That's a lot of different data to keep track of. And it must all be kept by state. Some drivers just jot down these records on the bottom of their log sheets under REMARKS. However, a separate form for recording mileage and routes by state makes much better sense.
For one thing, separate mileage and route forms (usually called "trip reports") are easier for company officials to handle. They have all the information for one truck together, organized by the trip or by the month. Officials don't want to leaf through pages and pages of log books for the information they need to complete fuel use tax forms.
Secondly, there really isn't room on the bottom of a conventional log sheet for mileage and routes for each state. What if you travel through four different states on one day? What if those four states are Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey? Just try getting all the needed information down clearly under REMARKS, especially if you have other remarks to record.
NOTE: One form, called the 5-in-1, is an 8-1/2 x 11" log sheet for mileage and routes on the bottom. This form is well-designed and very useful. That's not what we're talking about when we say it's not a great idea to put your mileage and routing information on the bottom of a conventional log sheet. The 5-in-1 is far from conventional.
Many different trip reports exist in the industry. Most of them are combined on one sheet with other forms. We are going to teach you to use a simple, uncombined trip report first. We call it the Trip Mileage Report. Snap out one copy of the Trip Mileage Report from Part IV of this workbook now.
If you make a lot of long hauls, your company will probably have you fill out the trip report by the trip. In other words, each report form will cover only one trip. That's why it's called a trip report. However, if your trips consist almost entirely of short trips, your company may have you fill out a mileage report by the month, so that all the information for one month is on one sheet. In that case, the form will be of a slightly different design. For example, it won't have spaces for TRIP NO., FREIGHT ON BOARD, etc. And the FROM - TO spaces on the top of the form will be replaced with beginning and ending dates.
In this exercise, you will be completing the Trip Mileage Report by the trip. Now let's talk about the blank spaces on the form and how to fill them in.
Obviously, you write in your company's name where it asks for CARRIER, and print your name where it asks for DRIVER.
TRUCK NO. is filled in just as it is on the Fuel Report. Follow whatever system your company uses. Each company numbers its trucks differently. One way is to begin the truck number with the model year of the truck and follow it with other identifying numbers. Another way is to begin each truck number with a number referring to the type of rig, 10 for reefers, 11 for warehouse vans, etc. The truck number identifies the exact rig you are driving.
There is no set rule at all regarding how companies number their trips. They may assign each driver a different set of numbers, beginning with 1 each year, or they may simply assign trip numbers according to the calendar date. As a driver, you will be following whatever system your company uses when you fill in the TRIP NO.
After FREIGHT ON BOARD, you will usually write in the commodity or commodities carried on the haul. After WGT. or PCS., write in the total weight or number of pieces. If you haul one commodity out and one commodity back or haul several different commodities during the haul, your company will tell you how to fill in the form. They may have you leave this part of the form blank.
Write in the starting point in the first space marked FROM. In the first space marked TO, write in the destination for your outbound trip. In the next space, marked TO, write in the destination for your inbound trip. For example, in the exercise below, fill in these spaces as follows:
FROM Sacramento, CA TO Dallas, TX TO Los Angeles, CA
Fill in your SPEEDOMETER AT START OF TRIP before you leave on your trip. Don't forget. That's the starting point for figuring your mileages for the whole trip. Remember, these mileages must be recorded by state, not by date, and they must be exact, not estimates.
Fill in the day's DATE once for each state you travel through each day. This is important! If you don't understand what we mean here, get some help from your instructor. Use a separate line of the form for each state you travel in on a given day. Each line of the form for the same day will have the same date, but a different state name. If you travel in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York all on May 1st, you should have four different lines all beginning with the date 5/1. Each 5/1 -line will list a different state name, followed by cities traveled to and from in that state that day. Also use a separate line for each different date. (Some companies may want you to fill in the form for dates on which you were off-duty. In such cases, you would just write "off-duty" on the line for that date. However, we won't be teaching you to do it that way in this exercise.)
Fill in the form as simply as possible while still making your notes clear and understandable. For example, you don't have to write out Los Angeles on the FROM - TO line. L.A. will do.
Don't forget to fill in the MILES COVERED as you reach your exit point for each state. Do it at the border. Also, at the end of each day's driving, record the MILES COVERED in the state you stop in. If you forget, you won't be able to use your speedometer readings to figure miles traveled. This is the most important piece or information on the form. You can figure out the other things (route, state, etc.) from a map a couple of days later. But figuring mileage from a map is a pain. It's much more time- consuming than just doing some quick subtracting using your speedometer.
Use abbreviations in recording your ROUTE. You can write I-5 for Interstate 5, use 101 for State Highway 101, etc. Now, let's get on with the last part of this exercise.
Those are all the instructions you need in order to fill out the form, except this: If there are too many trip entries for one form, fill out two forms. Fill in all the same information on the top of the form. Then, number the first page "pg. 1" in the upper right-hand corner of the form, the second page "pg. 2," etc.
