Ask The Law™ - August 2006

Questions on New Laws, Traffic School &
Out-of-Service Rules Answered by Law
Enforcement Officials (as of August 2006)

Brought to you as a public service by Alcoa Wheel Products, Ol’ Blue USA & 10-4. Submit your questions to www.askthelaw.org

FINDING OUT ABOUT NEW LAWS
Q: How come the only way to find out about new DOT laws is by a pay service or the hard (expensive) way? We all have a DOT # that has all our company information. Can’t we just add an e-mail address or two? This way, when there is a new law or a change, a mass e-mail can be sent to notify all the carriers in the system. – Dave, Pennsylvania

A: (from Senior Trooper Monty Dial, Texas Highway Patrol, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, Garland, Texas) This is a very good question. Unfortunately, I do not have an answer. It seems that any time laws are passed or changed, whether it be from a city ordinance, state law, or federal law, it becomes incumbent on citizens to find out what the new laws or changes are. This seems to be the fallacy in the system. Lawmakers, when they change or pass new laws, do not attach funds or make funds available to inform the citizens of the new laws or changes. Now if the law is a high profile change, the agency making the change will contact their local TV station and do a press release. Sometimes you hear about them and sometimes you don’t. Other than this, most laws are passed and nobody ever knows about it until they are cited for violating the law and then they start asking questions. By this time, it’s too late. There are organizations out there that will keep you informed if laws are changed that affect you, but you have to pay a fee and join their organization and sometimes this does not always work. My suggestion to you is contact your legislators or FMCSA and express this problem to them. This has been one of the things that Ol’ Blue, USA has seen as being a big problem for years. That’s why they try to attend every truck show and have law enforcement there to answer questions. Another thing Ol’ Blue, USA is doing is radio shows. This is done because not every truck driver gets a chance to attend the truck shows or they stay away from them. But, unfortunately, it takes money to do trucking and radio shows and when you can’t get funding to do these shows, you do the best you can with what funds you have.

TRAFFIC SCHOOL FOR TRUCKERS
Q: Are CDL drivers in California allowed to take traffic school to avoid getting a point for speeding? I have heard many different answers on this and would like to get the right one. – Steve, California

A: (from Officer Chris Sahagun, California Highway Patrol, Commercial Vehicle Section, Sacramento, California) On September 20, 2005, Section 42005 of the California Vehicle Code was amended to “conform” with Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (49 CFR), Part 384.226 (Prohibition on masking convictions). To conform with federal requirements, the State of California does not allow convictions to be “masked” or allow for the attendance of traffic school or any other type of diversion program. This provision applies to any person who possesses a CDL or commercial Class C driver license, even if the conviction was for speeding in a car or motorcycle. Each state is required to be in substantial compliance with federal CDL requirements. If a state is not in substantial compliance, it could lose 5% of its federal highway-aid funding (49 CFR, Part 384.401) the first year and the state could eventually be de-certified from issuing CDL’s (49 CFR, Part 384.405).

OUT-OF-SERVICE VIOLATIONS
Q: What are the main “problems” that can cause the DOT to put a truck out of service? Thank you – John, Iowa

A: (from Sgt. Jim Brokaw, Nebraska State Patrol, Carrier Enforcement Division, Lincoln, Nebraska) The following are the categories of the out of service criteria. For the driver, there are 9 items which include: driver’s age; operator’s license or CDL; medical waiver or skill performance; sick or fatigue; driver disqualification; drugs and other substances; intoxicating beverages; communication; and driver’s record of duty (logbook). For the vehicle, there are 13 items which include: brake system; coupling devices; exhaust system; frame; fuel system; headlights, tail lamps, stop lamps, turn signals; safe loading and tiedowns; steering mechanism; suspension; tires; van and open top trailer bodies; wheels, rims and hubs; and windshield wipers. If you should want a copy of the Out-of-Service criteria, they are available for purchase from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) at www.cvsa.org.

~ The Ask The Law™ programs, which are provided as a public service by Alcoa Wheel Products™, are an ongoing educational effort between Ol’ Blue, USA™ and commercial law enforcement agencies. Founded in 1986, Ol’ Blue, USA is a non-profit organization dedicated to highway safety education and to improving relations between the motoring public, law enforcement and commercial drivers. “Ask The Law” is a registered trademark of Ol’ Blue, USA. This column is copyrighted by Ol’ Blue, USA. Warning: Laws are subject to change without notice. These interpretations were made in July of 2006.