Thereupon, husband and wife team drivers can prevent without a doubt other team-driving situations, because at the end of the day you will have a better understanding with each other.
Company Team Drivers
Nationwide companies are hiring team drivers on a regular basis. In general, company team drivers have steady loads and routes to manage.
Moreover, these trucking companies have created team driver match programs, with the aim to choose the most compatible drivers.
On the other hand, there are as well trucking companies that are choosing team truck drivers with the help of online services, such as is FindACoDriver, through the help of fellow truck drivers as well as dispatchers.
Driving Teams as an Independent Trucker
As has been noted, there is also the option for independent truckers to join team truck driving. That is to say, independent truckers somehow have a better control of their running schedule than company team truck driver have.
On the positive side, the control of the running schedule that independent truck drivers have leads them to make more money. Team truck driving brings them more steady routes and loads.
For the most part driving teams as an independent truck driver are looking for reliable truck dispatchers who are finding and providing them with steady work.
4. Basic Hours of Service In The United States
The Hours of Service in the USA are simple, but at the same time restrictive.
Thereupon, team truck drivers should respect these rules as well, there are no exceptions.
So team truck drivers, it goes like this:
- You have to respect the 30-minute break and to log it. There are many team truck drivers who are forgetting to do this. The 8-hour clock has to be reset with a 30-minute break;
- When it comes to the duty cycles, each team truck driver should know that in the USA there are set two duty cycles. The first duty cycle is 70 hours in 8 days, whereas the second one is set to 60 hours in 7 days;
- So now we move to the daily driving- each truck driver is allowed to drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty;
- Last but not least, truck drivers should reset their hours to zero with 34 consecutive hours off-duty;
As you can see, the main focus of the hours of service regulations is on covering two points: how long a truck driver is allowed to drive, as well as when he is allowed to drive.
LEARN 12 SECRET STEPS HOW TO MAKE $950 MORE PER TRUCK / MONTH
Hey! I'm George J.Magoci and I will send you a FREE eBook where you can learn 12 secret steps how to make $950 more truck/month.
Thereupon, the HOS have specific limits on the amount of time a trucker is allowed to drive. For this reason, each truck driver should respect these regulations. Just keep it safe!
5. Follow FMCSA Rules
Frequently asked a question by the truck drivers who want to start a team truck driving career is the following one: Does FMCSA created different rules and regulations for team truck drivers?
Well, I will answer you briefly, The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration implies the same rules for team truck drivers as for solo truck drivers.
That is to say, there are minimal rule changes when it comes to team truck driving. Those changes include:
- When the truck driver takes 10 consecutive hours off-duty, at the start of the duty period, the sleeper period can be excluded from the calculation of the 14-hour limit. In summary, it is a combination of consecutive sleeper and off-duty time (at least 10 hours);
- Team truck driving- each driver is limited to counting only 2 hours in the passenger seat as off duty;
- Keep in mind that each truck driver shall spend 8 hours of the required 10 off-duty hours in the sleeper.
6. Personal Preferences and Habits Under The Microscope
When choosing team truck driving you shall be aware of the personal preferences and habits, both yours and of your team driving mate.
So, when you begin team truck driving, you will notice straight away that your habits will be set under the microscope.
By and large, team truck drivers are working in a small and confined space, straight proportionally to that they have to pay a lot of attention to the cleanliness, which then becomes the most important at that point.
So, team truck driving indicates that the personal hygiene is the utmost importance. In essence, both truck drivers should find a middle ground and make a compromise about the cleaning tasks (what should be done and how often).
Here are few must have items for every trucker:
- Towels;
- Skin Moisturizer-SPF lotion;
- Deodorant;
- Baby Powder;
- Toothbrush & Toothpaste;
- Hand Sanitizer;
Yet, there are some truck drivers who enjoy listening to a certain type of music, whereas others want to get engaged in conversations on the CB, but, if you are both reasonable, then you will try and come up with idea and solution that will keep your needs satisfied. As time passes by you will get used to one another!
7. Poor Quality of Sleep
Well, I bet that you’ve been thinking that when you start a team driving job you will get a more quality sleep. But, believe it or not, it is not true at all. And why is that so?
By all means, team truck driving leads to poor quality of sleep. That is due to the fact that the truck is constantly moving and you are bouncing around. Later on, the noise comes from everywhere, starting with the cb radio, up to the vibration of truck altogether with the highway noise.
Moreover, in the past few years, it has been noticed that more and more truck drivers have a sleep disorder. Unfortunately, sooner or later truck drivers with sleep apnea are likely to have an accident on the road.
Well, the FMCSA has conducted few surveys about sleep apnea and has come up with the result that more than 70% of truck drivers have this disorder due to being obese, as well as due to driving alone. Nowadays, DOT exams are covering this problem too.
