Personal conveyance back to the warehouse/restraunt/store?

Oh what a tangled web we weave...
I guess you can do whatever you want, until your logs get audited by someone who knows the actual laws.
Everyone's opinions don't matter.

 

Yes you can, go ahead.

 

Seven years, I’ve used PC, three times. Some drivers use it almost every day it seems.

 

Well, I have explained it twice, so, no YOU cant do it. You dont have the grey matter...

 

PC is one of those fun little rules that are entirely up to how much a dot man wants to fleece money from you for enforcement in some ways. As for if you can go home or not. Nope. If you made a delivery or did ANY kind of work. You cant go directly home to a terminal or anything of the like.

Here is an example of how i use it. One of my most common loads to get to my house is i pick up carbon 95 from point A. I drive 800 miles and deliver to point B. Usually i have 2 to 3 hours left on my 11 at the point i deliver. My home is exactly 3.25 hours from where i deliver.

What i then do is i move from point B to truckstop C while ON duty and then i go offduty. THEN legally i can go into PC and drive home because i am not on a trip. I have finished the trip. Gone to a truckstop and logged off duty. That trip is finished legally and literally speaking.

So my leaving the truckstop at this point, i am not under dispatch, i am not making a profit. I am not on duty. I am not under a load. I am released from all responsibilities and dutys and not in any way shape and or form working. By all legal definitions and rules going from the truckstop to home is legal.

That said god ####ing help you if there is a wreck and your on PC. They WILL find a way to make that stick. And if your leaving your home to go to work. That IS on duty time.

 

Just my opinion but, I think you nailed it.

 

There are 2 types of PC. The first one is when a driver operates a CMV to go get things and return to the starting place. Some carriers prohibit this type of PC. Then you have the PC that is allowed by the FMCSA because there are situations where a driver is out of available hours and is FORCED to leave a location after a pickup or delivery. It's been a while since I reviewed part 395, but last I heard, NO mention of PC is part of a rule. The FMCSA would be sued, and most likely, a nationwide injunction would be issued if they attempted it. Think of PC as Uncle Joe from the TV show Petticoat Junction sitting on the front porch of the Shady Rest Hotel, winking at you. What this means for you, the driver, is that when told to leave a property and you are out of hours, the FMCSA will look the other way and allow you to drive ONLY until you can get to a safe, suitable place to park. They don't put a mileage limit on this, but I doubt there is anywhere in the USA that you can't do this within an hour. @Arctic_fox is correct on that last sentence. If you are driving and out of hours and anything happens that draws attention of state cops, the anal exam you are going to be subject too is going to be intense. In that situation, if you can show you just did a pickup/delivery and are within a reasonable distance away, and everything else is right, you should be OK as it relates to part 395 as far as criminal action is concerned. Here is where it gets problematic. You may get a civil lawsuit filed against you. There are so many elements at play here that I won't even pretend to know how such a lawsuit will play out. Hopefully, your carrier has a good legal team.

 

If you’re getting paid for those miles from the truck stop to home, or some portion of it, does that still apply?

 

This thread is a great example of why PC will most likely be outlawed and why most carriers don't allow it as an option to their lease ops or drivers.

 

Will never happen! The history behind PC and why it is there is clear. The FMCSA and the States can never allow a situation where a driver is forced to leave a property, and it would also be illegal to drive. I know there are situations where drivers can use PC and have available hours, and maybe at some point, the FMCSA might take action to prohibit this.

I also recommend drivers read THIS published by the USDOT/FMCSA, about Coercion. It is rather long, but it gives a brief history of some aspects of this.