The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance wants better-defined rules when it comes to a truck driver’s use of personal conveyance.
The group of local, state and federal commercial motor vehicle safety officials aimed at improving enforcement plans to petition the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration about off-duty driving.
CVSA petitioned FMCSA in 2020 and 2022 to create a maximum distance or time regarding a truck driver’s personal use of a commercial motor vehicle. Both times, CVSA’s petition was denied.
In the 2022 petition, CVSA argued that 61% of violations logged as personal conveyance were an attempt to conceal hours-of-service violations. However, FMCSA said the statistic proves violations for misuse of personal conveyance are already being enforced.
According to multiple reports, CVSA is expected to petition FMCSA for a third time. CVSA did not immediately respond to Land Line’s request for comment on its forthcoming petition.
According to FMCSA guidance, a truck driver may use a commercial motor vehicle for personal conveyance as off-duty only when he or she is relieved from work by the motor carrier. The truck can also be used for personal conveyance even when it is laden as long as the load is not being transported for the benefit of the motor carrier. Personal conveyance does not count against a truck driver’s hours of service.
FMCSA provided seven examples of appropriate use of personal conveyance.
- Time spent traveling from where the driver is parked for the night to restaurants and entertainment facilities
- Commuting between the driver’s terminal and his or her residence, between trailer-drop lots and the driver’s residence and between work sites and his or her residence
- Time spent traveling to a nearby, reasonable, safe location to obtain required rest after loading or unloading
- Time spent moving a commercial motor vehicle at the request of a safety official during the driver’s off-duty time
- Time spent traveling in a motorcoach without passengers to a place of lodging (such as a motel or truck stop) or to restaurants and entertainment facilities and back to the lodging
- Time spent transporting personal property while off-duty
- Authorized use of a commercial motor vehicle to travel home after working at an offsite location
FMCSA also provided eight scenarios that would not qualify as personal conveyance.
- Bypassing available resting locations in order to get closer to the next loading or unloading point or other scheduled motor carrier destination
- After delivering a towed unit, and the towing unit no longer meets the definition of a commercial motor vehicle, returning to the point of origin under the direction of the motor carrier to pick up another towed unit
- Continuation of a commercial motor vehicle trip in interstate commerce in order to fulfill a business purpose
- Time spent driving a passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicle while passengers are on board
- Time spent transporting a commercial motor vehicle to a facility to have vehicle maintenance performed
- After being placed out of service for exceeding the maximum periods permitted under part 395, time spent driving to a location to obtain required rest, unless so directed by an enforcement officer at the scene
- Time spent traveling to a motor carrier’s terminal after loading or unloading from a shipper or a receiver
- Time spent operating a motorcoach when luggage is stowed, the passengers have disembarked and the driver has been directed to deliver the luggage
Members of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s Compliance Department also explained personal conveyance during a recent episode of Land Line Now:
“A commercial motor vehicle driver’s time is already overregulated in terms of when they can drive and when they can rest,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer wrote in comments to FMCSA in 2024. “There should not be any additional restrictions on how a driver can use his or her own personal time. We have supported FMCSA’s denial of petitions that would establish personal conveyance limits. We urge the agency to uphold this guidance and protect the use of personal conveyance moving forward.” LL
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