You have that age-old adage,–if it is not in writing, it did not take place? Methinks that it cannot be more so the case with truck drivers and their NHVR approved work diary. This small blue book may seem harmless enough but it is your lifeline along the road. You have a diary that shows that you are operating within fatigue regulations, that you are safe, and that you are doing what the book tells you to do–literally.

NHVR approved work diary is not a mere paperwork. When the questions begin to fly. And what about when an officer pulls you up and wants to inspect your hours? As long as you have registered everything in a clear manner, breaks, start, and finish times, you are golden. No diary, or a messy one? You are going to get a headache, and maybe a fine, just as much like a wasp beneath the collar.

Other drivers consider it as a burden. Others like a ritual. The clever ones have the clue that it is a ticket to tranquility. The key is consistency. Note down the entries when they occur and not several hours after when you are seated in a roadhouse and trying to recall when you ate your lunch. A small slip-up can snowball. A five minutes error may appear to be a calculated violation. And when that occurs, it is as hard to explain with any plausible excuse as it is to grapple with an octopus–smooth and exasperating.

Imagine the diary as a discussion with the authorities and you. This is your opportunity of demonstrating that you are doing right things. Make it concise, clear and readable. Scribbled up or covered pages do not do you any service. Other motorists also have a spare pen in their cars in case a person wants to stop half way in one of the notes. Smart move, honestly.

It is a contentedness too to leaf through a neatly maintained log. The stories can be read on every page– mornings, long roads, coffee that eats the paint. you see your graft, mile after mile, rule after rule. It’s oddly grounding.

Now, however, here is the trick: Do not act to treat the diary as an enemy. Make it help you to be truthful with yourself about rest. The value of any job should not be on fumes. A clean log and a clear head drive a dangerous cut any day.

This time when you open that NHVR approved work diary, do not sigh–smile. It is an indication that you are operating a lean ship. It is your protection, your schedule and of course, your ultimate safe-net. Write in it, as it depends on your license… it does, you know, depend on it.