What The Heck Is Personal Conveyance?

Hey there Eclipse DOT Family!

The other day I got a call from one of our members and they had some GREAT questions about Hours Of Service.

One of the things that really wanted more information on was personal conveyance. 

You see they had read tons of info about it online, but they didn’t know what was true and what was false.

So we talked about it for about 30 minutes!!!

After the conversation, he said, “You should really write a blog on this. No one knows this info as you do!”

So………

Here it is.  A blog all about personal conveyance.

Some of you might be asking what the heck is this personal conveyance thing? Can I use it? how would it help me?

We all know that the government does a GREAT job of explaining things. (read that with sarcasm, lol)  so here is their definition of it.

“Personal conveyance is the movement of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) for personal use while off-duty. A driver may record time operating a CMV for personal conveyance as off-duty only when the driver is relieved from work and all responsibility for performing work by the motor carrier. The CMV may be used for personal conveyance even if it is laden, since the load is not being transported for the commercial benefit of the motor carrier at that time. Personal conveyance does not reduce a driver’s or motor carrier’s responsibility to operate a CMV safely. “

Here is Dan’s definition. Personal conveyance is operating a vehicle for personal use. Like going from the hotel to the restaurant.

Just a little bit simpler.  Lol

The big thing to remember with personal conveyance is you can’t be doing any work for the company. That includes fueling up, moving from yard to yard, and taking the truck to the next stop…..

Why did they create personal conveyance?

Well, because when they made having an ELD (Electronic Logging Device) mandatory for any trucks that are new than a 1999 and that doesn’t qualify for an exemption (like short haul or utility). That ELD device automatically records the movement of the vehicle and they also said that all movement must be assigned to a driver.

Let’s say that you are working out of town and staying at a hotel, or rental house. When you start that truck and go to dinner or the grocery store. That movement is now recorded. And that time and movement HAS to be claimed by a driver.

What happens if you have already worked a 14-hour day and need to get groceries for the week?

It would cause a violation on your logbook! 

So that’s why they created this personal conveyance status.

Does that make sense?

So let’s dive a little deeper into what would be considered valid reasons to utilize persona conveyance.

1. Time spent traveling from where the driver is staying (such as a motel or truck stop) to restaurants and entertainment facilities. 
2. Commuting between the driver’s yard and their residence. 
3. Time spent traveling to a nearby, reasonable, & safe location after loading or unloading. The resting location must be the first location reasonably available. 
4. Moving the vehicle at the request of an officer during the driver’s off-duty time 
5. Time spent transporting personal property while off-duty. 
6. Authorized use of a CMV to travel home after working at an offsite location. 

What would be considered not personal conveyance?

1. Driving a CMV in order to make it easier for the company. For example, bypassing available resting locations in order to get closer to the next loading or unloading point or other scheduled destination 
2. After delivering a trailer, and the truck unit no longer meets the definition of a CMV, the driver returns to the point of origin under the direction of the motor carrier to pick up another trailer. 
3. Time spent driving a CMV to a shop for maintenance. 
4. After being placed out of service. Unless so directed by an officer. 
5. Driving to the shop after loading or unloading to get another load.

The last thing that I want to touch on is how this effect company drivers vs owner-operators. 

Well, the truth is that it is 100% the same rule for both types of drivers. The big difference is that most companies have a DOT team that helps to give advice and guidance (even if it is wrong sometimes. lol).

So maybe a company driver doesn’t have as much leeway. Or maybe they have a team that knows the rules inside and out and are doing everything it can to protect the drivers and the company. 

The key here is that the rule doesn’t change depending on the circumstance. All that really changes is how you intermediate the rule and what you or the company see as gray area in the rule.

My suggestion would be that if you are unsure if it would be considered Personal Conveyance. Then give one of our experts here on the Eclipse DOT team a call.  We would be happy to work you through the situation. 

That’s the joy of being part of the Eclipse DOT family. We are ALWAYS here for you. 

Here at Eclipse DOT, we have your back, no matter what. 

I sure hope this helps!

Stay safe and keep the rubber side down!

Until next time.

Dan Greer