PC*MILER Practical Routes represent distances and driving routes that a driver would normally take to minimize time and cost. Practical Routes consider distance, road quality, terrain, urban/rural classifications, truck-restricted roads, and designated principal and secondary through routes.
Practical Routes model the trade-off between taking the most direct path and staying on major, high quality highways. Interstate highways are given a higher priority than toll roads, which, in turn, are given a higher priority than secondary highways, and so on. This typically means getting on, and staying on, major highways and using truck-designated routes as much as possible. Practical routing avoids local and even secondary class roads where possible because they tend to be harder to navigate for large trucks due to stop lights, tighter and more frequent turns, etc.
In the United States, PC*MILER Practical Route mileage and state-by-state mileage breakdowns can be used to supplement your regular fuel tax reporting documents for many states. Many state audit departments have purchased licenses to incorporate PC*MILER into their audit procedures.
TIP: A PC*MILER user may still be assessed additional taxes even by those states using PC*MILER in their audit procedures. However, your chances of being assessed additional taxes greatly diminishes by utilizing a computerized mileage system in conjunction with your driver logs, trip sheets, invoices, and bills of lading.
In order to minimize the possibility of significant tax assessments, you must verify that the PC*MILER generated route is the same as that reported on your driver logs and/or trip sheets. In addition, you must add the appropriate vicinity miles to the PC*MILER generated mileage so that the following equation is true:
TOTAL ODOMETER MILES = PC*MILER Miles + Vicinity Miles
PC*MILER accounts for some vicinity miles if non-Keypoints (generally postal code locations and/or place names not associated with the downtown metropolitan area) are used as stop-off locations.
ALK Technologies continues to work closely with the member states of the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) and the International Registration Plan (IRP). Currently many IFTA/IRP states are using PC*MILER as an auditing tool in their fuel and mileage tax audit procedures.
PC*MILER Tutorial: Practical, Shortest or Fastest? from ALK Technologies Inc. on Vimeo.
