off-duty drive time

Sorry guy, we don't have enforcement of FMCSA regulations as people think (there is no RCMP equal here), our system is kind of straight forward, the states have had to adopt these regulations through their legislative process in order for them to be harmonized across the country and to have them enforced. They started this process in 1948 and have updated their regulations and laws ever since - either by writing their own or referring to the FMCSA as their own regulations.

Each and every state can not enforce federal laws, there is a problem with that and this is where one of the issues is with this subject and a couple others.

So no it isn't ala carte but rather no definition and no define limitations for this for a reason and the states (the enforcement officer) has the right to define it as they want to if they want to.

 

We both know that it is only addressed in a "guidance" and not in the actual legislation.

While not a direct answer to your question, I believe the following adequately addresses any question regarding the authority of any "guidances" published on the FMCSA webpages.

You may also find the following useful:

In particular:

While I haven't looked specifically for the Federal Register publication of the "personal conveyance" guidance, every guidance that I have looked for has been published in the Federal Register. Therefore, I would suggest that it is more than reasonable to assume said guidance "...may be relied on, used, or cited as precedent..."

 

Not sure what you wrote, but the only thing I glean from your post is that you know even less about how things are done in Canada than you do for the FMCSA personal conveyance guidance.

 

What would happen if you are logging 'Off Duty' - Driving(Personal Conveyance), and are just going down the road, and get into a wreck? Who's liable?

The whole personal conveyance/adverse driving conditions exceptions to the rules are ridiculous. The ONLY thing an e-log system knows is 'Moving'/'Not Moving', and we're going to make exceptions to that?!?! What's the point?

 

FMCSA CFR Regulation as interpreted by the FMCSA as "Guidance"
§ 395.8: Driver's record of duty status

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:

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.

To add: If you're a "Company Driver" I would also check their policy as they can over ride this and not permit it.

 

So if I'm unladen (flatbed O/O) and I'm on my way home from the last customer but time expires a hour and half before I get there, I can't use PT?

Federal law states that a CDL is ONLY required if you're getting paid to operate those miles. So by that loop hole, you can drive really any where for as long as you want. Also, PT under that stipulation has always been a right.

Any how, what would the answer be on my situation?? Use PT and go home or wait 10 hours and drive the hour and a half?
P.S. I'm dispatched from the truck where I park it, at home. Never go to the Home Terminal.

 

In my time we had a card that relieved us of all responsibility when off duty and several companies reinforced this with a second card given that allows bobtail or empty trailer in PC use on paper logs when off duty strictly for personal reasons.

The magic key is never to be loaded with anything for this purpose.

Most all of my companies in my time have been more than generous with PC. I remember one Holiday we would bobtail a couple hundred miles somewhere to be with family or friends in a gathering even though the trailer might be signed into a truckstop parking clipboard at the fuel desk and kingpin locked for the duration.

One company occasionally asked us not to move the truck for cost conservation purposes say from Garden City to Liberal KS for fueling of reefer and tractor after waiting days for that meat load to finish loading. They would tell us go ahead and shut down, we are sending you two to a motel for the night, decompress and enjoy. A hotel room is sometimes cheaper than burning fuel a total of 120 miles just to get deseil and come back to pick up the load.

One company was more than generous to me (Dowdy of Batesville) whenever I was in Maryland. I would base out of Frederick at the old 76 there in those days and run all over with that 120. He knew darn well where I was at all times and where Ive been with the tractor on my time off. No secrets were needed. Once in a while I'll splash some fuel into the tanks at Charlestown WVa after attending a day of racing there on time off. It would be cash money only from me and no reciepts were turned in.

Those days are pretty much history. It would be very difficult to me to consider looking for a company that had that kind of freedom. With the ELD stuff, there should be a line 5 added electronically to programming to specifically show that movement of any distance from A to B was strictly personal conveyance when empty or just bobtail. That would clear up much of the problems in my mind.

 

No such regulation.

Now you can likely get away with pc movement. By the guidance it's not one of the two scenarios that are ok.
1. To/from hotel and resturant.
2. To/from terminal and home.

Likely though you would have to tick an leo off for it to be an issue.

 

I use it occasionally, but it is mostly bobtail. Last weekend, I got to the FL dealer near me to have them fix a repair they did a couple of months ago that went bad. A seal in the input shaft of my forward drive axle. When they got done, I was done on the 14. I left the trailer there and did a OFF DUTY DRIVING bobtail to my house about 45 miles away. Did another one going back the next Monday. Then I went to ON DUTY and hooked up and started my week.

I have done that several times over the 8 years I have been on an electronic log. It has always passed muster with safety department, and even the couple of times I was stopped and checked. There is no "terminal" near me. Where I leave the trailer for the weekend is "technically" the terminal. I usually take the trailer on home, but occasionally things like last weekend crop up. No problem. I go home.

the onlything that the carrier I am with requires in doing the OFF DUTY DRIVING thing.... make a note as to why you are doing it in the log comment.

 

Anybody know where the PTO fuse is located at? I need to pull it but can't find it labeled on any of the panels