Off-duty driving question

We can do it. My carrier refuses to allow us to drop trailers except at terminal or customer, but they also allow the driver to get to food and laundry places and safe truck stops on off duty time. I guess it's more of a carrier policy issue then a FMCSA HOS issue, but I'm sure some here will challenge that statement,

 

I think the guidance refers to "Unladen".

 

Legally, no you can not do any off-duty driving with a laden commercial motor vehicle. There is no such thing as"safe haven" rules in the eyes of the FMCSA, however some companies are more lenient and will not give you an in-house violation for short distances with a laden truck. Keep in mind that the DOT officer can still write you for a violation even if your safety department gave you permission to do so.
Here is the guidance from the FMCSA site (bold added) on personal conveyance (off-duty driving):

Question 26: If a driver is permitted to use a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) for personal reasons, how must the driving time be recorded?

Guidance:

a driver is relieved from work and all responsibility for performing work, time spent traveling from a driver’s home to his/her terminal (normal work reporting location), or from a driver’s terminal to his/her home, may be considered off-duty time. Similarly, time spent traveling short distances from a driver’s en route lodgings (such as en route terminals or motels) to restaurants in the vicinity of such lodgings may be considered off-duty time. The type of conveyance used from the terminal to the driver’s home, from the driver’s home to the terminal, or to restaurants in the vicinity of en route lodgings would not alter the situation unless the vehicle is laden. A driver may not operate a laden CMV as a personal conveyance. The driver who uses a motor carrier’s Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) for transportation home, and is subsequently called by the employing carrier and is then dispatched from home, would be on-duty from the time the driver leaves home.

A driver placed out of service for exceeding the requirements of the hours of service regulations may not drive a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) to any location to obtain rest.


This pretty much covers the "safe haven" myth. The only permissible safe haven if due to unforeseen adverse weather conditions, and with the weather info available today it is a real stretch to use this.

Question 28: Does the emergency conditions exception in 49 CFR 395.1(b)(2) apply to a driver who planned on arriving at a specific rest area to complete his 10 hours driving and found the rest area full, forcing the driver to continue past the ten hours driving looking for another safe parking area?

Guidance: No. The emergency conditions exception does not apply to the driver. It is general knowledge that rest areas have become increasingly crowded for commercial motor vehicle parking, thus, it is incumbent on drivers to look for a parking spot before the last few minutes of a 10 hour driving period. The driver should provide the reason for exceeding the 10 hours driving in the Remarks section of the record of duty status.

 

Question 26: If a driver is permitted to use a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) for personal reasons, how must the driving time be recorded?

Guidance:

a driver is relieved from work and all responsibility for performing work, time spent traveling from a driver’s home to his/her terminal (normal work reporting location), or from a driver’s terminal to his/her home, may be considered off-duty time. Similarly, time spent traveling short distances from a driver’s en route lodgings (such as en route terminals or motels) to restaurants in the vicinity of such lodgings may be considered off-duty time. The type of conveyance used from the terminal to the driver’s home, from the driver’s home to the terminal, or to restaurants in the vicinity of en route lodgings would not alter the situation unless the vehicle is laden. A driver may not operate a laden CMV as a personal conveyance. The driver who uses a motor carrier’s Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) for transportation home, and is subsequently called by the employing carrier and is then dispatched from home, would be on-duty from the time the driver leaves home.

A driver placed out of service for exceeding the requirements of the hours of service regulations may not drive a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) to any location to obtain rest.

 

I have been kown to go to PC miles once in a great while (we get 16 a day) and a few times I have used them to get some where trailer attached, not suppose to I haven't been called on it yet but I don't get dinged for a violation .

 

Get it in writing in triplicate from the person who told you to ODD with a loaded CMV and bring to the attention of your safety person.

Or even better yet have them show you in the book where it is OK to move a laden CMV to a safe haven using ODD.

 

"Safe Haven" refers to certain areas that someone that is hauling certain classes of hazmat are allowed to park unattended.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/part/397.5

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/397.5?guidance

 

Its called personal drive time. If you need a shower and you're trying to get a 34 hour restart you can drive from where you are to a shower without having to log on duty as long as it's not further than a certain distance I think. I used to do it all the time in Yuma Arizona when I was waiting to load produce even though I had a partial load from California I still log off duty until my load is complete

 

The short answer is NO. There is no FMCSA provision to allow you to move a loaded trailer to another location while off duty. UNLESS !!! There is an "emergency". So, if you don't have a tornado bearing down on you, or the business you're at isn't about to explode, you cannot LEGALLY move that truck ODD.