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Oregon Trucking Associations, Inc.
Oregon Truck Dispatch
Or, for that matter, how does the employer know if
the driver employee’s driving privilege has been
withdrawn in any other state? This seems to be a
rather common experience based on the number
of times this or a similar question has been asked.
What actually happened in this example? It is most
likely the case that the driver at some point in time
received a citation for operating over legal weight
in Oregon. If the driver failed to appear in court or
otherwise take care of the citation by remitting the
bail amount, then the court probably ordered the
state of Oregon to withdraw the individual’s
driving privileges until such time as the citation
was resolved. If this is what actually happened,
then what should occur according to Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR)?
continues on page 20
How am I Supposed to Know?
License Validation for a Driver
by Gregg Dal Ponte, Director of Regulatory Compliance
LICENSE
A motor carrier recently wrote and asked the following question:
“A driver has a license issued from Idaho. He applies for a driving position in
Oregon. We get a current MVR (Motor Vehicle Report) from Idaho that states
his license is clear and valid. We hire the driver, he picks up a load in Idaho,
and upon reaching the POE (Port of Entry) in Oregon he is shut down because
his right to drive in Oregon is suspended for an unpaid overweight citation.
How are we as a company able to check to see if an applicant’s right to drive in
Oregon is valid?”
Guidance:
Yes, the driver would be disqualified from interstate operations until his privileges are restored by
the authority that suspended or revoked them, provided the suspension resulted from a driving violation. It is
immaterial that he holds a valid license from another state. All licensing actions should be accomplished
through the CDLIS or the controlling interstate compact.
Question 3: Is a driver holding a valid driver’s license from his or her home State but whose
privilege to drive in another State has been suspended or revoked, disqualified from driving
by
§391.15(b)
?
Point your web browser to this URL: www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/391.15
and look at question #3 of the “Guidance for § 391.15: Disqualification of drivers:”
But this is not the only breakdown in what was
supposed to occur that contributed to the problem
described at the outset of this article. Under
FMCSR, there are requirements that direct the
driver to notify his employer upon conviction for
any traffic violations.