most of the routes that I know it will be impossible to NOT take that 30 consecutive minutes before 8 hours break without having your helper breaking with you.

The reality is, however, the supposed '11 hour' rules have never really seemed to apply to our dispatches during peak season anyway, so we'll see if this new rule will.

​

 

[cachsux]

We always could, No more. We used to also be able to take just 10 minutes, or 5, if we needed to get done early and that is all they took out, No more.
They say its for safety sake, I call bullcrap. Its all about the money.

Just might be safety...............

Trucker in crash that killed trooper fell asleep after working more than 14 hours: feds - Chicago Sun-Times

 

[toonertoo]

Summary of Hours-of-Service (HOS) Regulations - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

 

[104Feeder]

Just drop the helper off somewhere, like an apartment complex, and load the handcart up with stops. Mine always chose to do that rather than take a lunch.

 

[Jackburton]

It will take a lawsuit before management verifies you're not delivering during your break. All they are going to look for is at least 30 mins in the board before 8hrs, not that it was actually taken. The reason they are having PCMs is to tell you and have it documented they told you, then they can blame it on that it's your fault you didn't comply. It's all about shifting the responsibility to the driver.

 

[toonertoo]

It will take a lawsuit before management verifies you're not delivering during your break. All they are going to look for is at least 30 mins in the board before 8hrs, not that it was actually taken. The reason they are having PCMs is to tell you and have it documented they told you, them they can blame it on that its your fault you didn't comply. It's all about shifting the responsibility to the driver.

They told us people would be verifying it daily. Could they be lying? Oh say it isn't so.................

 

[Jackburton]

They told us people would be verifying it daily. Could they be lying? Oh say it isn't so.................

Verify that you logged a lunch. Our supplement requires all drivers to take a full hour before the 8th hour. When brought up to management that not taking a lunch is a safety issue their response is "We told them to take it." When asked why they don't make sure they aren't just logging it and working through, the response was the same. When verifying that a driver by their own admission places a lunch meal period of 30 mins on the way to and 30 from, during travel time to the route, the response was the same. This new law will be more of the same blind eye mentality until something big happens, that's when they'll fire those they "Told to take it"