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Under federal hours-of-service rules, time spent driving a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) must normally be considered “driving” time and must be subtracted from the driver’s available driving hours. However, there are situations when CMV driving may be recorded as “off duty” if the driver is moving (conveying) from place to place for purely personal reasons, such as to get to a local restaurant or to commute to and from home. This type of off-duty driving is often referred to as “personal conveyance” or “personal use.”
Scope
Before using a vehicle for personal conveyance, the driver must be “relieved from work and all responsibility for performing work by the motor carrier.” The vehicle may have cargo on board, i.e., it can be “laden” and still be used for personal conveyance if the load is not being transported for the commercial benefit of the carrier at that time.
Regulatory citations
- 49 CFR 392.3 — Ill or fatigued operator
- 49 CFR 395.8 — Drivers record of duty status
Key definitions
- Personal conveyance: Authorized personal use of a carrier’s commercial motor vehicle while loaded or unloaded. The driver must be released from duty and all responsibility for work, be on a trip with no business purpose, and cannot be ill or fatigued in accordance with 392.3. While under proper use of personal conveyance the driver is only exempt from the hours-of-service regulations.
Summary of requirements
Drivers may log personal conveyance the same as any other “off duty” time, and such time may count as part of a mandatory break or restart provided the driver receives restorative rest during the break. Drivers using an electronic logging device (ELD) have the option (if allowed by the carrier) to select the “personal use” driving category to record their personal conveyance. When prompted by the ELD, the driver must annotate the record to describe the activity. If the driver was authorized to operate the vehicle for personal conveyance and did so while not logged into the ELD, the time must be assigned to the driver as personal conveyance and annotated with the reason for the move when prompted by the ELD.
When using a CMV for personal conveyance, drivers are still prohibited from driving while ill or fatigued (392.3), and drivers and motor carriers still face liability if they do not show a reasonable standard of care for public safety. Drivers are subject to roadside inspections while using personal conveyance. An inspection must be logged as on-duty (not driving). Motor carriers can set their own limits on personal conveyance, such as banning it entirely, adopting a limit on distance, or prohibiting personal conveyance while the CMV has cargo on board.
The concept of personal conveyance is described in the FMCSA’s official guidance in Interpretation number 26 in 395.8, which includes several examples of times when personal conveyance is and is not allowed, as described below.
Personal conveyance allowed. The following are examples of when personal conveyance is allowed:
- Traveling from a driver’s en-route lodging, such as a motel or truck stop, to and from restaurants and entertainment facilities. If in a motorcoach, the only passengers who can be on board are other off-duty drivers.
- Commuting between the driver’s residence and a terminal, a trailer drop lot, or a work site, as long as the driver is able to get enough rest to prevent fatigue. This could include, for example, a construction driver commuting home after a week spent at a job site.
- Traveling to “a nearby, reasonable, safe location” to get the required 8 or 10 hours of rest after loading or unloading. The resting location has to be the first one reasonably available.
- Moving a CMV at the request of a safety official during the driver’s off-duty time.
- Transporting personal property while off duty.
- Traveling home after working at an off-site location, such as a utility or construction work site, if authorized by the carrier. This does not include traveling from the last point of loading or unloading to the driver’s home.
- Moving a CMV “to enhance the operational readiness of a motor carrier.” For example, skipping a nearby rest area in order to get closer to the next loading or unloading point or other scheduled work destination.
- After delivering a trailer and the towing vehicle 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.
- Continuing a CMV trip in interstate commerce in order to fulfill a business purpose, including bobtailing or operating with an empty trailer in order to retrieve another load, or repositioning a CMV (tractor or trailer) at the direction of the motor carrier.
- Driving a passenger-carrying CMV while passenger(s) are on board, except for off-duty drivers who are traveling to a common destination of their own choice.
- Transporting a CMV to a facility for maintenance.
- Driving somewhere to get required rest after being placed out of service for exceeding the hours-of-service limits, unless directed by an enforcement officer at the scene.
- Traveling to a motor carrier’s terminal from a shipper or receiver after loading or unloading.
- Driving a motorcoach when luggage is stowed, the passengers have disembarked, and the driver has been directed to deliver the luggage.