In another thread, Dawn said:
Quote:
In Canada they are looking for this permission (from USA drivers going into Canada) from the company and the older DOT officers might ask for this permission for you to log off duty at any point while under a dispatch.
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I see this "under dispatch" criterion come up frequently on here, and if this is really, technically true, then I never have an off-duty minute in my life.
I live in the middle of a dedicated run. From the load's perspective, I pick up in the afternoon, drive up to the delivery point, and drop off 10+ hours early. Then I pull out the next day after the delivery time of the load, and take my "back haul" back to the original loading point. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Right now, my trailer is sitting in the dock it doesn't have to be in until Tuesday morning, and my truck is sitting across town. It sure feels like off duty to me, but it sounds like since I don't have an off-duty card, a real stickler could say I have to be on line 4 this whole time, or else in the bunk for three plus solid days; neither of which is remotely sensible. I guess a really ridiculously anal freako could say I have "abandoned my load," since my trailer is up yonder behind a manned security checkpoint, and I'm not currently paying the slightest attention to it.
It's an interesting wrinkle, living at the "wrong" end of a trip like this. I guess I pretty much just have to take my chances on someone giving all my papers a literal reading with a fine-toothed comb. What else can I do? (Except ask for an off-duty card. I wonder why they didn't give me an off-duty card? Not that anyone ever asked to see the one I had for my old job in 10 years, mind you.)