Explanations

Hi. I've been MIA for a while, I know. The problem with blogging on the road is oddly not one of not having enough internet connections as much as finding a time when I'm awake and in the mood to write. It's difficult.

And then, Ace and I have take some time off and have been visiting some friends, and I've not thought much about my blog.

I am a crappy blogger sometimes.

Anyway, the other explanation I feel I should do have to do with the hours thing I was mentioning in my last post (I really should have followed that up sooner, but for a bit I was kind of mentally a zombie, only with no desire to eat brains so I wasn't a danger to others. I just wanted sleep.).

The hours of service for a truck driver are as follows: If your company operates 7 days a week (which most do), you have 70 hours in an 8 day period that you can drive, fuel, inspect your truck, and be available for waiting at a shipper or receiver. Everyday, you have 11 hours available time to drive and 14 hours available time to be on duty (driving, fueling, inspecting, waiting, etc.). Unless you have less than 11 hours available on your 70, then you have only those hours available to drive (you still have 14 hours available on duty, that is a constant). On day 9, you get back whatever hours you used on day 1 and it follows like that. In theory, you can drive it so that you never run out of time on your 70 hours. In reality, 70 hours is easily taken up in 6 days and leaves you needing to stop for 34 hours to reset your 70. At least that is often the case for Ace and I.

Everyday, after your 11 hours of driving are up, you have to take a 10 hour break in order to get 11 more hours to drive. This is generally when you eat dinner, sleep, and eat breakfast. It's also the only time a driver has to get on a computer, play games, do laundry (unless they do laundry during a 34). And usually, when you stop, your 10 hour break doesn't start for the better part of an hour because you are doing a post-trip inspection.

So, yeah. A truck driver's life (and that of their passenger) revolves around the 11 hours and the 70 hours. And it's been weird to learn about all of that.