Question about driving on hometime??

Give this person a proverbial cigar but don't light it yet. I will find the ruling, or the driving exception, but I do not recall it mentioning that you have to be bobtail. An exception to the rule does mention a driver being able drive a commercial vehicle, when not under dispatch, for personal use, when there is no monetary gain, and when transporting personal items. If you are in a company truck you must have permission and have(if bobtail) bobtail insurance. I would never work for a company, away from home, where I couldn't use the truck or that stated they didn't provide bobtail insurance. This would be stupid.

I don't have my book at the house and haven't been able to locate it on the FMCSA web site but will find the rule or the exception.
I live 113 miles from where I work and stay here 6 on and 2 off. I support the oilfield industry and have even more exception to the driving rule than most. I have to travel through a DOT training area on the way home and have been stopped 2 times empty going home for my days off. I always haul my trailer as it belongs to the same person that owns the truck. I did not have to present my logbook either time I told the officers I was off duty going home. I didn't question it, but did wonder, as a log book is usually the first thing a DOT officer want to see.

It has been my experience that a driver will stand more of a chance being inspected because of visual problem or an observed violation than a random. Even at a weight station, most of the time, a full blown inspection will be the result of an overweight(over axle) truck, or a truckside logbook check.
Here is a poll! How many drivers reading this have been pulled over or inspected at a scale house randomly while bobtail? This means without an observed violation. Ok, how many have been pulled around for a random when crossing a scale empty? Be honest! I am guessing not many, if any. I do not know of any drivers that have been pulled in to a scale house bobtail on a random check.

I do log personal driving time as off duty and also always have a bag of clothes(easier for OTR drivers) in the truck.
The regulations state that any change in duty status must be logged. I have heard a few drivers over the years state they always log 100% legal. Even the most lawful trucker can NOT do this. I can assure you that no driver(in the sleeper) wakes up, logs off duty, then goes to the restroom. I trained for over 5 years and always told a trainee to log legal. I would never tell anyone to break sleeper birth time to go off duty to use the restroom.
Another point is the 15 minute increment time frame. I have had drivers state that if something takes less than 7 1/2 minutes they will not reflect a change in duty status. If a time frame takes me less than 15 minutes I do not change the duty status.

If a driver is shutting down for a 34 hour restart make sure, in advance, that the truck and trailer will be secured for the duration. A driver under a load is under dispatch, end of story. A lot of companies give a card releasing a driver of company responsibilities during breaks. Most laws may not seem that important unless a person gets caught. If a driver has to move a vehicle and has an accident, while on a 10 hour break(certainly if there is a fatality), or if breaking the 10 hours throws a driver into violation, serious fines and or jail time can result.
There is an old joke that if you didn't get caught it didn't happen. IF you get caught will it be worth it?
I will update when I get this information.

 

A driver had better have company permission to have riders. Most companies have a rider plan, and provide extra insurance for riders. There is almost always an age restriction.

 

This was addressed before and MikeMD clarified it .

A tractor with an empty trailer is an unladen vehicle and can be used off duty . Driving back to the terminal can be logged off duty .
§395.8 Driver's Record of Duty Status

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

Guidance: When 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 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

 

Thank you. I didn't have time to look it up but I knew it was there. I know I have never had a problem traveling on home time with an empty trailer.

 

Technically, the driver should log it as line 3 (on duty, driving). Makes no difference if they are on "hometime".

Only ones who can legally log off duty are o/o and then it doesn't matter whether you have a trailer (loaded or empty) behind you.

 

Where, prey tell, did you come up with this information? I am sure you read(or should have) the post with the rule.
If I drive a truck(and I am a company driver) on my personal time, as personal transportation, I do not log period. "Technically", and realistically I am driving a vehicle just like my car or truck. I am NOT under dispatch, not performing any company duties, not being compensated, and on my on time.
If a person wants to be politically correct he or she can start a log for the day and record "off duty" at the bottom and where this occurred at. I do this but do not record on any lines as more than one day can be recorded on a page. If I take more than one day off I write the days under days off and location. If provided I check the box for multiple days.
I have been doing this for years, even with companies with q-comm. I have never had a problem with any company nor the 2 times I was checked by DOT.
There is NOT any information or exceptions in the rule book that differentiates between an O/O and a company driver.
If anyone is under a load they are certainly under dispatch. It will not matter if a person is an O/O or a company driver. A load, is a load, is--you guessed it, is a load. A driver will be under dispatch to pick up a load or a loaded trailer and there will be a BOL.
There will also be company liability and responsibility for a load on a trailer. If there is a load on a trailer the truck attached is under dispatch or the load is stolen. Company, O/O, or a leased truck. A driver can not be on duty and off duty at the same time.
Does this make sense?

 

Yes it does. A company driver can use their truck for personal use while on their 10/34 hour breaks. They don't have to be on "home time" you can be stuck in Florida for a few days and DOT sure doesn't expect a human being to not leave that truck stop and are aware you have no other transportation than the truck therfore you can use the truck as personal use.

Trust me it's not a question I really care to answer but it's true.

Now many drivers take this and say ok I will get to my destination tonight at a truck stop and their load delivers tomorrow and it's 2 miles down the road. They feel they don't have to log this time as driving or line 4 and you do! You must log all time that is considered work.
If it's 2 miles down the road you could get by with logging all time dealing with driving/loading as line 4 but you must account for that work time.

 

But they will have to drop the trailer if loaded . A CMV can only be used off duty if unladen .

 

I have never written "hometime" on a log. I write "off duty" and where I am. I have rarely(before the job I have now), although many do, log my 34 away from home. I have quit jobs over my hometime.
With the job I have now I log off duty 99 miles from home every 6 days. If my trailer is empty I drive my truck home so I can dispatch from home.

A driver can not, legally, log off duty, at anytime, and drive with a loaded trailer. If a trailer, attached to a truck, is loaded then the driver of that truck is under dispatch. It does not matter if a driver goes by the house(a pass through load) with the load.

I covered this under post #16:
"If anyone is under a load they are certainly under dispatch. It will not matter if a person is an O/O or a company driver. A load, is a load, is--you guessed it, is a load. A driver will be under dispatch to pick up a load or a loaded trailer and there will be a BOL.
There will also be company liability and responsibility for a load on a trailer. If there is a load on a trailer the truck attached is under dispatch or the load is stolen. Company, O/O, or a leased truck. A driver can not be on duty and off duty at the same time."

 

Don't forget, that you must have written authorization from the company you pull for, that personal use of vehicle is authorized. However, most companies, for liability reasons, will require you to log any movement of a trailer, empty or loaded.

When you are bobtail, a whole different insurance issue is used.