Special duty statuses like personal conveyance and yard move allow drivers to accurately log vehicle movement in unique situations. Correct use of these statuses is essential for maintaining compliance with Hours of Service (HOS) regulations in both the US and Canada.
Overview
Special duty statuses help ensure precise record-keeping and regulatory compliance for commercial drivers. Motive supports two key special duty statuses:
- Personal conveyance: Used when a driver operates the vehicle for personal, off-duty reasons.
- Yard move: Used for on-duty movements within a terminal, yard, or customer facility at low speed.
Special duty statuses help balance the need for regulatory compliance with real-world operational flexibility. Correct usage is essential for accurate driver logs and avoiding violations.
Personal conveyance
Personal conveyance allows a driver to use a commercial vehicle for personal, off-duty activities.
Regulations by Country
- FMCSA (US): No specific distance limit, but use must be reasonable and not for the motor carrier's benefit.
- Transport Canada: Strict rule for a maximum of 75 km per day (midnight to midnight); exceeding this limit automatically switches status to driving.
Impact on HOS clocks
Time logged as personal conveyance is off-duty and does not count against driving, on-duty, or cycle limits (11/14/60/70-hour rules).
Correct uses
- Commuting between home and the work site or terminal
- Moving from a delivery point to a safe resting location
- Driving to a restaurant, motel, or other personal errand during time off
Improper uses and key restrictions
- Advancing a load or moving the vehicle to benefit the motor carrier
- Driving to or from a repair facility for required maintenance
- Vehicle must be unladen (no cargo/trailer unhitched) in Canada, can be laden (with cargo) in the US
- Motive only supports a maximum limit of 75 km per day for Canada (non-customizable)
- This functionality is not available for drivers using U.S. cycles, as automatic duty status changes based on distance traveled are not permitted under FMCSA regulations.
Yard move
Yard move records on-duty vehicle movement within a carrier’s terminal, yard, or customer facility—distinct from driving status. A yard includes terminals, maintenance depots, and shipper/receiver facilities that have restricted public access.
Regulations by Country
- FMCSA (US): No mandatory federal speed limit
- Transport Canada: 32 km/h (20 mph) speed limit, exceeding this auto-switches status to driving
Impact on HOS clocks
Time in the yard move is on-duty, not driving, and counts against on-duty and cycle limits, but not against driving time.
Correct uses
- Moving trailers inside a distribution center
- Positioning vehicles for loading & unloading at a customer facility
- Driving to a fueling station within a yard
Restrictions within Motive
- Canada: 32 km/h (20 mph) speed limit, exceeding this auto-switches status to driving.
- US: Motive uses a 32 km/h (20 mph) limit if the feature is enabled; exceeding this will auto-switch the status. The limit is not customizable at Motive's end.
- Geofence control: Fleets can restrict yard moves to specific geofenced areas of type ‘Terminal/Yard’ by enabling the setting “Allow drivers to use yard move when inside geofenced yard”. Attempts to use yard move outside a geofence generate an error, and leaving the geofence automatically switches to driving.
Enabling special duty statuses
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In the Fleet Dashboard, go to Admin > Compliance > Duty Status settings.
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Enable or disable personal conveyance and yard move for the individual drivers.
- Optionally, create geofenced Terminal/Yard zones to restrict yard move usage.
Using special duty statuses
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Go to the Motive Driver App > Logs.
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Connect to a vehicle.
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On the Logs screen, tap Quick Status Selector to change duty status.
- Choose either Personal Conveyance or Yard Move.
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From the Notes section, add a required annotation to explain the reason for using special duty status.
Automatic switch to driving status
The app will automatically end the special status when:
- Yard move: Switches to driving if you exceed 32 km/h or exit a geofenced yard.
- Personal conveyance
- Canada: Switches to driving if you exceed 75 km in a day.
- US: No automatic switch based on distance; the driver must manually change status as required.
Editing past duty status
Fleet Admins can now easily edit past duty statuses directly from the Fleet Dashboard, ensuring accurate and up-to-date records.
- Log in to the Fleet Dashboard and go to Compliance > Logs.
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Select the Driver whose logs you need to edit.
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Click Edit.
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From the Events tab, click the three-dot menu for the past duty status you want to make changes to and select Edit.
- Edit the Duty status.
- Select Start time and End time or move the slider on the Log Graph to edit duration.
- Add Location and Notes.
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Click Confirm.
Geofence restriction error for Yard Move
- If you are not in a geofenced Yard, you get an error message saying your duty status cannot switch to Yard move.
| Note: If you are in a Yard when this happens, contact your Fleet Admin to set up a geofence for the Yard in the Fleet Dashboard. |
2. If you are in a geofenced yard, you see your duty status changed to Yard Move with a green banner confirming the update.
3. You enter the driving lock screen once the vehicle is IN MOTION.
4. Once you have exited the geofence, you automatically get Switched to Driving. Tap Ok.
Accessing the log form while using Yard Move
1. Go to the Driver App > Logs.
2. Tap your duty status in the top left corner to change your duty status.
3. On the duty status screen, select Yard Move.
| Note: You are required to enter a note of at least 4 characters. |
5. Once this is complete, a message appears confirming yard move is enabled.
6. Once the vehicle reaches a speed of 5 mph, a driving lock screen shows the Yard Move status.
7. Once the vehicle is in motion, you enter the driving lock screen.
8. Bring the vehicle to a stop. The driving lock screen shows Stationary.
9. Tap Return to log to access the log form.
10. In the log form, tap the Trailers field to make any changes.
11. After adding the required information, tap Save.
FAQs
When should I use personal conveyance versus yard move?
Use personal conveyance for personal, off-duty driving with no business benefit to the carrier. Use yard move for work-related vehicle movements within yards or terminals while on duty.
What happens if I exceed the personal conveyance limit in Canada?
You’ll be automatically switched to driving status once you travel more than 75 km in personal conveyance between midnight and midnight in Canada.
Can I use yard move on public roads?
No. Yard move is only for designated yards, terminals, or similar private property—not for public roadways.
How do I know if personal conveyance or yard move is enabled for me?
Open the Motive Driver App. Navigate to Settings General. Check if personal conveyance or yard move is enabled.
What annotation do I need to enter when selecting a special duty status?
Always enter a brief note explaining the movement (e.g., “personal conveyance: driving to hotel”, “yard move: moving trailer in yard”).
Will the Motive Driver App automatically switch me out of personal conveyance or yard move?
Yes, but only under specific conditions:
- Yard Move:
- Canada: The status will switch to Driving if the vehicle exceeds the yard move speed limit (20 mph or 32 kph) or exits a geofenced yard categorized as Terminal/Yard, provided the "Allow drivers to use yard move when inside geofenced yard" setting is enabled in Compliance Settings on the dashboard.
- US: When the feature is enabled, the status will similarly switch to Driving if the vehicle exceeds the yard move speed limit (20 mph or 32 kph) or exits a geofenced Terminal/Yard, provided the "Allow drivers to use yard move when inside geofenced yard" setting is enabled in Compliance Settings on the dashboard.
- Personal Conveyance (Canada): It will switch to driving if you exceed the daily limit of 75 km (midnight to midnight).
Can Drivers still claim unidentified trips as special duty status (ie: Yard Move/Personal Conveyance)?
Yes. When claiming unidentified trips, Drivers are still able to select whether or not they claim the trip as a driving event or special duty statuses such as Yard Move or Personal Conveyance.
What happens if my Driver/I forget to log special duty status?
When using the Vehicle Gateway, trips cannot be reclassified. You will need to add an annotation [note] to these trips indicating that they were actually off-duty Personal Conveyance events and/or on-duty Yard Move events, and explain what happened per FMCSA recommendations on how to address misattributed drive time. Also, in case of any incorrectly-recorded driving event, the Ignore Drive Time feature helps you to ignore that driving event to recalculate the Driver's HOS Clocks without making any changes in the Driver's ELD outputs.
What happens if I need to reclassify a Personal Conveyance or Yard Move Event to a Driving Event?
When using the Vehicle Gateway, recorded driving events cannot be reclassified to a Special Duty Status (SDS), however, SDS events (Yard Move and Personal Conveyance) can be reclassified to drive time. You will need to add an annotation [add a note] to these events, indicating that they were actually driving events, and explain what happened per FMCSA recommendations on how to address misattributed drive time.
Can a Driver edit a Vehicle Gateway recorded trip to Yard Move or Personal Conveyance if they forgot to set the special duty status prior to driving?
In accordance with ELD regulations, once the driving time is automatically recorded to a Driver’s Vehicle Gateway record, that event will remain on the driveline and cannot be edited. Drivers and Fleet Admin personnel cannot reduce driving time or reclassify it as Personal Conveyance or Yard Move.
However, they can annotate that event [add a note], indicating that this driving event should not be attributed to driving time.
Why are you removing the functionality to reclassify drive time as special duty status (ie, Personal Conveyance/Yard Move)?
Our Vehicle Gateway does not allow users to reclassify drive time to special driving statuses (Personal Conveyance and/or Yard Moves) in order to be aligned with the FMCSA's policy and rule-making quoted from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
According to Bill Mahorney, Chief of Enforcement Division at the FMCSA: “If an ELD Manufacturer (Vendor) allows automatically recorded trips to be shortened, edited, or reassigned, the vendor will be subject to the 5.4 'Removal of Listed Certification,' as such devices are considered non-compliant with the ELD Final Rule Technical Specifications.”
When is Personal Conveyance Allowed?
The following are examples of appropriate uses of a CMV while off-duty for personal conveyance include, but are not limited to:
- Time spent traveling from a driver’s en route lodging (such as a motel or truck stop) to restaurants and entertainment facilities.
- 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.
- 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.
- Moving a CMV at the request of a safety official during the driver’s off-duty time.
- 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.
- Time spent transporting personal property while off-duty.
- Authorized use of a CMV to travel home after working at an off-site location.
How to download the Certificate of Compliance?
You can download the Certificate of Compliance for the Motive Vehicle Gateway here.
Is there any speed limit on Yard move in USA/Canada?
There is no speed limit on yard move in the USA. For drivers operating in Canada, when drivers exceed a speed limit of 32 kilometers per hour, they will automatically be switched to driving in order to remain in compliance.
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