Here's a question. The regs say the off duty driving exception applies UNLESS you are doing work for the carrier. The company I drive for is an owner operator outfit and I drive one of the o/o trucks. I dropped the loaded trailer in the dropyard and bobtailed to his place of employment so the truck could be serviced. I logged off duty and took him the tractor, picked it up the next day and bobtailed back to the yard to get the trailer, where I went back "on duty". Since I wasn't technically doing any work for the carrier, but doing a favor for the owner of the truck, did that really qualify?
E-logs and Reality
Discussion in 'Trucking Industry Regulations' started by Red Hot Mess, Dec 30, 2011.
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You need to provide the exact location in the FMCSA where it says a driver can drive (empty) from a receiver to a truckstop outside of their 11/14/70 hour limits. The way I read it, this only applies to travel between lodging/eating and terminal locations and vice-versa. The FMCSA does not provide a lot of language that pertains to being away from terminal and home (leaving a consignee) and unless you can show me where this language in 395.8 pertains to leaving a receiver, I would not trust you are "safe and authorized" to drive a CMV -off duty- while leaving a receiver (empty) to a truckstop. (if push came to shove in a court or with a determined motor carrier official or safety boss) What if you had a pre-plan or was otherwise dispatched to your next pickup? Does this mean you can drive a 100 miles west to a truck stop that just happens to turn out to be the direction you needed to travel to get your next load?
Please direct me to the specific location in the FMCSA you are using for this "authorization". Otherwise, it seems you are treading on thin ice driving a CMV under any circumstances while NOT inside of a 34 hour break OR leaving a receiver's location. -
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You are released from duty at the receiver and you are on your way to a lodging location for your own convenience, not under direction of the carrier. You are off duty.
Safe Haven exception: Quote the reg and cite the FMCSR number where it says you may exceed your on duty driving hours due to delays at a customer, predictable traffic or poor planning.
Bobtailing at the behest of the boss for his comvenience is on duty driving. However. If you went there for a pop and BS session and he just happened to do a PM since you were there anyway and he had the time, then, for your own purposes, you returned to the previous location, you are off duty.
Words mean everything. -
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Injun Thanks this.
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The FMCSA does not need to outline every place you can drive a truck off duty. The reg is clear except for those that want to read a lot into it or have a large paranoia gland. If I am not doing anything related to interstate commerce, or anything for a carrier I may be leased on to, the truck is my personal vehicle and I can drive it wherever I choose, off duty, with no violation. Based on the state, I may need a CDL to drive the truck, but unless I am directly doing something that is part of interstate commerce, I am not required to log a thing.
I have even used a personal trailer, hooked to my tractor with an elog in it, to haul some personal stuff for a neighbor and didn't log a minute of it. All was legal. Nothing about the load had anything to do with business. It was just personal move of personal stuff within state limits. I was doing nothing that required FMCSA approval. Didn't even need the mandated liability insurance required of an AT HIRE motor carrier.
Case in point.... a person driving a 1 ton dually pulling their own RV on vacation, is not required to log anything. But a person driving that same truck, involved in transporting a similar RV to a dealer from the factory, across state lines, is required to log driving time. There are some that actually drive a class 7 or class 8 truck for recreational or private business purposes. They are not required to log anything either. That's right.... if you own a Pete 379, and are using it as your own vehicle for pulling a trailer, camper, whatever, you are NOT required to log a mile.
When I use my truck for my own personal conveyance, am not using it in any way for interstate commerce, and I am not doing anything for the carrier I am contracted with, then I am free to drive from Maine to California, if I chose to, and not log a single mile. Remember, the FMCSA stands for Federal MOTOR CARRIER Safety Administration. If I am not doing anything business related to being a motor carrier, I can drive any road legal vehicle, any time I want, anywhere I want (barring road weight and height restrictions), and not have to log a single mile or minute.
I have even been stopped and checked while doing this, and have not ever received a violation from any LEO. And even if I did, that would be an easy toss out. Just because there is a motor carrier ID number on the truck, along with an IFTA sticker, does not mean that logs are required in every situation.Last edited: Feb 1, 2012
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It seems some here are missing the entire point I'm trying to get addressed. The MAIN problem with ELogs (in my opinion) is running out of hours at a consignee at the end of a workday. This consignee does not allow drivers to take a 10 (or finish a 10) following unloading, you emptied at 15 hours following when you began your workday. Can I drive 30 minutes to a truckstop, or not? (and not have to deal with safety the next day and have a violation permanently highlited in the EOBR) And, yes, I have another dispatch in the EOBR to pick up the next morning. This ONE scenario is the deal-breaker for me regarding moving to EOBR's. If I'm missing something, I wish someone would please tell me.
Cowpie1 is talking about a scenario I (90% of drivers) would never be concerned about or would probably never find myself in. I guess he's trying to say "you're off duty, so you can do whatever you want and not log it". If that's the case and using that logic, then I can drive from Enid, Ok (where I emptied and ran out of hours) to Dodge City, KS (next pickup) during my 10 hr break and log it "off duty"? ... "sleeper berth"? ... really?
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