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(a)General. The director of the Texas Department of
Public Safety incorporates, by reference, the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Regulations, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 40,
380, 382, 385, 386, 387, 390 - 393, and 395 - 397 including all interpretations
thereto, as amended through January 1, 2015. All other references
in this subchapter to the Code of Federal Regulations also refer to
amendments and interpretations issued through January 1, 2015. The
rules adopted herein are to ensure that:
(1)a commercial motor vehicle is safely maintained,
equipped, loaded, and operated;
(2)the responsibilities imposed on a commercial motor
vehicle's operator do not impair the operator's ability to operate
the vehicle safely;
(3)the physical condition of a commercial motor vehicle's
operator enables the operator to operate the vehicle safely;
(4)commercial motor vehicle operators are qualified,
by reason of training and experience, to operate the vehicle safely;
and
(5)the minimum levels of financial responsibility
for motor carriers of property or passengers operating commercial
motor vehicles in interstate, foreign, or intrastate commerce is maintained
as required.
(b)Terms. Certain terms, when used in the federal
regulations as adopted in subsection (a) of this section, will be
defined as follows:
(1)the definition of motor carrier will be the same
as that given in Texas Transportation Code, §643.001(6) when
vehicles operated by the motor carrier meet the applicability requirements
of subsection (c) of this section;
(2)hazardous material shipper means a consignor, consignee,
or beneficial owner of a shipment of hazardous materials;
(3)interstate or foreign commerce will include all
movements by motor vehicle, both interstate and intrastate, over the
streets and highways of this state;
(4)department means the Texas Department of Public
Safety;
(5)director means the director of the Texas Department
of Public Safety or the designee of the director;
(6)FMCSA field administrator, as used in the federal
motor carrier safety regulations, means the director of the Texas
Department of Public Safety for vehicles operating in intrastate commerce;
(7)farm vehicle means any vehicle or combination of
vehicles controlled and/or operated by a farmer or rancher being used
to transport agriculture commodities, farm machinery, and farm supplies
to or from a farm or ranch;
(8)commercial motor vehicle has the meaning assigned
by Texas Transportation Code, §548.001(1) if operated intrastate;
commercial motor vehicle has the meaning assigned by Title 49, Code
of Federal Regulations, Part 390.5 if operated interstate;
(9)foreign commercial motor vehicle has the meaning
assigned by Texas Transportation Code, §648.001;
(10)agricultural commodity is defined as an agricultural,
horticultural, viticultural, silvicultural, or vegetable product,
bees and honey, planting seed, cottonseed, rice, livestock or a livestock
product, or poultry or a poultry product that is produced in this
state, either in its natural form or as processed by the producer,
including wood chips. The term does not include a product which has
been stored in a facility not owned by its producer;
(11)planting and harvesting seasons are defined as
January 1 to December 31;
(12)producer is defined as a person engaged in the
business of producing or causing to be produced for commercial purposes
an agricultural commodity. The term includes the owner of a farm on
which the commodity is produced and the owner's tenant or sharecropper;
and
(13)off-road motorized construction equipment includes
but is not limited to motor scrapers, backhoes, motor graders, compactors,
excavators, tractors, trenchers, bulldozers, and other similar equipment
routinely found at construction sites and that is occasionally moved
to or from construction sites by operating the equipment short distances
on public highways. Off-road motorized construction equipment is not
designed to operate in traffic and such appearance on a public highway
is only incidental to its primary functions. Off-road motorized construction
equipment is not considered to be a commercial motor vehicle as that
term is defined in Texas Transportation Code, §644.001.
(14)The phrase "The commercial driver's license requirements
of part 383 of this subchapter" as used in Title 49, Code of Federal
Regulations, §382.103(a)(1) shall mean the commercial driver's
license requirements of Texas Transportation Code, Chapter 522.
(15)For purposes of removal from safety-sensitive
functions for prohibited conduct as described in Title 49, Code of
Federal Regulations, Part 382.501(c), commercial motor vehicle means
a vehicle subject to the requirements of Texas Transportation Code,
Chapter 522 and a vehicle subject to §4.22 of this title (relating
to Contract Carriers of Certain Passengers), in addition to those
vehicles enumerated in Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part
382.501(c).
(c)Applicability.
(1)The regulations shall be applicable to the following
vehicles:
(A)a vehicle or combination of vehicles with an actual
gross weight, a registered gross weight, or a gross weight rating
in excess of 26,000 pounds when operating intrastate;
(B)a farm vehicle or combination of farm vehicles
with an actual gross weight, a registered gross weight, or a gross
weight rating of 48,000 pounds or more when operating intrastate;
(C)a vehicle designed or used to transport more than
15 passengers, including the driver;
(D)a vehicle transporting hazardous material requiring
a placard;
(E)a motor carrier transporting household goods for
compensation in intrastate commerce in a vehicle not defined in Texas
Transportation Code, §548.001(1) is subject to the record keeping
requirements in Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 395 and
the hours of service requirements specified in this subchapter;
(F)a foreign commercial motor vehicle that is owned
or controlled by a person or entity that is domiciled in or a citizen
of a country other than the United States; and
(G)a contract carrier transporting the operating employees
of a railroad on a road or highway of this state in a vehicle designed
to carry 15 or fewer passengers.
(2)The regulations contained in Title 49, Code of
Federal Regulations, Part 392.9a, and all interpretations thereto,
are applicable to motor carriers operating exclusively in intrastate
commerce and to the intrastate operations of interstate motor carriers
that have not been federally preempted by the United Carrier Registration
Act of 2005. The term "operating authority" as used in Title 49, Code
of Federal Regulations, Part 392.9a, for the motor carriers described
in this paragraph, shall mean compliance with the registration requirements
found in Texas Transportation Code, Chapter 643. For purposes of enforcement
of this paragraph, peace officers certified to enforce this chapter,
shall verify that a motor carrier is not registered, as required in
Texas Transportation Code, Chapter 643, before placing a motor carrier
out-of-service. Motor carriers placed out-of-service under Title 49,
Code of Federal Regulations, Part 392.9a may request a review under §4.18
of this title (relating to Intrastate Operating Authority Out-of-Service
Review). All costs associated with the towing and storage of a vehicle
and load declared out-of-service under this paragraph shall be the
responsibility of the motor carrier and not the department or the
State of Texas.
(3)All regulations contained in Title 49, Code of
Federal Regulations, Parts 40, 380, 382, 385, 386, 387, 390 - 393
and 395 - 397, and all interpretations thereto pertaining to interstate
drivers and vehicles are also adopted except as otherwise excluded.
(4)A medical examination certificate, issued in accordance
with Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 391.41, 391.43, and
391.45, shall expire on the date indicated by the medical examiner;
however, no such medical examination certificate shall be valid for
more than two years from the date of issuance.
(5)Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit
an employer from requiring and enforcing more stringent requirements
relating to safety of operation and employee health and safety.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has
reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's
legal authority.
Filed with the
Office
of the Secretary of State on March 9, 2015
TRD-201500805 D. Phillip Adkins
General Counsel
Texas Department of Public Safety
Effective date: March 29, 2015
Proposal publication date: February 6, 2015
For further information, please call: (512) 424-5848
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