Personal conveyance back to the warehouse/restraunt/store?

The stores can be the shipper. I have picked up pallets and returns loads from Walmart and Target and Costco.

 

I suppose it's just human nature, but why these guys try to twist this stuff is beyond me. And it's rarely guys well-versed in the rules. My thinking is I should know the rules better than the guy enforcing them. I might not know the regulations by number, but I can find what I want in very short order.

PC is really simple. If it's benefitting business, it's likely a wrong use. If you're using the CMV like an automobile, it's likely OK. As @tscottme pointed out, the guidance is easy to find and quite clear.

 

Just remember these two facts -

FMCSA has created a guideline on PC, it is not a regulation.

Because everyone for years wanted the FMCSA to publish something about it, it screwed it all up so if you want FMCSA to fix it more, then you may not get what you want out of it.

Number two is something that has been said to me by a few enforcement officers - it isn't a regulation, it is an interpretation of it by only the officer doing the inspection and he/she can say no without justifying it, put someone out of service for 10 hours and best of all - give you a fine for falsified HOS.

Until you see a regulation out of the guidance that isn't binding, it is open for the officer to decide.

By the time you go to court to fight it, you will have spent a lot of money on the issue.

 

Yet the ELD rule specified that it needed to be an option available to use (provided the carrier allowed it, of course.) Have to love the bureaucracy!

Oddly enough, the guys most likely to get burned on PC are those most likely to not consider your valid points before giving the cop a 'tude!

 

I mean, I just use it whenever I run out of hours.

 

I used it once and got written up for it. Because i was going home and out of hours... I thought that's what it was for.. rules say can't do that.. I've since asked this question to dot officers everytime I get inspected and get every answer a guy could imagine... some say it depends , some say no, some say yes...
I've since not used it.

 

Figured their own guys would do that stuff.

 

This is the exact explanation you’ve described as to why I avoid it. I feel like one officer could write you up for it and the next wouldn’t even notice it and every point in between. Subject to too much interpretation for me.

 

If you are bringing in a load they sometimes consider you 'one of their guys'. Take a load out.
And sometimes it is a stand alone load picking up from them and delivering to a pallet place across town, or to a DC 400 miles away.

In either case, the store is the shipper.

 

I think it is a bit of a stretch to even use the word guidance or guideline when referring to PC. Then, on the other hand, I am not attempting to say using PC is wrong. I remember back when USA Truck had their terminal next to the "Palace" in Van Buren, you could see USA Truck Bobtails all over the place. This, at the time, was allowed and was OK, and the local cops would not bother them. DOT rules have "allowed" this type of PC for decades preceding the creation of the FMCSA. My last Carrier would not allow this, but kept cars at the terminals for drivers to use. So when we discuss PC I think it is safe to say this is OK, but not the real topic when PC is being discussed.

When it comes to the OTHER PC it is critical to understand what is happening here. I covered this in a previous comment.

I agree. If you cop an attitude toward a MCSAP/DOT COP and they go on ahead and issue you a 395 violation, you can rest assured that violation is going to hit the carrier's CSA. You might beat the state case, but the violation is still going to remain.


Now, generally, as a driver, your best source of information should start during orientation. If, however, you don't ask once you need to know, step into the office of the safety critter. This person will let you know what the carrier's PC rules are. If you still want more information, I suggest writing an email to
hoursofservice@dot.gov and asking. Or call your closest service center at this LINK. There is another source for getting some information. I have used these sources before and find that most of the time they will straight up give you an answer or will get contact information and call you back. I am not going to get into what MCSAP is. Just know that each state is required to have a LEAD AGENCY. For example, in Virginia, the MCSAP lead agency is the Virginia State Police. The VSP has an officer in charge of all MCSAP activity. I do not know how up-to-date this list is.


I am not an advocate of using the internet in a general way when it comes to seeking information. If in doubt go right to the horses mouth and ask.