Should Personal Conveyance Be Limited?

A major shift could be on the horizon for truck drivers’ use of personal conveyance time. After gathering data from more than 41,000 roadside inspections, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is preparing to formally request new federal limits on how truckers can use personal conveyance…specifically, capping it at two hours per day.

What Is Personal Conveyance?

Personal conveyance allows commercial drivers to operate their trucks for personal reasons, such as grabbing a meal, running an errand, or heading to a hotel, without it counting against their regulated hours of service (HOS). However, it’s strictly not meant for advancing a commercial load or extending drive time.

As Adrienne Gildea, CVSA’s deputy executive director, puts it: “It’s when you’re driving the truck, but you’re not working.”

Examples of appropriate use include:

• Driving to get food or rest

• Heading home from a drop lot

• Relocating after loading/unloading to find parking

Improper uses? Think picking up cargo, extending driving hours after hitting HOS limits, or using the truck to enhance operational readiness.

Why the Crackdown Now?

CVSA’s concern stems from what it discovered in its inspections. Nearly 38% of drivers were found to be using personal conveyance improperly, a figure that inspectors find alarming. Even more concerning, CVSA claims drivers who misuse personal conveyance are four times more likely to be involved in accidents and have higher out-of-service rates.

Jeremy Disbrow, a roadside inspection specialist with CVSA, noted that these findings suggest either widespread confusion or intentional misuse. “Either way, it needs to be clarified and cleaned up,” he said.

What CVSA Plans to Do

In the coming weeks, CVSA will submit a formal petition to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), urging regulatory changes that include:

• A two-hour daily cap on personal conveyance use

• Clarifying guidance on what qualifies as personal conveyance

• Prohibiting personal conveyance from counting as off-duty time

• Explicitly disallowing use of personal conveyance to reach a “safe haven” after hitting HOS limits

• Banning owner-operators from using personal conveyance to travel to or from home

• Clearer definitions for “yard move” and the difference between personal use and personal conveyance

A Third Time’s the Charm?

This isn’t CVSA’s first attempt to influence policy in this area. Previous efforts to tighten personal conveyance regulations have fallen flat. But this time, officials believe the extensive data and strong correlation to crash risk might finally push regulators to act.

CVSA’s ultimate goal is to close a loophole that it says compromises road safety and strains enforcement efforts. The current “gray areas” in personal conveyance rules, the group argues, makes it difficult for inspectors to fairly and consistently enforce HOS regulations and easier for drivers to exploit the system.

What’s Next?

As CVSA prepares its petition, the trucking industry should prepare for possible regulatory changes that could reshape how drivers manage their time off the clock. If FMCSA agrees, the new rules could bring greater consistency, and hopefully, greater safety to the roads.

Stay tuned. The wheels of regulation may soon be turning.