Training #1: Waiting Game

At 6:00 this morning, I went out and found that the shuttle (read: decommissioned school bus) for the course was already there. Turns out that bus was early, so I just had enough time to grab a muffin before the bus left. Today was mostly the pre-training stuff: filling out paperwork, watching a few instructional videos, and completing a pre-work physical assessment. The physical assessment had me slightly worried - my heart rate often goes way up during exercise - but I completed it without any problems at all.

I'll be making a point to get up earlier tomorrow, though, so I have time to eat before training. Being up at 6AM and still not having time to eat is not fun.

The reading assignment for the night involved the rules for logging and the rules regarding the number of hours I can drive/work at a time. There are three rules: 11-hour, 14-hour, and 70-hour.

• 11-hour rule: After a ten-hour break, I cannot drive no more than 11 hours without taking another 10 hours off. This rule covers driving only
• 14-hour rule: After a ten-hour break, I cannot work more than 14 hours without another 10-hour break. In this context, work includes non-driving tasks, such as vehicle inspection, washing, loading or unloading, or getting gas.
• 70-hour rule: In any seven-day period, I cannot work more than 70 hours. As I understand the rules, driving and non-driving tasks both count against that limit; any time I'm on duty for the company the 70-hour clock is running. Any time I get 34 hours off (the mandatory 10, plus an additional 24), I start over at 70. Also, it's clocked midnight-to-midnight, so if I have just enough time to make it to midnight I can keep driving without a forced stop.

We'll find out more about the specifics on that tomorrow. I'm definitely going to find the schedule awkward, but I'm sure I can adjust. Of course, there's still seventeen days of training left, so there's a lot left to do.