“The rulemaking will strengthen commercial motor vehicle (CMV) driver-licensing requirements and enhance highway safety by ensuring that only safe drivers operate large trucks and buses,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said. “This proposal underscores President Bush's commitment to safety as the most important transportation priority.”

The proposed regulation also expands the number of offenses for which states must impose sanctions on CDL drivers who violate federal motor carrier safety regulations. These changes would add three new traffic violations to those that require the disqualification of CDL drivers convicted of a second or subsequent offense.

The new violations for drivers include driving a CMV without having obtained a CDL; driving without having a CDL in their possession; and not having met the minimum testing standards for the specific class CMV being operated or for the type of cargo being transported. The proposal also would require that drivers be disqualified after their first conviction of driving while suspended, driving while disqualified, or causing a fatality.

The proposed regulation would require for the first time that states send traffic violation information, when the violations result in a loss of driving privileges, to a driver's home state, and that this information be maintained on the driver's record. Under the proposed regulation, states also would be required to have a record of all violations committed by CDL drivers or drivers illegally operating a CMV. The proposal would prohibit states from masking a driver's convictions from the driver record.

The proposed regulation would authorize FMCSA to make emergency grants to help states meet all CDL licensing standards. Since a state CDL program in substantial noncompliance with FMCSRs could threaten highway safety, the proposal would also authorize FMCSA to withhold Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) funding from states that do not comply with CDL requirements.