Pennsylvania passed a bill last month requiring stricter non-parking incident reporting requirements on holders of commercial driver licenses (CDL) driving a commercial motor vehicle.
There are 5 main incident reporting changes for Pennsylvania:
- A non-parking traffic violation conviction must be reported within 15 days instead of 30 days
- A driver must notify his or her employer within 30 days of being arrested, cited or charged with a non-parking traffic violation
- An employer that receives a timely notice regarding an employee being arrested, cited or charged with a non-parking traffic violation may not terminate the employee unless the employee is convicted of the violation
- Failure to provide employer notice is a summary offense and a $100 fine
- If the unreported violation is a serious traffic offense, felony or DUI, an additional $300 fine shall be imposed
According to Rep. Lori Mizgorski’s (R-Allegheny), “I was compelled to write this bill after learning about a tractor trailer driver who caused two fatal accidents within six months. By the time the driver was convicted in the first case here in Pennsylvania, he had already caused a second fatal accident in Ohio.”
She hopes that this bill will make sure the employers of CDL holders are promptly informed when one of their drivers is cited for breaking the law.