Over-abused Personal Conveyance

No going home is not an appropriate use of PC even if your last stop ran you out of hours... UNLESS home is the CLOSEST safe legal parking available.

Had a driver at my company get nailed for doing exactly that... Going home after last stop ran him out of hours. He ended up sitting 20 mins from home for 10 hours and got a violation for falsifying logs because he had passed 2 truck stops since going on PC.

Edit: you may be able to swing it if you are bobtail and going home for home time... Not just the night. But I'm not sure if that is legal either, unless you left from your terminal and will return to your terminal after home time.

 

I'm pretty sure I know why, and this is a gray area. I'm not necessarily making recommendations to anyone, just trying to clarify this bs in easier to understand terms.

If you regularly dispatch from and return to the same location, it can be argued that even though you drove home you were still technically under dispatch until returning to that same original location.

I would need to verify this however, i'm just going off what I think I remember from some instance in the past.

 

Ran out of hours last week at the shipper. Flying J just across the street but my terminal was about 5 miles away. with. my. car. parked. there. Home is another 10 minutes away....
Guess what I did?

 

regulations exist for safety purposes. dept of transportation increases safety on the roads.

 

IMO both of those truck stops were full and he had no choice but to keep on rolling, that's how it always works out when I use PC.

 

If you had to drive the truck back anyway to pick up a load, drop a trailer, make your way to the next pick next week it's all work and not eligible for PC.

 

Yeah something stupid like that I would be going home too... But 50 or 60 miles away, I'm not sure if I would or not. In my personal situation, if I get to with in 150 miles or so of home (and am not currently loaded, which is often the case) I can use the Ag. Exemption because ALL my load heading out are Ag. Exempt. Technically in that situation I would be headed to and within 150 miles of my next Ag. Exempt dispatch.

 

Also, for some drivers, If you're close enough for your company to stop per diem because you are home, then drive home on PC. Same goes with stopping you from getting minimum pay or layover, if you don't get paid then keep on rolling, IMO.

 

Yeah, no. That wouldn't pass muster with DOT.