Decide whose trip it is
Learn when truck movement is personal conveyance.
Personal travel, not business travel
Personal conveyance (PC) is personal use of a commercial motor vehicle while off-duty. The driver must be released from work and all responsibility for work. The move must serve a personal purpose, not advance the carrier’s business trip.
Valid PC is recorded off-duty. It does not use driving or on-duty hours. It does not freeze an ordinary fourteen-hour window that has already started. A loaded truck can qualify; an empty truck can still be doing work.
The destination alone does not settle the question. Check what the movement accomplishes.
Check what the move accomplishes
| Situation | How to assess it |
|---|---|
| Travel from a rest location to dinner | Can qualify when genuinely off-duty |
| Commute home after release | Can qualify if it allows the required rest and safe operation |
| Move closer to the next pickup or delivery | Business positioning, not PC |
| Carrier-directed travel to a terminal for work | Work-related, not PC |
Think of whose errand the truck is running: the driver’s or the load’s. The selected app label does not decide that.
At a glance · Follow the sequence
01
Released?
Check that work and responsibility have ended
02
Personal benefit?
Assess the actual purpose of the trip
03
Commercial advance?
Repositioning a load is business movement
Being in the same truck does not make every move the same kind of activity.
Carrier policy can be stricter
A carrier may restrict or prohibit PC. Follow its policy as well as FMCSA guidance. Dispatch cannot make a business move personal by saying “use PC.”
Explain the actual purpose in an annotation when needed. Resolve an unclear purpose before moving.