Truck Safety: Tips for Keeping an Accurate Log Book

An accurate and neat log book is the hallmark of the true professional truck driver. A tidy log book, legibly written and concisely lined, shows you take your job seriously. Follow these tips to make sure your log book stands up to professional scrutiny:

1. Neatness counts.This is the time to practice that schoolboy penmanship. A log that is legible, with precisely drawn lines, sends a message of competence and good effort. DOT is more inclined to give you a break when they see a clean, careful log book. Authorities often feel that a well-kept log book reflects well on your overall proficiency as a truck driver.
2. Be thorough. Inspectors look not only for neatness, but for completeness too. Don't neglect the nit picky stuff like your truck and trailer number, driver number, bill-of-lading number, city and state. Take the time to be thorough. Inspectors want to see every space filled in, every "i" dotted and "t" crossed. To an inspector, a blank space is like waving a red flag in front of a bull.
3. Stay current. Record every stop, city and state. Don't get in a hurry and tell yourself you'll do it later. It only takes a couple of minutes to make an entry so do it now, before you get stopped and cited.
4. Keep a cheat sheet. Keep a running list of every stop, everything you do during the day. If you get behind in your log book, you'll have an accurate record. By the time you come to the end of it, it's easy to forget every detail in a long and stressful day.
5. Calculate carefully. Take care with your calculations and numbers and check everything. Accuracy counts. Your log book needs to match up to fuel and toll receipts. Use hub miles instead of less accurate dashboard miles. This isn't the time to be lazy.
6. Don't play beat the clock. Speeding to make up time on your log book doesn't work. You might shave a couple of minutes off your time, but the safety risks are too great. In the end a few minutes here or there aren't going tomake a significant difference in your log readings. It simply isn't worth the risk.
7. Follow the rules. Veterans recommend erring on the side of caution. Always leave yourself some wiggle room. Drive an hour under your allotment to make sure you don't go over. Better safe than sorry!