June 2013 • 37
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Fleet Management
REVISING A LONG-STANDING REGULATION
that required drivers to take an action
that has essentially been redundant since
1994, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA) last month struck
a blow for common sense. The Agency
removed a requirement that drivers report
to their home state’s licensing authority
when they are convicted of a traffic viola-
tion in another state.
Up until now, bus and truck drivers
have been required to make these reports
despite the fact that since 1994, states have
been required to share this information
electronically. For the past 19 years, drivers
have been going out of their way to give the
information to the state, which has been
doing nothing with it.
TRIGGERED BY COMMENTS
Interestingly, the original proposal
to remove this rule was triggered by a
response to a request for comments that
the agency issued in 2011 as a part of
President Obama’s pledge to rid the country
of unnecessary and out-of-date regulations.
The “Improving Regulation and Regulatory
Review,” executive order was issued on
January 18, 2011.
FMCSA asked the industry for sug-
gestions on how it could streamline the
regulatory process, and this was one of
the suggestions. Getting rid of the rule has
been welcomed by major industry players
including American Trucking Associations.
THE NEW RULES
The new rule creates a much more
common sense system. Once you receive
your conviction, the state that issued it will
send notification to your home state and
you will automatically be considered in
compliance with regulations.
Back when the new rule was proposed,
the Notice of Proposed Rule Making stated
that one state would not be participating
in this system (the state is not named) as
that state does not report convictions elec-
tronically. That issue seems to have been
resolved.
FMCSA has included language that
gives them the ability to prohibit a state
from issuing commercial driver’s licenses if
they do not comply with the program.
THE NEW REGULATION LANGUAGE
The section of the new regulations that
pertain to drivers would read as follows:
PART 383--Commercial Driver’s License
Standards; Requirements and Penalties
1. The authority citation for part 383
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 521, 31136, 31301 et
seq., and 31502; secs. 214 and 215 of Pub.
L. 106-159, 113 Stat. 1766, 1767; sec. 4140
of Pub. L. 109-59, 119 Stat. 1144, 1726;
and 49 CFR 1.73.
2. Amend Sec. 383.31(a) by revising para-
graph (a) and adding new paragraph (d),
to read as follows: Sec. 383.31 Notification
of convictions for driver violations.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of
this section, each person who operates
a commercial motor vehicle, who has
a commercial driver’s license issued
by a state or jurisdiction, and who
is convicted of violating, in any type
of motor vehicle, a state or local law
relating to motor vehicle traffic control
(other than a parking violation) in a
state or jurisdiction other than the one
which issued his/her license, shall notify
an official designated by the state or
jurisdiction which issued such license,
of such conviction. The notification must
be made within 30 days after the date
that the person has been convicted.
(d) A person is considered to be in
compliance with the requirements of
paragraph (a) of this section if the state
or jurisdiction that issued the citation
resulting in a conviction is in substantial
compliance with 49 CFR part 384,
subpart B, and has not been de-certified
in accordance with 49 CFR 384.405.
FMCSA Removes
Out-of-State
Conviction
Reporting
By Matthew Wrobel, Foley Services
