Any log book theoreticians here?

So do you log on duty when you do work yourself in the driveway? I always do, but I know some people don't.

 

Bobtail is strictly that. Personal Conveyance or similar. Nothing on the logs. Ive run bobtail across three states on holiday during the 4th visiting various places on my time off and paying cash for fuel so nothing was logged. Strictly like a personal car.

I worked with one company who handed me a bobtail on weekends. It would cross 5 states in our area regularly. Back to work on sunday for a monday am delivery somewhere. No one cared. It's personal conveyance.

NOW... if a dispatcher tells you to bobtail somewhere 300 miles to get loaded you are logging it because you are working.

And finally you can toss the word theory out the window. The days of three paper logbooks and gaming the system to cheat em is long over. The computers take hold and that's that. The one work around is either a teaming set up with two drivers or literally a computer truck without a human in it. There would be nothing to log then. You don't run a log on a machine.

One last thought, you used the word technically keeping logs 6 months. There is nothing technical about it. Law says retain logs 6 months minimum.

FFE once told us that they still have our old logs buried in a rotting trailer in the far back of the lot. I would not be surprised to see it still there. But that's their problem not mine. They can burn it for getting cold trucks started on frosty mornings.

 

My kid does all my repairs, he just asks me a few questions while I'm busy drinking beer.

 

Not sure when or if it will be enforced but what you're doing here is not personal conveyance according to FMCSA. They do say it has to be reasonable mileage & you must return to the place you started the personal conveyance. I didn't like this because I figured since I own the truck if I want to use it for my personal vehicle I should be able to. But from what I'll leaving there are strict limitations on it.

 

I would play dumb when the auditor asks for your maintenance file. "What's that?" Drivers record of duty status? "Huh?" "I have a cdl!"

 

My understanding of the regs is you can use personal conveyance as long as you aren't doing any loads. So if you were last on duty in Murfreesboro, TN but need to take your truck to a shop in Nashville, TN you can use personal conveyance as long as on your next load you are back,in Murfreesboro, TN the original point. You cannot use thepersonal conveyance to go from point A to point point B then start working from point B. You must go back to point A to go back on duty and work again.

 

All BS, my truck, my trailer, when I go home everything goes with me; whether the feds like it or not. I'll be happy to go to court if they force the issue.

 

Technically if you're going to the shop the drive time must be logged.

The regs are really "grey" about this. But they are in the process of refining the rules to make it less open to interpretation.