2010 Arkansas Code
Title 27 - Transportation
Subtitle 2 - Motor Vehicle Registration And Licensing
Chapter 23 - Commercial Driver License
Subchapter 1 - Arkansas Uniform Commercial Driver License Act
§ 27-23-103 - Definitions.

27-23-103. Definitions.

As used in this subchapter:

(1) "Alcohol" or "alcoholic beverage" means:

(A) Ethyl alcohol, or ethanol;

(B) Beer which is defined as beer, ale, stout, and other similar fermented beverages, including sake or similar products, of any name or description containing one-half of one percent (0.5%) or more of alcohol by volume, brewed or produced from malt, wholly or in part, or from any substitute therefore;

(C) Wine of not less than one-half of one percent (0.5%) of alcohol by volume; or

(D) Distilled spirits, alcoholic spirits, and spirits, which are defined as those substances known as ethyl alcohol, ethanol, or spirits of wine in any form, including all dilutions and mixtures thereof from whatever source or by whatever process produced;

(2) "Blood alcohol concentration" means:

(A) The number of grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters (100 ml) of blood;

(B) The number of grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters (210 l) of breath; or

(C) Blood and breath quantitative measures in accordance with the current Arkansas Regulations for Blood Alcohol Testing promulgated by the Department of Health;

(3) "Commerce" means:

(A) Trade, traffic, and transportation within the jurisdiction of the United States between a place in a state and a place outside of the state, including a place outside the United States; and

(B) Trade, traffic, and transportation in the United States which affects any trade, traffic, and transportation within the jurisdiction of the United States between a place in a state and a place outside of the state, including a place outside the United States;

(4) "Commercial driver instruction permit" means a permit issued pursuant to 27-23-108(d);

(5) "Commercial driver license" means a license issued in accordance with the requirements of this subchapter to an individual which authorizes the individual to drive a class of commercial motor vehicle;

(6) The "Commercial Driver License Information System" is the information system established pursuant to the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 to serve as a clearinghouse for locating information related to the licensing and identification of commercial motor vehicle drivers;

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

(i) Has a gross combination weight rating of twenty-six thousand one pounds (26,001 lbs.) or more inclusive of a towed unit with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than ten thousand pounds (10,000 lbs.);

(ii) Has a gross vehicle weight rating of twenty-six thousand one pounds (26,001 lbs.) or more;

(iii) Is designed to transport sixteen (16) or more passengers, including the driver; or

(iv) Is of any size and is used in the transportation of materials found to be hazardous, as a result of which the motor vehicle is required to be placarded under the Hazardous Materials Regulations, 49 C.F.R. part 172, subpart F.

(B) When out-of-service orders are involved, the term "commercial motor vehicle" shall also include any self-propelled or towed vehicle used on public highways in interstate commerce to transport passengers or property when:

(i) The vehicle has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating of ten thousand one (10,001) or more pounds; or

(ii) The vehicle is used in the transportation of hazardous materials in a quantity requiring placarding under regulations issued by the Secretary of Transportation under the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, 49 U.S.C. App. 1801-1813;

(8) "Controlled substance" means a drug, substance, or immediate precursor in Schedules I-VI of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, 5-64-101 et seq.;

(9) "Conviction" or "convicted" means an unvacated adjudication of guilt, a determination that a person has violated or failed to comply with the law in a court of original jurisdiction or by 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, court cost, or court order, or violation of a condition of release without bail, regardless of whether or not the penalty was rebated, suspended, or prorated;

(10) "Disqualification" means any of the following three (3) actions:

(A) The suspension, revocation, or cancellation of a commercial driver license by the Office of Driver Services or jurisdiction of issuance;

(B) A withdrawal of a person's privileges to drive a commercial motor vehicle by the office or other jurisdiction as the result of a violation of state or local law relating to motor vehicle traffic control except for parking, vehicle weight, or vehicle defect violations; or

(C) A determination by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that a person is not qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle;

(11) "Drive" means to drive, operate, or be in physical control of a commercial motor vehicle on any public street or highway in the state or in any place open to the general public for purposes of vehicular traffic;

(12) "Driver" means any person who drives, operates, or is in physical control of a commercial motor vehicle on any public street or highway in the state or in any place open to the general public for purposes of vehicular traffic;

(13) "Driver applicant" or "applicant" means any person who has applied for a commercial driver license;

(14) "Driver license" means a license issued by a state to an individual which authorizes the individual to drive a motor vehicle;

(15) "Driving a commercial motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol" means committing any one (1) or more of the following acts in a commercial motor vehicle:

(A) Driving a commercial motor vehicle while the person's blood alcohol concentration is four-hundredths of one percent (0.04%) or more;

(B) Driving while intoxicated in violation of 5-65-103; or

(C) Refusal to undergo such testing as is required by 5-65-202;

(16) "Employer" means any person, including the United States, a state, or a political subdivision of a state, who owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle or assigns a person to drive a commercial motor vehicle;

(17) "Fatality" means the death of a person as a result of a motor vehicle accident;

(18) "Felony" means any offense under state or federal law that is punishable by death or imprisonment for a term exceeding one (1) year;

(19) "Foreign jurisdiction" means any jurisdiction other than a state of the United States;

(20) "Gross combination weight rating" means the value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a combination or articulated vehicle. In the absence of a value specified by the manufacturer, the gross combination weight rating will be determined by adding the gross vehicle weight rating of the power unit and the total weight of the towed unit and any load thereon;

(21) "Gross vehicle weight rating" means the value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a single vehicle;

(22) "Hazardous materials" means:

(A) Any material that:

(i) Has been designated as hazardous under 49 U.S.C. 5103, as in effect on January 1, 2009, and

(ii) Is required to be placarded under 49 C.F.R. part 172, subpart F, as in effect on January 1, 2009; or

(B) Any quantity of a material listed as a select agent or toxin in 42 C.F.R. part 73, as in effect on January 1, 2009;

(23) "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;

(24) "Motor vehicle" means a vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer propelled or drawn by mechanical power used on highways, except that the term does not include a vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer operated exclusively on a rail;

(25) "Nonresident commercial driver license" means a commercial driver license issued by a state to an individual domiciled in another state meeting the requirements of 49 C.F.R. 383.23(b)(2);

(26) "Out-of-service order" means a declaration by an authorized enforcement officer of a federal, state, Canadian, Mexican, or local jurisdiction that a driver or motor carrier is temporarily prohibited from operating a commercial motor vehicle pursuant to 27-23-113 or compatible laws, or that a commercial motor vehicle may not be operated;

(27) "School bus" means:

(A) A commercial motor vehicle used to transport preprimary, primary, or secondary school students from home to school, from school to home, or to and from school-sponsored events; and

(B) "School bus" does not include a bus used as a common carrier;

(28) "Serious traffic violation" means a conviction when operating a commercial motor vehicle of:

(A) Excessive speeding, involving any single offense for any speed of fifteen (15) miles per hour or more above the posted speed limit;

(B) Reckless driving as defined by state or local law or regulation, including, but not limited to, offenses of driving a commercial motor vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property;

(C) Improper or erratic traffic lane changes;

(D) Following the vehicle ahead too closely;

(E) (i) A violation, arising in connection with a fatal accident, of state or local law relating to motor vehicle traffic control, other than a parking violation.

(ii) Serious traffic violations shall not include weight or defect violations;

(F) Driving a commercial motor vehicle without obtaining a commercial driver license;

(G) (i) Driving a commercial motor vehicle without a commercial driver license in the driver's possession.

(ii) Any individual who by the date the individual must appear in court or pay any fine for such a violation provides proof to the enforcement authority that issued the citation that the individual held a valid commercial driver license on the date the citation was issued shall not be guilty of this offense; or

(H) Driving a commercial vehicle without the proper class of commercial driver license or endorsements for the specific vehicle group being operated or for the passengers or type of cargo being transported;

(29) "State" means a state of the United States and also means the District of Columbia;

(30) "Tank vehicle" means any commercial motor vehicle equipped with a tank designed to hold liquid or gaseous materials with a capacity of one thousand gallons (1,000 gals.) or more; and

(31) "United States" means the fifty (50) states and the District of Columbia.

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