![]() This is a huge improvement to the rule, which formerly forbid movement for personal conveyance while laden! A common scenario, that used to play out all over the country every day, was drivers getting stuck at a facility because they were out of hours, but couldn’t move their truck because it was laden. The vehicle can be laden (loaded with freight in the trailer) or unladen Carriers can drive as far as they need, at any hour of the day, to get to a “safe and reasonable” place to park and to continue their off-duty time. Here is where some of the flexibility comes in with the new guidance. There are no mileage or time-of-day limits If on the other hand the driver passed several safe and suitable locations (the FMCSA does not define this, so it’s up to the driver’s best judgement) to park in order to end up closer to the next pickup or dropoff, that would be considered advancing the load and would not count as personal conveyance. That would be a valid use of personal conveyance. The drivers goes off-duty at that point and moves under personal conveyance to the NEAREST safe parking spot where they would remain off-duty. ![]() Let’s look at an example:Ī driver runs out of hours in an unsafe location to park their truck. Moving your truck under personal conveyance cannot advance the load. What does that mean? It means that using personal conveyance is for personal reasons – for example finding a safe place to rest or eat. Following are some key highlights of the new personal conveyance guidance: Personal conveyance can’t be used to advance “operational readiness” And of course, the use of personal conveyance must be documented in a driver’s logs, whether electronic or on paper. The FMCSA recommends that carriers have a policy in place on what they do or do not allow regarding personal conveyance, including any limits. Motor carriers may, but are not required to, authorize drivers to use a CMV while off-duty for personal conveyance. With the ELD mandate in full effect, this comes as welcome news to carriers and drivers, who may be better able to manage, and more efficiently use, their available hours of service. Not only did they clarify when and how the rule should be used, they also offered drivers more flexibility in its application. That all changed recently when the FMCSA issued guidance about the personal conveyance rule. Unfortunately, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) left the rule largely up to interpretation, which resulted in variances in the way it has been enforced and uncertainty on the part of motor carriers about when they could apply the rule. Applied incorrectly, a driver could be sited for Hours of Service (HOS) violations. Personal conveyance is when a driver uses their Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) for personal use while off-duty, such as finding a safe place to park in order to rest while off-duty. should adopt the simple Canadian rule that limits drivers for a maximum of 46 miles per day for PC purposes.Historically personal conveyance has been troublesome for drivers. “This presents the opportunity for increased driver fatigue and risk on our roadways, as drivers may decide to travel hundreds of miles in order to strategically relocate to an alternate location after driving a full day.” “Under the revised guidance, a driver could, in theory, drive hundreds of miles over the course of several hours all under the designation of personal conveyance,” CVSA said. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance criticized the agency for continuing the review, along with what it believes are excess grants of electronic logging device exemptions (AA, 1-15-19, P. No date has been set for guidance’s official publication. The agency also proposed a draft regulatory guidance statement regarding the issue and sought public comment on what it should contain. In November, it also issued a list of answers to frequently asked questions to clarify the PC standard. The interntion of the PC provision is to allow truckers to drive their trucks, loaded or unloaded, from a shipper or a receiver to a safe parking place, even when the drivers are out of hours.įMCSA issued a clarification statement last May, but truckers’ questions kept coming. Last year, FMCSA had offered several examples explaining how the rule is applied in different situations, but the agency is continuing to review and refine the standard.
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