Not Just Traffic: When a Non-Traffic Felony Conviction Disqualifies a Commercial Driver's License.

• Author: Truong, Bella

This article was originally published in the National Traffic Law Center's Between the Lines newsletter in March 2023 under NHTSA cooperative agreement 693JJ91950010. It is reprinted here with the permission of the National Traffic Law Center.

The Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMV) industry is the backbone of America s economy, delivering $700.4 billion worth of goods and comprising over 80% of the nation's freight. (1) Our economy relies heavily on the trucking industry, without which, things we have grown accustomed to, like a globalized economy and same day delivery, would not be possible. This translates to 8.7 million CMV drivers (2) who are required to maintain a commercial driver's license (CDL) to do so. While the economic impact is no doubt significant, perhaps more important is that those CDL holders are also entrusted with the lives of those they transport, to include our children daily, and those they encounter on our nation's roads.

With great power comes great responsibility, which is why the CMV industry, and consequently the CDL program, is highly regulated. CMV crashes are disproportionately high compared to that of passenger vehicle crashes. (3) Furthermore, CMV crashes are more likely to be fatal to non-CMV passenger vehicle occupants. (4) A fully loaded commercial motor vehicle weighs 80,000lbs and that 80,0001b commercial motor vehicle traveling 12 mph has the same kinetic energy as a 3,200lb passenger vehicle traveling 62 mph. (5)

It stands to reason that CDL holders are held to a higher standard, reflecting the inherent risk involved in the operation of a CMV. It is an immense responsibility for which Congress, and subsequently the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), has imposed higher standards and a more stringent barrier of entry than a regular driver's license. Driving a CMV requires advanced skills and knowledge. In order to drive a CMV, a driver must obtain a commercial drivers license (CDL) which necessitates that the driver meet certain qualifications above that of a non-commercial license. Not only are CDL holders held to a higher standard to obtain a CDL, they are also subject to more strict laws and regulations to retain it.

HISTORY OF CDL REGULATION

It was not always this way. The history of how the safety regulations developed serves as a good reminder that it was not long ago there was virtually no safety oversight on the trucking industry. It is even more powerful to reflect on how much the industry has evolved to protect the lives of CMV drivers and the people encounter on the nation s roads and highways.

Congress enacted the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act (CMVSA) in 1986 (6) to improve highway safety and ensure that only safe drivers operate CMVs by eliminating inconsistencies in the regulation of CDLs. (7) Prior to the CMVSA of 1986, there were neither uniform laws regulating the CMV industry nor uniform laws governing the licensing of commercial drivers. Drivers were neither required to have any specialized CMV knowledge nor required to have specialized training or testing to obtain a CDL. (8) The CMVSA of 1986 changed the CMV industry and instituted an infrastructure that was previously nonexistent nationwide. (9) It established minimum standards to obtain and maintain a CDL and also what we now colloquially refer to as "One Driver, One License, One Record."

The CMVSA of 1986 was followed by the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act (MCSIA) of 1999 (10) which, in 2000, established the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). It is through the FMCSA that the CMV and CDL regulations are promulgated. Among other things, these FMCSA regulations set minimum standards governing the issuance of CDLs and mandates the disqualification of a CDL when a driver commits certain offenses.

This article focuses on the portions of the FMCSA regulations derived from the CMVSA and MCSIA requiring states to ensure drivers convicted of certain violations be prohibited from operating a CMV. (11) More specifically, this article takes an in-depth look into 49 CRF [section] 383.51(b)(6), the federal regulation requiring a driver be disqualified from operating a CMV for a period of time as a consequence of a conviction for using a vehicle to commit a felony. (12) First, it will give an overview of the disqualification regulations; followed by an in-depth case study example, analyzing the federal regulation and corresponding state statute; and lastly, it will cover strategies and best practices to ensure the proper prosecution and subsequent documentation and recording of the conviction.

DISQUALIFICATION

Disqualification is the sanction taken against drivers who violate certain state and federal laws. 49 CFR. [section] 383.51 sets out guidelines and requirements for disqualification of a CDL or commercial learners permit (CLP) upon conviction of certain offenses. 49 CFR [section] 383.51 describes four categories of disqualifications: 1) Major Offenses, 2) Serious Traffic Offenses, 3) Railroad-highway Grade Crossing Offenses and 4) Disqualification for Violating Out-of-Service Orders. Prosecutors will almost exclusively deal with only the first and second categories (Major Offenses and Serious Traffic Offenses) and thus the sole focus in this article. (13)

The disqualification provisions originally included in the CMVSA of 1986 only related to violations committed while driving a CMV. The Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act (MCSIA) of 1999 amended the CMVSA by adding disqualifications for CDL holders convicted of committing violations while operating non-CMVs. (14) As reflected in the tables below, major offenses and serious traffic violations now include both offenses related to operating a CMV and offenses related to operating a non-CMV.

Major Offenses

Major offenses trigger a disqualification for a certain period of time upon the first conviction and a graduated scale of additional disqualification time with subsequent convictions. Some major offense convictions invoke a lifetime disqualification without eligibility for reinstatement upon the first conviction whereas other major offense convictions start with a 1-year disqualification, followed by a lifetime disqualification after a second conviction. If the driver was operating a CMV transporting hazardous materials, the first conviction for a major offense incurs a 3-year disqualification followed by a lifetime disqualification after a second conviction. Major offenses include both convictions for dangerous driving behaviors and dangerous behaviors using a motor vehicle. While prosecutors are familiar with license disqualifications based on traffic specific convictions, most are not as familiar with disqualifications resulting from non-traffic felony convictions using a motor vehicle. Not all major offense violations require that the conviction involve the operation of a CMV. Some major offense violations committed in a non-CMV bear disqualification implications for a CLP or CDL holder. The ten major offenses and their corresponding disqualification penalties are outlined in Table 1 of 49 CFR [section] 383.51.

As the title implies, serious traffic violations include only traffic specific convictions. Serious traffic violations have disqualification implications under 49 CFR [section] 383.51 upon the second conviction. Subsequent convictions of serious traffic violations (after a second conviction) that would implicate a longer length of disqualification require that the subsequent serious traffic violation happen within a 3-year period. Similar to major offense convictions, not all serious traffic violations require that the conviction involve the operation of a CMV. Some serious traffic violations committed in a non-CMV bear disqualification implications for a CLP or COL holder. The ten...