Ohio Code 4506.16 – Violations – disqualification of driver or placement out-of-service
(A) Any person who is found to have been convicted of a violation of an out-of-service order shall be disqualified by the registrar of motor vehicles as follows:
Terms Used In Ohio Code 4506.16
- Another: when used to designate the owner of property which is the subject of an offense, includes not only natural persons but also every other owner of property. See Ohio Code 1.02
- cancellation: means the annulment or termination by the bureau of motor vehicles of a driver's license, commercial driver's license, temporary instruction permit, probationary license, or nonresident operating privilege because it was obtained unlawfully, issued in error, altered, or willfully destroyed, or because the holder no longer is entitled to the license, permit, or privilege. See Ohio Code 4510.01
- commercial motor vehicle: means any motor vehicle designed or used to transport persons or property that meets any of the following qualifications:
(1) Any combination of vehicles with a gross vehicle weight or combined gross vehicle weight rating of twenty-six thousand one pounds or more, provided the gross vehicle weight or gross vehicle weight rating of the vehicle or vehicles being towed is in excess of ten thousand pounds;
(2) Any single vehicle with a gross vehicle weight or gross vehicle weight rating of twenty-six thousand one pounds or more;
(3) Any single vehicle or combination of vehicles that is not a class A or class B vehicle, but is designed to transport sixteen or more passengers including the driver;
(4) Any school bus with a gross vehicle weight or gross vehicle weight rating of less than twenty-six thousand one pounds that is designed to transport fewer than sixteen passengers including the driver;
(5) Is transporting hazardous materials for which placarding is required under subpart F of 49 C. See Ohio Code 4506.01
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Conviction: means an unvacated adjudication of guilt or a determination that a person has violated or failed to comply with the law in a court of original jurisdiction or an authorized administrative tribunal, an unvacated forfeiture of bail or collateral deposited to secure the person's appearance in court, a plea of guilty or nolo contendere accepted by the court, the payment of a fine or court cost, or violation of a condition of release without bail, regardless of whether or not the penalty is rebated, suspended, or probated. See Ohio Code 4506.01
- Disqualification: means any of the following:
(1) The suspension, revocation, or cancellation of a person's privileges to operate a commercial motor vehicle;
(2) Any withdrawal of a person's privileges to operate a commercial motor vehicle as the result of a violation of state or local law relating to motor vehicle traffic control other than parking, vehicle weight, or vehicle defect violations;
(3) A determination by the federal motor carrier safety administration that a person is not qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle under 49 C. See Ohio Code 4506.01
- Driver: means any person who drives, operates, or is in physical control of a commercial motor vehicle or is required to have a commercial driver's license. See Ohio Code 4506.01
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Foreign jurisdiction: means any jurisdiction other than a state. See Ohio Code 4506.01
- Hazardous materials: means any material that has been designated as hazardous under 49 U. See Ohio Code 4506.01
- Imminent hazard: means the existence of a condition that presents a substantial likelihood that death, serious illness, severe personal injury, or a substantial endangerment to health, property, or the environment may occur before the reasonably foreseeable completion date of a formal proceeding begun to lessen the risk of that death, illness, injury, or endangerment. See Ohio Code 4506.01
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Motor vehicle: means a vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer propelled or drawn by mechanical power used on highways, except that such term does not include a vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer operated exclusively on a rail. See Ohio Code 4506.01
- Out-of-service order: means a declaration by an authorized enforcement officer of a federal, state, local, Canadian, or Mexican jurisdiction declaring that a driver, commercial motor vehicle, or commercial motor carrier operation is out of service as defined in 49 C. See Ohio Code 4506.01
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Rule: includes regulation. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Serious traffic violation: means any of the following:
(1) A conviction arising from a single charge of operating a commercial motor vehicle in violation of any provision of section 4506. See Ohio Code 4506.01
- State: means a state of the United States and includes the District of Columbia. See Ohio Code 4506.01
- suspension: means the permanent or temporary withdrawal, by action of a court or the bureau of motor vehicles, of a driver's license, commercial driver's license, temporary instruction permit, probationary license, or nonresident operating privilege for the period of the suspension or the permanent or temporary withdrawal of the privilege to obtain a license, permit, or privilege of that type for the period of the suspension. See Ohio Code 4510.01
- United States: means the fifty states and the District of Columbia. See Ohio Code 4506.01
- Whoever: includes all persons, natural and artificial; partners; principals, agents, and employees; and all officials, public or private. See Ohio Code 1.02
(1) If the person has not been convicted previously of a violation of an out-of-service order, the period of disqualification is one hundred eighty days.
(2) If, during any ten-year period, the driver is convicted of a second violation of an out-of-service order in an incident separate from the incident that resulted in the first violation, the period of disqualification is two years.
(3) If, during any ten-year period, the driver is convicted of a third or subsequent violation of an out-of-service order in an incident separate from the incidents that resulted in the previous violations during that ten-year period, the period of disqualification is three years.
(B)(1) A driver is disqualified for one hundred eighty days if the driver is convicted of a first violation of an out-of-service order while transporting hazardous materials required to be placarded under the “Hazardous Materials Transportation Act,” 88 Stat. 2156 (1975), 49 U.S.C.A. 1801, as amended, or while operating a motor vehicle designed to transport sixteen or more passengers, including the driver.
(2) A driver is disqualified for a period of three years if, during any ten-year period, the driver is convicted of a second or subsequent violation, in an incident separate from the incident that resulted in a previous violation during that ten-year period, of an out-of-service order while transporting hazardous materials required to be placarded under that act, or while operating a motor vehicle designed to transport sixteen or more passengers, including the driver.
(C) Whoever violates division (A)(1) of section 4506.15 of the Revised Code or a similar law of another state or a foreign jurisdiction, immediately shall be placed out-of-service for twenty-four hours, in addition to any disqualification required by this section and any other penalty imposed by the Revised Code.
(D) The registrar of motor vehicles shall disqualify any holder of a commercial driver’s license or commercial driver’s license temporary instruction permit, or any operator of a commercial motor vehicle for which a commercial driver’s license or permit is required, from operating a commercial motor vehicle as follows:
(1) Upon a first conviction for a violation of any provision of divisions (A)(2) to (12) of section 4506.15 of the Revised Code or a similar law of another state or a foreign jurisdiction, or upon a first suspension imposed under section 4511.191 of the Revised Code or a similar law of another state or foreign jurisdiction, one year;
(2) Upon a second conviction for a violation of any provision of divisions (A)(2) to (12) of section 4506.15 of the Revised Code or a similar law of another state or a foreign jurisdiction, or upon a second suspension imposed under section 4511.191 of the Revised Code or a similar law of another state or foreign jurisdiction, or any combination of such violations arising from two or more separate incidents, the person shall be disqualified for life or for any other period of time as determined by the United States secretary of transportation and designated by the director of public safety by rule;
(3) Upon a first conviction for any of the following violations while transporting hazardous materials, three years:
(a) Divisions (A)(2) to (12) of section 4506.15 of the Revised Code;
(b) A similar law of another state or a foreign jurisdiction.
(4) Upon conviction of a violation of division (A)(13) or (A)(14) of section 4506.15 of the Revised Code or a similar law of another state or a foreign jurisdiction, the person shall be disqualified for life;
(5)(a) Upon conviction of two serious traffic violations involving the operation of a commercial motor vehicle by the person and arising from separate incidents occurring in a three-year period, the person shall be disqualified for sixty days, which disqualification shall be imposed consecutively to any other separate disqualification imposed under division (D)(5) or (6) of this section;
(b) Upon conviction of three or more serious traffic violations involving the operation of a commercial motor vehicle by the person and arising from separate incidents occurring in a three-year period, the person shall be disqualified for one hundred twenty days, which disqualification shall be imposed consecutively to any other separate disqualification imposed under division (D)(5) or (6) of this section;
(6)(a) Upon conviction of two serious traffic violations involving the operation of a vehicle other than a commercial motor vehicle by the person and arising from separate incidents occurring in a three-year period, the person shall be disqualified for sixty days if the conviction results in the suspension, cancellation, or revocation of the holder’s commercial driver’s license or commercial driver’s license temporary instruction permit, or noncommercial motor vehicle driving privileges, which disqualification shall be imposed consecutively to any other separate disqualification imposed under division (D)(5) or (6) of this section;
(b) Upon conviction of three or more serious traffic violations involving the operation of a vehicle other than a commercial motor vehicle by the person and arising from separate incidents occurring in a three-year period, the person shall be disqualified for one hundred twenty days if the conviction results in the suspension, cancellation, or revocation of the holder’s commercial driver’s license or permit, or noncommercial motor vehicle driving privileges, which disqualification shall be imposed consecutively to any other separate disqualification imposed under division (D)(5) or (6) of this section.
(7) Upon a first conviction involving the operation of a commercial motor vehicle in violation of any provisions of sections 4511.61 to 4511.63 of the Revised Code or a similar law of another state or foreign jurisdiction, not less than sixty days;
(8) Upon a second conviction involving the operation of a commercial motor vehicle in violation of any provisions of sections 4511.61 to 4511.63 of the Revised Code or a similar law of another state or foreign jurisdiction within three years of the first such conviction, not less than one hundred twenty days;
(9) Upon a third or subsequent conviction involving the operation of a commercial motor vehicle in violation of any provisions of sections 4511.61 to 4511.63 of the Revised Code or a similar law of another state or foreign jurisdiction within three years of the first such conviction, not less than one year;
(10) Upon receiving notification from the federal motor carrier safety administration, the registrar immediately, prior to any hearing, shall disqualify any commercial motor vehicle driver whose driving is determined to constitute an imminent hazard as defined under federal motor carrier safety regulation 49 C.F.R. § 383.52.
(E) For the purposes of this section, conviction of a violation for which disqualification is required includes conviction under any municipal ordinance that is substantially similar to any section of the Revised Code that is set forth in division (D) of this section and may be evidenced by any of the following:
(1) A judgment entry of a court of competent jurisdiction in this or any other state;
(2) An administrative order of a state agency of this or any other state having statutory jurisdiction over commercial drivers;
(3) A computer record obtained from or through the commercial driver’s license information system;
(4) A computer record obtained from or through a state agency of this or any other state having statutory jurisdiction over commercial drivers or the records of commercial drivers.
(F) For purposes of this section, conviction of disqualifying offenses committed in a noncommercial motor vehicle are included if either of the following applies:
(1) The offense occurred after the person obtained the person’s commercial driver’s license or commercial driver’s license temporary instruction permit.
(2) The offense occurs on or after September 30, 2005.
(G) If a person commits a serious traffic violation by operating a commercial motor vehicle without having a commercial driver’s license or commercial driver’s license temporary instruction permit in the person’s possession as described in division (II)(3)(e) of section 4506.01 of the Revised Code and the person then submits proof to either the enforcement agency that issued the citation for the violation or to the court with jurisdiction over the case before the date of the person’s initial appearance that shows that the person held a valid commercial driver’s license or permit at the time of the violation, the violation shall not be deemed to be a serious traffic violation.
(H) Any record described in division (C) of this section shall be deemed to be self-authenticating when it is received by the bureau of motor vehicles.
(I) When disqualifying a driver, the registrar shall cause the records of the bureau to be updated to reflect that action within ten days after it occurs.
(J) The registrar immediately shall notify a driver who is finally convicted of any offense described in section 4506.15 of the Revised Code or division (D)(4), (5), or (6) of this section and thereby is subject to disqualification, of the offense or offenses involved, of the length of time for which disqualification is to be imposed, and that the driver may request a hearing within thirty days of the mailing of the notice to show cause why the driver should not be disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle. If a request for such a hearing is not made within thirty days of the mailing of the notice, the order of disqualification is final. The registrar may designate hearing examiners who, after affording all parties reasonable notice, shall conduct a hearing to determine whether the disqualification order is supported by reliable evidence. The registrar shall adopt rules to implement this division.
(K) Any person who is disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle under this section may apply to the registrar for a driver’s license to operate a motor vehicle other than a commercial motor vehicle, provided the person’s commercial driver’s license is not otherwise suspended. A person whose commercial driver’s license is suspended shall not apply to the registrar for or receive a driver’s license under Chapter 4507 of the Revised Code during the period of suspension.
(L) The disqualifications imposed under this section are in addition to any other penalty imposed by the Revised Code.
(M) Any conviction for an offense that would lead to disqualification as specified in this section, whether committed in a commercial motor vehicle or a vehicle other than a commercial motor vehicle, shall be counted for the purposes of determining the number of violations and the appropriate disqualification period under this section.
Last updated October 6, 2023 at 11:10 AM