Athletics: Transportation – Bus Driver and Commercial Motor Vehicle

Purpose

To document the University policy to comply with the requirements established by the Department of Transportation (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) for operators of commercial vehicles owned or leased by St. Mary’s University.

Applicability

This document applies to all personnel that operate or supervise operators of commercial vehicles owned or leased by St. Mary’s University.

Definitions

Commercial driver’s license (CDL) means a license issued to an individual by a state or other jurisdiction of domicile, in accordance with the standards contained in this part, which authorizes the individual to operate a class of a commercial motor vehicle.

Commercial motor vehicle (CMV) means a motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles used in commerce to transport passengers or property if the motor vehicle:

• Has a gross combination weight rating or gross combination weight of 11,794 kilograms or more (26,001 pounds or more), whichever is greater, inclusive of a towed unit(s) with a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of more than 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds), whichever is greater; or
• Has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of 11,794 or more kilograms (26,001 pounds or more), whichever is greater; or
• Is designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver; or
• Is of any size and is used in the transportation of hazardous materials as defined in this section.

Controlled substance has the meaning such term has under 21 U.S.C.802 (6) and includes all substances listed on schedules I through V of 21 CFR 1308 (§§ 1308.11 through 1308.15), as they may be amended by the United States Department of Justice

Driving a commercial motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol means committing any one or more of the following acts in a CMV:

• Driving a CMV while the person’s alcohol concentration is 0.04 or more;
• Driving under the influence of alcohol, as prescribed by State law; or
• Refusal to undergo such testing as is required by any State or jurisdiction in the enforcement of 49 CFR 383.51(b) or 49 CFR 392.5(a)(2).

Regulatory References

• 49 CFR 382 – Controlled substance and alcohol use and testing
• 49 CFR 383 – Commercial driver’s license standards; requirements and penalties
• 49 CFR 384 – State compliance with commercial driver’s license program
• 49 CFR 390 and 391 – Guidelines and Driver Qualifications for Motor Carriers of Passengers
• 49 CFR 392 – Driving of commercial motor vehicles
• 49 CFR 395 – Hours of Service for Motor Carriers of Passengers
• 49 CFR 396 – Inspection, Repair and Maintenance for Motor Carriers of Passengers
• 40 CFR 112 – Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plan

Procedure

The supervisor of personnel operating a CMV owned or leased by St. Mary’s shall:

• Meet the training requirements identified in this policy.
• Ensure that all operators of a CMV have a current CDL with passenger endorsement
• Comply with the qualification standards for interstate drivers (generally drivers who cross State lines)
• Verify compliance to the limitation of the number of consecutive hours operators can drive
• Inspect, repair, and maintain all commercial vehicles to be in safe and proper operating condition
• Implement and enforce the drug and alcohol testing program
• Administer testing upon reasonable suspicion of operator impairment identified while the driver is performing safety-sensitive functions, just before the driver is to perform safety-sensitive functions, or just after the driver has ceased performing such functions (49 CFR Part 40 §382.307).

If reasonable suspicion exists operator shall be allowed to perform his/her duties only if and when: an alcohol test is administered and the driver’s alcohol concentration measures less than 0.02; or twenty four hours have elapsed.

Counsel operator as necessary on the reason for and process of the drug and alcohol testing program.

Provide test results and follow up actions as necessary to driver as soon as possible.

A written record shall be made of the observations leading to an alcohol or controlled substances reasonable suspicion test, and signed by the supervisor or company official who made the observations, within 24 hours of the observed behavior or before the results of the alcohol or controlled substances tests are released, whichever is earlier.

The operator of the CMV shall:

• Maintain a current CDL with passenger endorsement
• Periodically Inspect, repair, and maintain commercial vehicle to be in safe and proper operating condition
• Supervise vehicle servicing when performed on University property by a third party
• Be aware of University SPCC Plan and oil/fuel spill cleanup procedures
• Verify all safety equipment is available and functional in the CMV
• Ensure that the consecutive number of hours driven does not exceed maximum allowed by law
• Make themselves available for substance testing when requested by supervisor.
• Notify supervisor of any physical or mental ailments that would diminish the ability to operate the CMV
• Undergo a medical exam by a certified medical examiner listed on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners no less frequent than every 24 months to verify appropriate status of health to operate CMV.

As of January 2014, the FMCSA amended its regulations to keep in effect the requirement that interstate drivers subject to: either the commercial driver’s license (CDL) or the commercial learner’s permit (CLP) regulations: as well as the Federal physical qualification requirements, must retain paper copies of their medical examiner’s certificate when operating a commercial motor vehicle. Interstate motor carriers are also required to retain copies of their drivers’ medical certificates in their driver qualification files.

Responsibilities

Supervision of the operator and operations of the CMV used for Athletics Event is the responsibility of the Associate Athletics Director of External Operations of St. Mary’s University Athletics Department.

Training

All personnel operating or supervising operations of a CMV owned or leased by St. Mary’s University shall be aware of the contents of this Policy. All persons designated to supervise employees in safety sensitive positions must receive certification regarding 60 minutes of training on alcohol misuse and 60 minutes on controlled substances abuse (49 CFR Part 40 §382.603). The training at a minimum shall provide instruction for supervisors to:

• determine “reasonable suspicion”; physical, behavioral, speech, and performance indicators of probable alcohol misuse and use of controlled substances.
• provide further education on current drug/alcohol abuse issues
• provide techniques to insure a drug-free work environment

NOTE: Recurrent training for supervisory personnel is not required. But a refresher every five years is recommended.

Record Keeping

Records of personnel training shall be maintained per University retention policy.