Complete Guide to Driver's Logbook

Every truck driver must have a logbook and it must be completed following local rules and regulations. Sometimes drivers require help with completing the logbook and this guide was made to assist them.

Every logbook that you're using must be signed with your name. That includes the cover of the logbook and every page that you're using. It's also crucial to write the date on the page you're currently using. Besides that, there are additional things you have to complete: your vehicle's registration number, the exact timing for your rest breaks and your working hours, your exact location, and the recorder readings from the start to the finish. While these things may seem not very important, they make your activity log precise and easy to read. It will make it very easy for you, your employer, or anybody else to understand where, when, and what you do on your job.

PERIOD OF RECORDING
A logbook must be a continuous record of work time and rest time within a cumulative work period (“working week”). Logbook pages within a cumulative work period must consistently start at midnight or midday, as set by the first cumulative workday within that cumulative work period. For example, if you start on the first day back at work on a midnight sheet, then every other page for that “working week” must also be a midnight sheet until you take the next 24-hour break. It is recommended that you circle noon or midnight at the top of the logbook page to indicate when the page commences. Logbook entries must: • Show the extent of the cumulative workday and the cumulative work period • Record when the most recent 10-hour break was taken • Record the period back to (and including) the last 24-hour break • Be maintained until the next 24-hour break is taken at the end of the cumulative work period • Be accurate, clearly legible and unambiguous

WHAT MUST BE RECORDED AFTER A DAY OFF
On the first day of a new cumulative work period, you must record the dates of all days off duty, including annual leave or sick leave, or any other natural days when you haven’t worked. It is also recommended that you enter the date of the “End of last 24-hour break” in the space provided. Note: This is the date that you commence work again. Note: A natural day means 24 hours that begins at midnight one day and ends at midnight the following day.

UNEXPECTED DELAYS
Delaying events arising out of circumstances that could not reasonably have been foreseen, or an emergency, can be recorded in your logbook and can be used as a defense against any charge for breaching work time and/or rest time requirements.