Montana Code 61-8-803. Suspension of commercial driver’s license — serious traffic violations
61-8-803. Suspension of commercial driver‘s license — serious traffic violations. (1) If the department receives notice from a court or another licensing jurisdiction that a person holding or required to hold a commercial driver’s license has been convicted of more than one serious traffic violation in separate incidents within a 3-year period, the department shall suspend the person’s commercial driver’s license:
Terms Used In Montana Code 61-8-803
- Commercial motor vehicle: means a motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles used in commerce to transport passengers or property if the vehicle:
(i)has a gross combination weight rating or a gross combination weight of 26,001 pounds or more, whichever is greater, inclusive of a towed unit with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds;
(ii)has a gross vehicle weight rating or a gross vehicle weight of 26,001 pounds or more, whichever is greater;
(iii)is designed to transport at least 16 passengers, including the driver;
(iv)is a school bus; or
(v)is of any size and is used in the transportation of hazardous materials. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Department: means the department of justice acting directly or through its duly authorized officers or agents. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Driver: means a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Highway: has the meaning provided in 61-1-101, but includes ways that have been or are later dedicated to public use. See Montana Code 61-8-102
- 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 :
(i)a vehicle propelled by its own power and designed or used to transport persons or property on the highways of the state;
(ii)a quadricycle if it is equipped for use on the highways as prescribed in chapter 9; or
(iii)a golf cart only if it is equipped for use on the highways as prescribed in chapter 9 and is operated pursuant to 61-8-391 or by a person with a low-speed restricted driver's license. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, state agency, local government unit, another state government, the United States, a political subdivision of this or another state, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Traffic: means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars, and other conveyances either singly or together while using any highways for purposes of travel. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Vehicle: means a device in, on, or by which any person or property may be transported or drawn on a public highway, except devices moved by animal power or used exclusively on stationary rails or tracks. See Montana Code 61-1-101
(a)for 60 days upon receipt of notice of the second conviction; or
(b)for 120 days upon receipt of notice of the third or subsequent conviction.
(2)For purposes of this section, “serious traffic violation” means conviction, when operating a commercial motor vehicle, of:
(a)speeding 15 or more miles an hour above a posted speed limit;
(b)reckless driving, reckless endangerment of a highway worker, or reckless endangerment of emergency personnel;
(c)improper or erratic traffic lane changes;
(d)following too closely;
(e)a violation of a state law or local ordinance relating to the operation of a motor vehicle, excluding a parking, weight, or equipment violation, that arises in connection with a fatal accident;
(f)operating a commercial motor vehicle without a commercial driver’s license;
(g)operating a commercial motor vehicle without a commercial driver’s license in one’s possession or refusing to display a commercial driver’s license upon request;
(h)operating a commercial motor vehicle without the proper class of commercial driver’s license or endorsements, or both, for the specific vehicle type or types being operated or for the passengers or type or types of cargo being transported; or
(i)using a mobile device to send text messages while operating a commercial motor vehicle in violation of a state or local law or ordinance on motor vehicle traffic control.
(3)A person is considered to have committed a second or subsequent serious traffic violation if less than 3 years have passed between the date of an offense that resulted in a prior conviction and the date of the offense that resulted in the most recent conviction.