Yet another question about Personal Conveyance

One thing I think about whenever these HOS threads pop up is how thankful I am to be a local M-F 7:00 to 5:00 driver. I go on duty when I get to my truck and it stays either on On Duty or On Duty Driving until I park to go home in the afternoon. I don't care if I stop to gnaw on a Kentuckian's neck, it stays On Duty. lol

 

Anything work related is not allowed. Personal trips only and you MUST have driving hours on your clock. The only PC without hours allowed is being kicked out of the yard after delivery. Then you MUST proceed to the nearest, safe, legal, parking spot.

 

Where do people come up with this drivel?
How can someone write 4 sentences and have three of them simply wrong?

 

I think you can PC around town when you are out of hours just going to the store whatever, you just can’t do it if you have been put OOS. At least that’s the way I have always understood it.

 

When I was running reefer -- I did it as per the above post, & never had any problems from my employer.

-- L

 

Dude! What are you smoking? It depends on the company.

 

No, actually it doesn't.
Well, it does in the sense that a company can make it more restrictive sure, but that was never claimed.
Simple fact is as per the guidance you are wrong, so please stop spreading lies.

 

It is CRITICAL to understand why the FMCSA is allowing PC in situations where a driver runs out of hours while loading or unloading. Not one bit of this is part of the 300 series of rules in part 49 CFR. You won't find it in part 395. If the FMCSA were to add such rulemaking there are public safety groups that would be filing lawsuits against the FMCSA before the ink got dry. Yet the problem of drivers being stuck is serious enough that the FMCSA was forced to address it. Basically, the FMCSA is looking the other way and allowing a driver out of hours to get to a safe REASONABLE place to park. PC is not there for a driver to advance a load while off duty.

LINK

1. May a driver, who drops his or her last load at a receiver’s facility use personal conveyance to return to their normal work location (i.e. home or terminal?)
   
   No. Returning home or to the terminal from a dispatched trip is a continuation of the trip, and therefore cannot be considered personal conveyance.
   
2. The guidance allows for “authorized use of a CMV to travel home after working at an offsite location.” What is meant by the term “offsite” when used in this context?
   
   The term refers to a location, other than a carrier’s terminal or a shipper’s or receiver’s facility, where a driver works for a temporary period for a particular job. Specifically, this term is intended for construction and utility companies that set up base camps near a major job and operate from there for days or weeks at a time. These remote locations are considered “offsite” locations. Therefore, travel between home and that offsite location is considered commuting time, and qualifies as personal conveyance.
   
3. Is personal conveyance treated any differently when the driver is hauling hazardous materials?
   
   No. There is no restriction on personal conveyance regarding hazardous materials transportation, provided that the driver complies with provisions of 49 CFR parts 177 and 397.
   
4. Can a driver who claims the short haul exception use personal conveyance?
   
   Yes, there is no connection between personal conveyance and the short-haul exception. As always, off-duty time does not extend the 12-hour duty time limitation.
   
5. How is personal conveyance time calculated in the hours-of-service rules?
   
   Time spent under personal conveyance is off-duty time.
   
6. May a driver use personal conveyance when they run out of available (driving/on-duty) hours?
   
   No, except for the one exception described in the guidance where a driver who runs out of hours while at a shipper’s or receiver’s facility may drive from that facility to a nearby, safe location to park, provided that the driver allows adequate time to obtain rest in accordance with daily minimum off-duty periods under the Hours of Service rules before beginning to drive. Personal conveyance is those times where a driver is operating solely for a non-business purpose and cannot be used to extend the duty day.
   
7. Are there maximum distance time or distance limits for the use of personal conveyance?
   
   No. However, it is important to note that the provision in §392.3 of the FMCSRs, prohibiting the operation of a commercial motor vehicle while fatigued, continues to apply. Therefore, a driver must get adequate rest before returning to driving.
   
8. If a driver picks up the commercial motor vehicle from a repair facility once repairs are complete, would the driver be allowed to use personal conveyance to their residence from the repair shop?
   
   No, travel for repair and maintenance work is being done in the furtherance of the business and is considered on-duty time.
   
9. Can a loaded vehicle be used as personal conveyance?
   
   Yes. Determining personal conveyance is based on the nature of the movement, not whether the vehicle is laden.
   
10. Can personal conveyance time be combined with other off-duty time to complete a 10 or 34-hour break?
    
    Yes, since PC is off-duty time. However, it is important to note that the provision in §392.3 of the FMCSRs, prohibiting the operation of a commercial motor vehicle while ill or fatigued continues to apply.
    
11. Can a driver be inspected during personal conveyance? If so, what is the driver’s duty status during the inspection?
    
    Yes. Since the driver is still subject to the FMCSRs, the driver or vehicle can be inspected. The driver’s duty status would be “on-duty, not driving.” during the inspection.

 

There is one more point that needs to be understood. I am going to tag @brian991219 too. I remember a warehouse in Tenn and another one near Miami that had a history of taking 6 to 8 hours to unload. It was so bad with regard to the one in Miami that my company advised us to not go in with less than 8 hours left on the 14-hour clock. Anyway, if you are forced to bust the 14 or the 70 while at a final just leave the place and get parked in the closest safe place. If you notate the clock bust and the reason and later report it to safety, they are in a position to make it part of your records and can add supporting information about such a bad situation with specific warehouses. If the carrier is audited the auditor will write that up as PC and nothing further is said about it. Just don't be doing it 3 or 4 times a month.

 

No business while using PC. That’s the rule of thumb. The company I drive for is pretty liberal with PC unless it’s used for business, then they’ll ding you for it. But no fueling, no going to fuel, no going to get a load or advance a load, etc.