[chicago1010]

My log is up to date and I'm within my hours up to today. I drove 10.5 hours and spent 2.5 hours on duty, not driving. I am now unloaded. I live 55 miles from this drop. My carrier says that I can drive the CMV home as I have 22 hours befor my next P/U. How do I log this as I can't drive 55 miles in an 1/2 hour?

[Malaki86]

My log is up to date and I'm within my hours up to today. I drove 10.5 hours and spent 2.5 hours on duty, not driving. I am now unloaded. I live 55 miles from this drop. My carrier says that I can drive the CMV home as I have 22 hours befor my next P/U. How do I log this as I can't drive 55 miles in an 1/2 hour?

Simple, you can't...

Find someplace really close to sit for the next 20 hrs, then go back on duty and pick up the load. If they tell you that you can legally do it, find a new company to drive for.

Even though you're close to home, you can't pull a trailer and log it as off duty (using it as personal vehicle). And, if you've got a load planned, technically you're already dispatched, which puts you under the load.

[ben45750]

Originally Posted by Malaki86

Simple, you can't...

I would call someone and have them come get me. But, if I did attempt it I would rather be fined for speeding on my logs than being out of hours.

[Uturn2001]

If you are bobtailed then you could go home and log the trip as off duty. In essence what you are doing is saying that you are using the tractor as your personal conveyence from work to home. The same can be done in a straight truck if you are empty since the cargo portion of the unit can not be readily detached.

Going back you would have to log it as driving, since you would be doing work under the direction of the company.

[kc0iv]

Originally Posted by Malaki86

Even though you're close to home, you can't pull a trailer and log it as off duty (using it as personal vehicle). And, if you've got a load planned, technically you're already dispatched, which puts you under the load.

I've heard this before "you can't pull a trailer and log it as off duty (using it as personal vehicle)" Yet I have never found this in the rules. I'd be interested where you got the information.

kc0iv

[Uturn2001]

Originally Posted by kc0iv

I've heard this before "you can't pull a trailer and log it as off duty (using it as personal vehicle)" Yet I have never found this in the rules. I'd be interested where you got the information.

kc0iv

It is a culmination of several different regs, definitions, and official interpretations. Some saying you can do this and others saying that you can not do that.

[Uturn2001]

Driving a CMV and logging it as a personal conveyence is a tricky area to deal with. Many drivers, understandably so, will not do this ever. In addition some companies have rules prohibiting thier drivers from ever logging this way.

[kc0iv]

I don't remember the details but I do recall a driver was cited for driving over 200 miles and he had logged it as OFF-DUTY. When it went to court the judge found in the drivers favour. He said he found no law that covered such a case.

I do recall the driver had his own authority and he was returning home.

It seems I read this article a couple of years ago in Landline but I may be wrong.

To: Uturn2001

I know it is a gray area and most companies do put restrictions on this type of logging. I also sure most DOT officers would fuss.

It is no big deal one way or the other. I mainly hadn't found anything in the rules that address it.

kc0iv

[Uturn2001]

On 3 separate occasions, in 3 different states, I have talked to senior "DOT" officials about this subject. What I was told about the trailer issue is that if a driver is pulling a trailer, even though it is empty, that in their view it is more likely that the driver may in fact be deadheading to his next pickup even though his home may be in route.

Personally I have never logged Off Duty when bobtailing unless it was a short distance (like within 20 miles).

Anyway, I fully expect that before long this excemption will be outlawed all together. It will probably happen when EOBR's become a reality.

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by kc0iv

It is no big deal one way or the other. I mainly hadn't found anything in the rules that address it.

kc0iv

Question 26: If a driver is permitted to use a CMV for personal reasons, how must the driving time be recorded?

Guidance: When a driver is relieved from work and all responsibility for performing work, time spent traveling from a driver's home to his/her terminal (normal work reporting location), or from a driver's terminal to his/her home, may be considered off-duty time. Similarly, time spent traveling short distances from a driver's en route lodgings (such as en route terminals or motels) to restaurants in the vicinity of such lodgings may be considered off-duty time. The type of conveyance used from the terminal to the driver's home, from the driver's home to the terminal, or to restaurants in the vicinity of en route lodgings would not alter the situation unless the vehicle is laden. A driver may not operate a laden CMV as a personal conveyance. The driver who uses a motor carrier's CMV for transportation home, and is subsequently called by the employing carrier and is then dispatched from home, would be on-duty from the time the driver leaves home.

A driver placed out of service for exceeding the requirements of the hours of service regulations may not drive a CMV to any location to obtain rest.