Bobtailing (personal conveyance) = Offduty

We do Pc all the time as long as were BOBTAILING, to terminal from home, from home to terminal, From customer to motel/truckstop/walmart etc etc, the number 1 rule is bobtailing,number2 on personal time, i can be dispatched for a load @1300 but can bobtail to yard starting @0700 i am on line 5, all legal, unless i fuel,

 

The way it was explained to me is that you can run line 5 while dispatched as long as you are not "making progress under the dispatch". If you drop a load at a yard, and your next load picks up there, you can run PC (bobtail, or even with an empty).

Conversely, bobtailing isn't a free pass. If part of your dispatch is to bobtail to your pickup, you better be on duty.

 

That must be a company rule about bob tailing. Legally though you can have an mt trailer. If you bobtail to the terminal though to pick up a load or report for duty and got stopped you would be in violation. That's not a legal use of personal conveyance.

 

You can only PC if you drop the trailer in that case. You can't be laden according to the regulation. I'll go search that rule now.

 

According to JJ Keller's FAQ you can PC to and from home to/from terminal. Didn't think you could do that.

http://www.jjkeller.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/content____bi-hoursofservice-faqs___

 

Fmcsa's website says if you are home and get dispatched to come to the terminal to pick up a load you can't use personal conveyance. That would be a slippery slope to prove you aren't dispatched yet if you were to get stopped en route to terminal.

Question #26 in the guidance section.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/part/395.8?guidance