8.9 Disqualification of Commercial Licensees

• Library: Defense of Serious Traffic Cases in Virginia (Virginia CLE) (2020 Ed.)

8.9 DISQUALIFICATION OF COMMERCIAL LICENSEES

8.901 In General. Many of the restrictions and sanctions that apply to a driver with a regular operator's license do not carry over to the regulatory scheme that governs commercial licensees when they have been convicted of serious traffic offenses. This is because the statutes regulating commercial licensees contain a provision that disqualifies commercial licensees from operating a commercial vehicle in Virginia. Under section 46.2-341.18(A) and (C), the DMV must disqualify for a period of one year a commercial driver, whether driving a commercial vehicle or noncommercial vehicle at the time of the offense, upon a conviction or a comparable conviction from another jurisdiction for commercial licensee DUI, ²³⁷ driving while intoxicated, ²³⁸ DUI-related maiming, ²³⁹ refusal to submit to alcohol or drug

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testing under either the regular or commercial statute, ²⁴⁰ failure of a driver whose vehicle is involved in an accident to stop and disclose his or her identity at the scene of an accident, ²⁴¹ and committing any crime punishable as a felony in which a motor vehicle is used. ²⁴²

A first-offense disqualification increases to three years if the commercial vehicle involved is one used to transport hazardous materials under federal Hazardous Materials Regulations. ²⁴³ In addition to actual convictions that occur under the laws of other jurisdictions, a driver who is disqualified elsewhere in a civil or administrative proceeding for actions that would be criminal in Virginia may also be disqualified here as a result of those civil proceedings. ²⁴⁴ Any person convicted of voluntary or involuntary manslaughter where the death is a direct result of operation of a commercial motor vehicle shall be disqualified for a period of five years. ²⁴⁵

The DMV is required to disqualify for life any person whose record shows conviction of two or more violations of any of the offenses listed in section 46.2-341.18(A) or (C) if each offense arose from a separate incident. ²⁴⁶ However, the disqualification period is only five years if the separate violations are all out-of-service orders. If two or more of the enumerated disqualification offenses arose from the same incident, a lifetime disqualification will not be imposed on the driver, but whatever disqualification periods would be separately imposed pursuant to subsection (A), (B), or (C) will run consecutively. ²⁴⁷

8.902 Disqualification for Multiple Offenses. The DMV is required to disqualify any commercial driver who has committed the requisite number of serious traffic offenses within three years. ²⁴⁸ Section 46.2-341.20(A) lists offenses that are considered serious traffic violations if

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committed while operating a commercial motor vehicle. ²⁴⁹ These are (i) driving at a...