bobtailing questions?

**jchisom** · 07.22.2012

just some gerenal questions about tailing. I know if i bob tail home i log it on my log, question is that if where sitting in yard with no loads etc, can we bob tail with-in city or how far are we aloud to bob tail with out having to be on line 3 on are logs? Also for example im in west memphis,AR and if i cross tenn, state line cause its only a few miles up the road is it reqed to be logged, since we have the RAR system that runs are logs for errors etc. Thanks for answers inadvance.

**flood** · 07.22.2012

r u a company driver....? if yes then it's up to the company if you must go to line 3 or not

if your a o/o it's up to you "personal use" line 5 off duty driving

**Guntoter** · 07.22.2012

Most L/E dont care if you are under load or not. If that truck is moving you are on line 3.

**Exrayman4000** · 07.22.2012

This is from the FMCSA website under the regulatory guidance section of part 395.8.

Question 26: If a driver is permitted to use a Commercial Motor Vehicle (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 Commercial Motor Vehicle (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 Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) to any location to obtain rest.

**SteveH85396** · 07.22.2012

I'm an O/O using e-logs. My e-logs have what I call "line 5" or off-duty driving. As long as I am not dispatched on a load I can use it bobtail.

Examples: I drop my loaded trailer at the shipper and they have no MT trailers, as long as I'm not dispatched on another load I can switch to line 5 to head home/to the terminal/hotel/whatever.

On the flip side, I was out running errands in my truck while in Reno. I came out of a store to find a load on my Qualcom with instructions to bobtail to pick up a loaded trailer. I accepted the load and from that point forward went back to driving on-duty.

**jchisom** · 07.22.2012

Thank you for all the info and i am a company driver and my question got answered by each of u, and i talked to my trainer we keep in contact alot and he is always helping me.. thanks again!!

**Sequoia** · 07.23.2012

With my company: if we're at a shipper/receiver AND the trailer is backed into a dock for loading/unloading, we can unhook from it (assuming the shipper/receiver says it's okay) and log line 5 to go get something to eat provided we are going to return to the same shipper/receiver. The distance can only be less than 40 miles and total time elapsed has to be an hour or less.