2019 Hawaii Revised Statutes
TITLE 17. MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES
286. Highway Safety
286-231 Definitions.

Law Journals and Reviews

Intextication: Txting Whl Drvng. Does the Punishment Fit the Crime? 32 UH L. Rev. 359 (2010).

§286-231 Definitions. As used in this part unless the context otherwise requires:

"Commercial driver's license downgrade" means:

(1) Authorization to change a driver's self-certification pursuant to title 49 Code of Federal Regulations section 383.71, to interstate, but operating exclusively in transportation or operation excepted from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations as provided in title 49 Code of Federal Regulations sections 390.3(f), 391.2, 391.62, and 398.2(b);

(2) Authorization to change a driver's self-certification pursuant to title 49 Code of Federal Regulations section 383.71, to intrastate only if the driver qualifies under the State's physical qualification requirements for intrastate only;

(3) Authorization to change a driver's self-certification pursuant to title 49 Code of Federal Regulations section 383.71, to intrastate, but operating exclusively in transportation or operations excepted from all or part of the state driver qualification requirements; or

(4) Removing the commercial driver's license privilege from the driver's license.

"Commercial driver's license information system driver record" means the electronic record of an individual commercial driver license driver's status and history stored by the state of record as part of the commercial driver's license information system established under title 49 United States Code section 31309.

"Disqualification" means any of the following three actions:

(1) The suspension, revocation, or cancellation of a commercial driver's license by the state or jurisdiction of issuance;

(2) Any withdrawal of a person's privileges to drive a commercial motor vehicle by a state or other jurisdiction 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); or

(3) A determination by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that a person is not qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle under title 49, Code of Federal Regulations Part 391.

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

(1) Driving a commercial motor vehicle while the person's alcohol concentration is 0.04 or more grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of breath or 0.04 or more grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters or cubic centimeters of blood;

(2) Driving under the influence of an intoxicant pursuant to section 291E-61; or

(3) Refusing to undergo such testing as required by any state or jurisdiction in the enforcement of section 383.51(b) or 392.5(a)(2) of title 49 Code of Federal Regulations.

"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.

"Endorsement" means an authorization on an individual's commercial driver's license or commercial learner's permit required to permit the individual to operate certain types of commercial motor vehicles.

"Fatality" means the death of a person as a result of a motor vehicle accident.

"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 such death, illness, injury, or endangerment.

"Noncommercial motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles not defined by the term "commercial motor vehicle (CMV)" under section 286-2.

"Non-domiciled commercial driver's license" means a commercial driver's license issued by a state under either of the following two conditions:

(1) To an individual domiciled in a foreign country meeting the requirements of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations section 383.23(b)(1); or

(2) To an individual domiciled in another state meeting the requirements of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations section 383.23(b)(2).

"Non-domiciled commercial learner's permit" means a commercial learner's permit issued by a state under either of the following two conditions:

(1) To an individual domiciled in a foreign country meeting the requirements of title 49 Code of Federal Regulations section 383.23(b)(1); or

(2) To an individual domiciled in another state meeting the requirements of title 49 Code of Federal Regulations section 383.23(b)(2).

"Out-of-service order" means a declaration by an authorized enforcement officer of a federal, state, Canadian, Mexican, or local jurisdiction that a driver, a commercial motor vehicle, or a motor carrier operation is out-of-service pursuant to Section 386.72, 392.5, 395.13, or 396.9 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, or compatible laws, or the North American Uniform Out-of-Service Criteria, which can be obtained from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.

"School bus" means a commercial motor vehicle used to transport pre-primary, primary, or secondary school students from home to school, from school to home, or to and from school-sponsored events, but does not include a bus, as defined under section 286-2, used as a common carrier as defined under section 271-4.

"Serious traffic violation" means conviction of any of the following offenses when operating a commercial motor vehicle, except for weight, defect, and parking violations:

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

(2) Reckless driving or driving a commercial motor vehicle in disregard of the safety of persons or property, including but not limited to offenses of driving a commercial motor vehicle in wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property;

(3) Improper or erratic traffic lane changes;

(4) Following a vehicle ahead too closely;

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

(6) Driving a commercial motor vehicle without obtaining a commercial learner's permit or a commercial driver's license;

(7) Driving a commercial motor vehicle without a commercial learner's permit or a commercial driver's license in the driver's possession; provided that this paragraph shall not apply to a citation issued under, or an offense disposed of pursuant to section 286-116(a) or a substantially similar provision of law in another state;

(8) Driving a commercial motor vehicle without the proper class or endorsements of commercial driver's license or commercial learner's permit for the specific vehicle group being operated or for the passengers or type of cargo being transported;

(9) Texting while driving in violation of a state or county law or ordinance; or

(10) Using a mobile electronic device in violation of a state or a county law or ordinance.

"Tank vehicle" means any commercial vehicle that is designed to transport any liquid or gaseous materials within a tank or tanks having an individual rated capacity of more than one hundred nineteen gallons and an aggregate rated capacity of one thousand gallons or more that is either permanently or temporarily attached to the vehicle or the chassis. A commercial motor vehicle transporting an empty storage container tank, not designed for transportation with a rated capacity of one thousand gallons or more that is temporarily attached to a flatbed trailer is not considered a tank vehicle.

"Texting" means manually entering alphanumeric text into, or reading text from, an electronic device, and includes short message service; e-mailing; instant messaging; a command or request to access a world wide web page; pressing more than a single button to initiate or terminate a voice communication using a mobile telephone; and engaging in any other form of electronic text retrieval or entry, for present or future communication.

"Texting" does not include:

(1) Reading, selecting, or entering a telephone number, an extension number, or voicemail retrieval codes and commands into an electronic device for the purpose of initiating or receiving a phone call or using voice commands to initiate or receive a telephone call;

(2) Inputting, selecting, or reading information on a global positioning system or navigation system or pressing a single button to initiate or terminate a voice communication using a mobile telephone; or

(3) Using a device capable of performing multiple functions, including fleet management systems, dispatching devices, smart phones, citizens band radios, and music players, for a purpose that is not otherwise prohibited. [L 1989, c 320, pt of §2; am L 1990, c 342, §4; am L 1993, c 268, §2; am L 1996, c 135, §§1, 2; am L 2004, c 103, §§1, 3; am L 2011, c 67, §1 and c 121, §1; am L 2012, c 311, §2; am L 2013, c 114, §3]

Note

Definition of "nonresident commercial driver's license" changed to "non-domiciled commercial driver's license". L 2013, c 114, §3(2).