West Virginia, already facing a truck safety controversy over grossly overloaded coal trucks, reportedly is lax on pulling the licenses of commercial drivers with bad driving records.
The Charleston Gazette reports that a report being circulated among several state agencies found that the state does not do a good job of keeping track of individual’s driving records.
The report “identified many drivers whose records showed two convictions for serious violations without the federally required suspension.” Federal CDL rules require states to suspend a driver’s CDL for a year when he has had two convictions for serious violations, such as drunken driving or excessive speeding, in three years.
The draft report, funded by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, also found that the state maintains “no linkage” between records of driving offenses kept by the state court system and by the Division of Motor Vehicles.
The report also questions the accuracy of some of the information in the records. For instance, CDL holders had more than 4,100 DUI convictions in the state in the past 10 years – but only one of them was recorded as taking place while the individual was driving a commercial vehicle. The study team said this statistic “begs further investigation.” In addition, the report says that county magistrate courts do not routinely indicate whether drivers convicted of unsafe and illegal driving have CDLs.
The newspaper notes that the report could become an issue during a special session of the state legislature later this month as lawmakers consider a bill to increase legal weights for coal trucks while strengthening enforcement.
The Charleston Gazette reports that a report being circulated among several state agencies found that the state does not do a good job of keeping track of individual’s driving records.
The report “identified many drivers whose records showed two convictions for serious violations without the federally required suspension.” Federal CDL rules require states to suspend a driver’s CDL for a year when he has had two convictions for serious violations, such as drunken driving or excessive speeding, in three years.
The draft report, funded by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, also found that the state maintains “no linkage” between records of driving offenses kept by the state court system and by the Division of Motor Vehicles.
The report also questions the accuracy of some of the information in the records. For instance, CDL holders had more than 4,100 DUI convictions in the state in the past 10 years – but only one of them was recorded as taking place while the individual was driving a commercial vehicle. The study team said this statistic “begs further investigation.” In addition, the report says that county magistrate courts do not routinely indicate whether drivers convicted of unsafe and illegal driving have CDLs.
The newspaper notes that the report could become an issue during a special session of the state legislature later this month as lawmakers consider a bill to increase legal weights for coal trucks while strengthening enforcement.
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