Trucking news and briefs for Friday, Oct. 14, 2022:
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last month denied a petition from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance that asked the agency to add a maximum distance and/or time a driver can use personal conveyance.
The denial has yet to be published in the Federal Register, but it appears on the agency’s Petitions page online.
In a statement to CCJ, FMCSA said it denied the petition “because the agency continues to believe there is insufficient data to support the initiation of a rulemaking” regarding personal conveyance limits.
CVSA first petitioned FMCSA for a personal conveyance definition in December 2018, and FMCSA denied that petition in September 2020. FMCSA had previously issued guidance in June 2018 providing regulatory guidance concerning personal conveyance that FMCSA said “is an appropriate alternative to rulemaking.”
FMCSA’s guidance states that drivers can use personal conveyance “only when the driver is relieved from work and all responsibility for performing work by the motor carrier,” adding that PC can be used even if the truck is laden, “since the load is not being transported for the commercial benefit of the carrier at that time.” Common uses for PC, outlined in FMCSA's guidance, include time spent driving from lodging to a restaurant or entertainment; time spent traveling to a nearby, reasonable, safe location to rest after loading or unloading; and more.
In its March 29, 2022, petition, CVSA said under FMCSA’s current guidance, “a driver could, in theory, drive hundreds of miles over the course of several hours all under the designation of personal conveyance.”
