WEST virginia Legislature
2017 regular session
By
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to the Committee on the Judiciary.
A BILL to amend and
reenact §24A-7-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to
expanding the authority of motor carrier inspectors; and requiring compliance
by commercial vehicle drivers.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That §24A-7-7 of the
Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 7. COMPLAINTS,
DAMAGES AND VIOLATIONS.
§24A-7-7. Authority of
motor carrier inspectors to enforce all traffic rules as to commercial
vehicles; use of radar as evidence.
(a) The employees of the
commission designated as motor carrier inspectors have the same authority as
law-enforcement officers generally to enforce the provisions of chapter
seventeen-c of this code with respect to commercial motor vehicles owned or
operated by motor carriers, exempt carriers or private commercial carriers
where vehicles have a gross vehicle weight rating of ten thousand pounds or
more.
The commission is
authorized to delegate motor carrier inspector duties to weight enforcement
officers as it considers appropriate, following successful training and
certification of individual officers, who shall then have the same authority as
motor carrier inspectors under this section. The commission is also authorized
to delegate weight enforcement duties to motor carrier inspectors.
(b) The speed of a
commercial motor vehicle owned or operated by a motor carrier, exempt carrier
or private commercial carrier may be proved by evidence obtained by use of any
device designed to measure and indicate or record the speed of a moving object
by means of microwaves, when the evidence is obtained by employees of the
commission designated as motor carrier inspectors. The evidence so obtained is
prima facie evidence of the speed of the vehicle.
(c) Motor carrier
inspectors shall also perform a North American standard safety inspection of
each commercial motor vehicle stopped for enforcement purposes pursuant to this
section.
(d) Before exercising the
provisions of this section, the motor carrier inspectors shall receive adequate
training.
(e) Nothing in this section
affects the existing authority of law-enforcement officers not employed by the
commission to enforce the provisions of chapter seventeen-c of this code.
(f) A commission
employee designated as a motor carrier inspector has authority to enforce the
provisions of the following sections of this code when an assault, battery, or
both, occurs in the presence of the officer.
(1) Section ten-b,
article two, chapter sixty one of this code, regarding assault on a
governmental representative;
(2) Section seventeen,
article five, chapter sixty-one of said code, regarding obstructing, fleeing
from or disarming a law-enforcement officer;
(3) Section ten, article
five, chapter sixty-one of said code, regarding escape from a law-enforcement
officer; and
(4) Section nine,
article two, chapter sixty-one of said code, regarding assault and battery that
occurs in the presence of an officer.
(g) A commission
employee designated as a motor carrier inspector has authority to enforce the
provisions of the following chapters of this code as they apply to possession
of a controlled substance by drivers of commercial motor vehicles and their
passengers:
(1) Chapter seventeen-a;
(2) Chapter seventeen-b;
(3) Chapter seventeen-d;
(4) Chapter seventeen-e;
and
(5) Chapter sixty-a.
(h) Any law-enforcement
officer or motor carrier inspector of the Public Service Commission who holds a
current safety inspector certification from the Commercial Vehicle Safety
Alliance may require, at any time, a driver operating a commercial vehicle on the
highways of this state to stop and submit to an inspection of the vehicle and
the driver's records for the purpose of verifying compliance with commercial
motor vehicle regulations in this state. Any driver or vehicle in violation of
this subsection shall be removed from service pursuant to the North American
Uniform Out-of-Service Criteria issued by the Commercial Vehicle Safety
Alliance.
(i) A person may not
knowingly hinder, obstruct or willfully refuse to comply with any lawful order
or direction of an officer authorized by law to enforce this chapter and to
perform driver and vehicle motor carrier safety inspections. Lawful orders or
directions include providing documentation and answering questions necessary to
determine compliance with the commercial motor vehicle statutes and rules of
this state. The driver of a commercial vehicle shall assist the inspection
officer, as needed, during the course of any such inspection.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is
to extend the authority of law-enforcement officers to motor carrier inspectors
when possession of a controlled substance, assault or battery is committed in
the inspector's presence, and to expand the authority of inspectors to inspect
vehicles.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.