Clarifying Personal Conveyance

This should rock their sleepers...

1. May a driver, who drops his or her last load at a receiver’s facility use personal conveyance to return to their normal work location (i.e. home or terminal?)

No. Returning home or to the terminal from a dispatched trip is a continuation of the trip, and therefore cannot be considered personal conveyance.

K A B O O M . . .

 

And Number 11!!!!
If a driver is inspected during PC while on his 10 hour break, it is considered ODND and screws his/her 10 hour break.
Lets see how the companies or O/O try to get around this????

 

That's easy enough. Get another 10 hour break. What is the hurry? Remember FMCSA does not want tired drivers on the road. So the company and everyone else will just have to wait a little longer to get the load there.

 

The clock is always running. Add to that, burning a 10 hr break is not going to make The Bosses happy. My suggestion is dont do a PC during a 10 hour break, but do it before or after a sleeper berth provision so the rest period gets fulfilled and resets the 14 hour clock, 11 hour if you have it. The limits of the PC can be worked around by simply stopping in route to buy groceries as long as you manage time proficiently. Rarely did I need to drive while off duty, and still had plenty of hours available to knock out 3600 miles per week.

 

Kind of puts a twist in things. At some degrees.

 

6 will mess a lot of people up

 

Examples of Appropriate Uses of a CMV While Off-duty for Personal Conveyance

The following are examples of appropriate uses of a CMV while off-duty for personal conveyance include, but are not limited to:
1.Time spent traveling from a driver’s en route lodging (such as a motel or truck stop) to restaurants and entertainment facilities.
2.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. In these scenarios, the commuting distance combined with the release from work and start to work times must allow the driver enough time to obtain the required restorative rest as to ensure the driver is not fatigued.
3.Time spent traveling to a nearby, reasonable, safe location to obtain required rest after loading or unloading. The time driving under personal conveyance must allow the driver adequate time to obtain the required rest in accordance with minimum off-duty periods under 49 CFR 395.3(a)(1) (property-carrying vehicles) or 395.5(a) (passenger-carrying vehicles) before returning to on-duty driving, and the resting location must be the first such location reasonably available.
4.Moving a CMV at the request of a safety official during the driver’s off-duty time
5.Time spent traveling in a motorcoach without passengers to en route lodging (such as motel or truck stop), or to restaurants and entertainment facilities and back to the lodging. In this scenario, the driver of the motorcoach can claim personal conveyance provided the driver is off-duty. Other off-duty drivers may be on board the vehicle, and are not considered passengers.
6.Time spent transporting personal property while off-duty.
7.Authorized use of a CMV to travel home after working at an offsite location.

Examples of Uses of a CMV that Would Not Qualify as Personal Conveyance

The following are examples of uses of a CMV that would not qualify as personal conveyance include, but are not limited to, the following:
1.The movement of a CMV in order to enhance the operational readiness of a motor carrier. For example, bypassing available resting locations in order to get closer to the next loading or unloading point or other scheduled motor carrier destination.
2.After delivering a towed unit, and the towing 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 towed unit.
3.Continuation of 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.
4.Time spent driving a passenger-carrying CMV while passenger(s) are on board. Off-duty drivers are not considered passengers when traveling to a common destination of their own choice within the scope of this guidance.
5.Time spent transporting a CMV to a facility to have vehicle maintenance performed.
6.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.
7.Time spent traveling to a motor carrier’s terminal after loading or unloading from a shipper or a receiver.
8.Time spent operating a motorcoach when luggage is stowed, the passengers have disembarked and the driver has been directed to deliver the luggage.

Personal Conveyance

 

Elsewhere...
"If a safety official stops a driver transporting horses for personal use, FMCSA recommends that the driver explain that the transportation of the horses is non-business related."

Who exactly is this "safety official" though? They don't seem to give a description, and is the driver in a stagecoach at the time...

Whoa, here it is:

Movement required by Safely Officials
Jeff Muzik asked about the impacts to the 10-hour break if a safety official requires the driver to move the CMV.

FMCSA Response
If a Federal, State or local law enforcement official requires a driver to relocate
the CMV during the 10-hour break period for truck drivers or the 8-hour break period for
bus drivers, personal conveyance may be used to document the movement. Again, as this
is off-duty time, this does not require a restart of the rest period. However, the CMV must
be moved no farther than the nearest reasonable and safe area to complete the rest period.

Shouldn't the safety official have to tell the driver exactly where the "nearest reasonable and safe area" is, if they are requiring them to move? I know they will tell them where it isn't, if they disagree with their use of personal conveyance.

Wait, they referred to them as Safe"l"y Officials there..

 

Can a driver be inspected during personal conveyance? If so, what is the driver’s duty status during the inspection?

Yes. Since the driver is still subject to the FMCSRs, the driver or vehicle can be inspected. The driver’s duty status would be “on-duty, not driving.” during the inspection.

Personal Conveyance: Frequently Asked Questions