personal conveyance thread

i only go home every 3 to 4 weeks.

but in the example you quote , i would not agree on P/C . leaving the unload point to return home to pickup a load knocks that in the head.

the only load i could pick up at home is a load sorry azzzz's that are to lazy to work

 

§ 390.3General applicability.

(f) Exceptions. Unless otherwise specifically provided, the rules in this subchapter do not apply to—
(3) The occasional transportation of personal property by individuals not for compensation nor in the furtherance of a commercial enterprise`

Compensation is the key when moving personal property. That goes for drivers that buy a new truck in another state and bobtail home. In that case the bobtail is the personal freight and the driver is not being compensated. So they can use 390.3 (f)(3)

I understand leasing contracts and you are correct. You sign the dotted line you have to abide by the contract regardless of the regs. I'm just speaking in general outside of a company contract. Some OO's aren't tied to a contract.

I know many want your exclusive use as to not haul for someone else. But does a lease on contract get that detailed to involve personal use?

 

I've done 2 long distance personal conveyance runs, 1 on paper logs and 1 on Elogs. 1st trip was from Laredo TX to Lathrop CA for Christmas and the 2nd trip was from Dallas TX to Lathrop CA and got pulled into the Chowchilla scales for a Level III. They asked where I was coming from and where I was going to, checked out all my paperwork and the truck and slapped a green 2 sticker on the windshield.
The only flack I got from it was from the company-- they called it 'unauthorized deadhead miles' for which they charge the lease guys $0.09 cents per mile-- they can't get a penny out of me because I own the truck outright.
Sometimes when they plan me into a situation where I will be close to out of hours at a drop and hook, I drop and bobtail out personal conveyance then return at my convenience for an empty trailer.

 

How would this work if, say, I was moving out of state? I could put my own personal property in a trailer (either owned or leased from penske/etc.) and do the move on line 1?

Do 10/14's come into play? (which I assume they wouldn't if it's all on line 1)

Rick

 

As far as I know and my understanding you would be exempt from the FMCSA and stay on line 1. I'll see if I can find an old thread on this topic where dieselbear participated.

 

Here's a post by dieselbear which holds a lot of truth. When ever you have such gray rules they will be interpreted differently. That goes for drivers and leo's.

The DOT ought to read this forum for feedback.

Now there's a difference from claiming personal conveyance and claiming 390.3(f)(3).

 

Heading in the direction to work is driving! The fmcsa is not very specific on personal use as if you look at Canadian regs they specify a specific amount of miles that you can drive in a day! The USA doesn't do that which like the dot officer that audits for us usually said he doesn't even like answering the questions bout off duty driving because it's. Vague and could get u into a legal situation! I do know u can not be laden ( no trailer atached) and. An not be under ANY responsibility to perform work! Driving to pick up a trailer is work, driving to the shop is work etc! Point is if u can log it as driving and it won't affect u then log it as driving and if u need it and your company allows it, follow their rules or it could end up. Being a false log

 

I do know we ran out policy through the dot officer that comes into the company and audits and he said we r fine and we give our drivers 60 min a day to drive as off duty driving only if they r heading in the direction to do something PERSONAL and can not have a trailer and can not be under any responsibility to perform work! Companies can only relieve y from work if u r not doing anything work related and only if u r able to pursue ur own! I have not found where the regs says anything about owner ops so if anyone could fill me in on where to find that info, I would love to read it! I do allow te o/ops a little special treatment but not allot

 

There are no special regs or exemptions for O/Os. BTW, the rule states "UNLADEN", meaning empty with or without a trailer. If it applied to whether having a trailer or not, straight trucks would not be able to use the rule, as they cannot leave their cargo box behind.

 

Personal Conveyance is way too undefined. As more companies switch to eLogs and therefore more companies start using/misusing OFF DUTY PC it's going to force the FMCSA to define how PC is actually handled. My guess is it will get much more restrictive than people would like it to be. Granted this is not something that will happen over night but, something you'll probably see in 3 to 5 years. With that said, I'm wrong an awful lot so take that with a grain of salt.