Weird job offer

Sorry this is gonna be long, but bare with me... So while I'm still trying to line up CDL training, I've been applying for as many non-CDL CMV jobs as I can and been doing construction side work as well. Apparently during one application blitz I applied to a company called Dryver Dryver Driving Services | Corporate & Personal Chauffeurs. They're branching out from their normal business into small truck positioning and delivery, basically 16'-26' box trucks like I used to drive. Had a phone interview this morning and they explained that, in pretty much the order she told me that they have a contract with a company to provide drivers to move and position their vehicles. You're paid by the hour $17/hr to start and are paid every hour from pick up until delivery with some exceptions. If there's no return vehicle to drive to get you back home, they'll pay for your return home, but the pay for a 1 way trip is $3/hr higher, because you're not getting paid during the return. Explaining that LA to Vegas would be around 4 hours each way or LA to Phoenix would be 5-6 each way. Then they said as an independent contractor you can pick the jobs you want. This is a big red flag for me as 50-60% of that $17/hr would be set aside for taxes. I said I was still interested and asked a few questions. 1st was are these moves regulated by the FMCSA (she didn't know what this was), the Federal government? She said she didn't know. Then I asked who pays for gas. She didn't know because I'm the first person to ask that question. How about break down and tows? The contracting company pays for that. Then I asked, what the exceptions were to all hours paid. She said that if you pick up in LA, and drive to Las Vegas, it should take you around 4 hours, so if you try to claim 8,you would only get paid for the average drive time. I asked is the drive time based on address to address or just city to city based off of Google maps. And if there's an accident, and I'm in traffic for 3 hours, do I get paid. If I break down am I paid for that, and when does the pay stop. When the break down happens, when it gets to the shop, etc. And a few others. But other than the questions she answered, she didn't have any idea about the others and said she'd get back to me later today. Anyway, do you think it's a pass or give it a shot? I still have 1 more step to do with them before they officially "hire" me to go to work, and I'm going to wait until I hear back with the answers to my questions before I do anything else.
Thanks....

Oh, and are there write offs that could be used to reduce tax liability in a scenario like this?

 

If they answer my questions satisfactorily I might. But I'm also going to look at what I can write off. $17/hr as a 1099 isn't enough. That's only $8.50/hr after taxes on average, and the minimum wage in CA starts at $11/hr and goes up to $15/hr in some places. So unless I could get my taxable liability down to around 20%, it really wouldn't be worth it.

 

I actually found the home office local (OH) number, not the 800 number, and got a hold of her using the company directory, so I don't think she's a tele-recruiter.

That was one of the questions she couldn't answer. If they pay by "Google maps says it takes 4 hours, so you get paid 4 hours", I'm not doing that. I've driven around SoCal and up and down the CA coast to understand traffic.

I considered asking that, but I don't think she would know how to do that.

Yes

Good point. That's why I asked if they were subject to FMCSA. If they are, then HOS applies. But they're not a trucking company, and they're not moving commodities. The company they're providing drivers to just moves non-CDL trucks from one place to the other. I don't know if HOS applies there. I'm thinking along the lines of someone getting paid to move a 26' U-Haul from LA to Phoenix . Do they have to conform to HOS?