When it comes to the trucking industry, ensuring drivers are following protocols is not only the law, but essential to maintaining their safety. Drivers who are overworked and fatigued have slower reaction times and pay less attention to the road, putting themselves and the public at risk of harm. Log books are an essential method of tracking a driver’s movements and work cycles. They help employers, dispatchers, and law enforcement professionals regulate the amount of hours a driver spends on the road.
After your dispatch training, you could go on to pursue a career as a log book auditor or as a safety and compliance officer, among many different options. If those career paths interest you, read on to learn three facts about log book auditing.
1. Graduates of Dispatch Schools Know Log Books Are Categorized Using Four Driver Statuses
Truck drivers in Canada are mandated by law to spend a certain amount of time on and off the road. Graduates of dispatch schools who go on to work as log book auditors might know that there are four activities that can be recorded in the log book. Drivers can record blocks of time as driving, off duty, on duty, or sleeping.
On duty time is spent working, but not on the road. On duty activities could include loading trucks and inspections. Off duty time is time spent doing things not related to work, such as taking a break or showering. As their names suggest, sleeping time are the hours a driver spends sleeping, and driving time refers to all hours on the road.
2. Log Book Auditors Know the Mandatory Maximum Drive Times
By law, drivers are only allowed to drive for 13 hours in a 24-hour day. Drivers must not exceed 14 hours on duty, meaning if drivers are driving the maximum 13 hours a day, they can work one more additional hour of on duty work.
Over a period of 7 days, a driver may work up to 70 hours. However, they must have a full 24-hour break sometime in the following 14 days. Log book auditors know these regulations and use them to make sure every driver’s log book has legal and safe entries.
3. Graduates of Dispatch Schools Know Keeping Accurate Log Books Is the Law
Automotive Training Centres’ dispatch training in Toronto prepares students for careers as log book auditors. Upon completion of the program, graduates are prepared to help companies keep their driver’s log books in compliance with the law so that no enforcement measures need to be taken.
At any point in time, a driver can be stopped by government transportation enforcement officers or police and have their log book examined. Additionally, audits of drivers and companies may be conducted by regulatory forces such as Transportation Canada to ensure compliance with laws. If log books are not properly maintained, are missing information, or contain illegal driving times, the fleet may be fined, penalized, or charged. If a driver is pulled over during a roadside inspection while not in compliance with laws, they can be placed on “out of service” status for 72 hours.
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