Driving on Private Property

Are you an oilfield driver?

I probably spend the same amount of time on private roads as I do on state hwys and county roads working in the oilfield. Anyhow, I'm a new driver but I'm guessing there is no exception for private roads. And that your boss either doesn't know what he is talking about or he is looking for you to cheat on your log books etc. Again, that is a very uneducated guess on my part.

 

Definitiions

Part 395.2

Driving time means all time spent at the driving controls of a commercial motor vehicle in operation.

On duty time means all time from the time a driver begins to work or is required to be in readiness to work until the time the driver is relieved from work and all responsibility for performing work. On duty time shall include:

(1) All time at a plant, terminal, facility, or other property of a motor carrier or shipper, or on any public property, waiting to be dispatched, unless the driver has been relieved from duty by the motor carrier;

(2) All time inspecting, servicing, or conditioning any commercial motor vehicle at any time;

(3) All driving time as defined in the term driving time;

(4) All time, other than driving time, in or upon any commercial motor vehicle except time spent resting in a sleeper berth;

(5) All time loading or unloading a commercial motor vehicle, supervising, or assisting in the loading or unloading, attending a commercial motor vehicle being loaded or unloaded, remaining in readiness to operate the commercial motor vehicle, or in giving or receiving receipts for shipments loaded or unloaded;

(6) All time repairing, obtaining assistance, or remaining in attendance upon a disabled commercial motor vehicle;

(7) All time spent providing a breath sample or urine specimen, including travel time to and from the collection site, in order to comply with the random, reasonable suspicion, post-accident, or follow-up testing required by part 382 of this subchapter when directed by a motor carrier;

( 8 ) Performing any other work in the capacity, employ, or service of a motor carrier;

and (9) Performing any compensated work for a person who is not a motor carrier.

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According to the regs, all time "at the driving controls of a commercial motor vehicle in operation" is Driving Time. It's difficult to enforce, though. Doesn't seem worth the effort to make an issue over, unless your employer is coercing you to log it as Off Duty.

So if your are behind the wheel with the parking brakes released, it's line 3. Once you SET the parking brakes, it's line 4, according to #4 above.

 

The regs state you have to count the time you've spent driving or working on public/private roads in anticipation of you driving on public roads again.

For example: You spend 11 hours driving on private roads. You are now out of hours to be able to drive on a public roadway until you take your 10.

BUT: If you drive 11 hours on public roads, you may still drive on private roads, as the HOS regulations do not regulate how many hours you can drive on private property. They only require you record your hours on duty so you can determine your eligible hours back on public roads.

Bottom line: it would be illegal for DOT to dictate how many hours you can operate privately owned equipment on privately owned property.

 

..........

 

So you just show "on duty not driving" when you're driving on private property and out of driving hours?

 

A hat tip to lostnfound for the most insightful, informative post ever to appear in this forum.

 

What can I say, it's what I do best.

 

At the last company I worked for we were driving in the oilfiels, we had special logbooks and anytime we were at a location, from the time we pulled off the highway didn't count. Dot checked the book and said it was legal but only in oilfield applications