The code does allow this, and you are correct that damage is the deciding factor.
Sometimes the possibility of damage is what decides FOR PVC. We quit using metal channel up poles in this area because if the cable underneath were crushed into the channel, it would keep arcing and burning, often onto a wrecked vehicle with injured occupants and gasoline. We decided that it would be better to have the cable severed, and firing into a non-conductive material NOT producing arcs. Lotsa folks disagree with this, but it also takes care of a rust problem.
The first time ya feel like a geezer is when you go back to a service you built from rigid and made a piece of artwork out of it, only to find it rusted to pieces and dangerous.
NOTHING wrong with PVC, It'll likely outlast anything else you would put out there. Consider Schedule 80 though (yes 40 is legal), it's the difference between rigid and emt.
