The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) issues and enforces regulations that truck drivers and companies must comply with when driving on public highways. One such regulation issued by the FMCSA mandates certain records truck drivers must maintain for inspection by any law enforcement official. Although there has been some discussion recently to make the method of recording digital, most truckers keep physical logbooks of their required reports. The primary purpose of the record-keeping requirement relates to the Hours of Service rule which restricts truck drivers from excessive hours on the road to prevent accidents caused by driver fatigue. Logbooks provide a method by which law enforcement officials can check up on a driver’s daily activities and ensure they are complying with the “Hours of Service” rule.
Under FMCSA regulation, trucking companies must require their drivers to maintain a record of duty status for each 24-hour period using a grid system created by the United States Department of Transportation (“DOT”). A truck driver’s duty status falls under one of four categories as defined by regulation:
1. “Off Duty”;
2. “Sleeper berth”;
3. “Driving”; and
4. “On-duty not driving.”
For each change recorded in duty status, a driver must also notate the city and state in which the duty status change occurred. Truck drivers record their time by drawing lines on a DOT graph grid spanning a 24-hour period. A law enforcement official can easily inspect a driver’s logbook for violations using the lines on the grid, which show whether the driver’s on and off duty time is compliant with the Hours of Service rule.
Other information that must be recorded in addition to the graph grid include, date, total miles driven, tractor trailer number, motor carrier information, co-drivers, total hours, and any shipping document numbers. Entries in a driver’s logbook must be in the driver’s own handwriting and must be updated at every change of duty status. Truck drivers are required to keep a copy of their logbook pages for seven days prior to their current work day; in total drivers should have at least eight logbook pages in their truck or on their persons for inspection on duty.
Recent discussions in Congress have been centered on a possible mandate that all trucking companies utilize an automatic “on-board recording device” in place of the physical logbooks to reduce the ability for truckers to falsify their duty status record. As discussed in the Hours of Service rules, many truck drivers are pressured to work excessive hours well beyond the limit put in place by the FMCSA. Logbook records in physical form rely solely on the truck driver’s written word and are therefore very easy to manipulate to avoid being cited for violation of the Hours of Service rule by an inspecting officer. If trucking companies were required to use an electronic recording device, however, the records would be out of the drivers’ hands and could not be so easily falsified. According to the FMCSA regulations, both the driver and motor carrier are liable if the driver falsifies their logbook records and subject to prosecution.
Just as civilians operating motor vehicles, truck drivers are also expected to carry and have available certain items such as a driver’s license. A trucker’s driver license differs in that there is a different driving test and qualifications one must meet and is known as a Commercial Driver License (“CDL”). Truck drivers must also have their Medical Examiner’s Certificate (certifying he/she is fit to operate a commercial motor vehicle), a copy or sticker/decal of the vehicle’s annual inspection report, hazardous materials paperwork and/or shipping papers, and any necessary permits.
In addition to the records discussed above, truck drivers must ensure they are compliant with the record-keeping requirements set by the state they are operating out of. For instance, Texas requires all motor carriers with base operations in Texas to obtain a TxDMV number by registering with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicle’s Motor Carrier Division. Officers within the State of Texas are likely to ask for the TxDMV number when conducting a traffic stop or inspection.
Written by:
Kelly Bennett
Approved by Francisco Guerra, IV
Watts Guerra LLP
4 Dominion Drive, Bldg 3, Suite 100
San Antonio, Texas 78257
Phone (210) 447-0500
© Watts Guerra LLP 2015
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