46.2-341.4 - Definitions.
§ 46.2-341.4. Definitions.
The following definitions shall apply to this article, unless a differentmeaning is clearly required by the context:
"Commercial driver's license" means any driver's license issued to a personin accordance with the provisions of this article, or if the license isissued by another state, any license issued to a person in accordance withthe federal Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act, which authorizes such personto drive a commercial motor vehicle of the class and type and with therestrictions indicated on the license.
"Commercial motor vehicle" means, except for those vehicles specificallyexcluded in this definition, every motor vehicle, vehicle or combination ofvehicles used to transport passengers or property which either: (i) has agross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds; or (ii) has a grosscombination weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds inclusive of a towedvehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds; or(iii) is designed to transport 16 or more passengers including the driver; or(iv) is of any size and is used in the transportation of hazardous materialsas defined in this section. Every such motor vehicle or combination ofvehicles shall be considered a commercial motor vehicle whether or not it isused in a commercial or profit-making activity.
The following shall be excluded from the definition of commercial motorvehicle: any vehicle when used by an individual solely for his own personalpurposes, such as personal recreational activities; or any vehicle which (i)is controlled and operated by a farmer, whether or not it is owned by thefarmer, and which is used exclusively for farm use, as defined in § 46.2-698,(ii) is used to transport either agricultural products, farm machinery orfarm supplies to or from a farm, (iii) is not used in the operation of acommon or contract motor carrier, and (iv) is used within 150 miles of thefarmer's farm; or any vehicle operated for military purposes by (a) activeduty military personnel, (b) members of the military reserves, (c) members ofthe national guard on active duty, including personnel on full-time nationalguard duty, personnel on part-time national guard training, and nationalguard military technicians (civilians who are required to wear militaryuniforms), but not U.S. Reserve technicians, and (d) active duty U.S. CoastGuard personnel; or emergency equipment operated by a member of afirefighting, rescue, or emergency entity in the performance of his officialduties.
"Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act" means the federal Commercial MotorVehicle Safety Act of 1986, Title XII of Public Law 99-570, as amended.
"Conviction" means an unvacated adjudication of guilt, or a determinationthat a person has violated or failed to comply with the law in a court oforiginal jurisdiction, an unvacated forfeiture of bond, bail or collateraldeposited to secure the person's appearance in court, a plea of guilty ornolo contendere accepted by the court, the payment of a fine or court costsin lieu of trial, a violation of a condition of release without bail,regardless of whether the penalty is rebated, suspended or probated, or, forthe purposes of alcohol or drug-related offenses involving the operation of amotor vehicle, a civil or an administrative determination of a violation. Forthe purposes of this definition, an administrative determination shallinclude an unvacated certification or finding by an administrative orauthorized law-enforcement official that a person has violated a provision oflaw.
"Disqualification" means a prohibition against driving, operating or beingin physical control of a commercial motor vehicle for a specified period oftime, imposed by a court or a magistrate, or by an authorized administrativeor law-enforcement official or body.
"Domicile" means a person's true, fixed and permanent home and principalresidence, to which he intends to return whenever he is absent.
"Gross combination weight rating" means the value specified by themanufacturers of an articulated vehicle or combination of vehicles as themaximum loaded weight of such vehicles. In the absence of such a valuespecified by the manufacturer, for law-enforcement purposes, the grosscombination weight rating shall be the greater of (i) the gross vehicleweight rating of the power units of the combination vehicle plus the totalweight of the towed units, including any loads thereon, or (ii) the grossweight at which the articulated vehicle or combination of vehicles isregistered in its state of registration; however, the registered gross weightshall not be applicable for determining the classification of an articulatedvehicle or combination of vehicles for purposes of skills testing pursuant to§ 46.2-341.14 or 46.2-341.16.
"Gross vehicle weight rating" means the value specified by the manufacturerof the vehicle as the maximum loaded weight of a single vehicle. In theabsence of such a value specified by the manufacturer, for law-enforcementpurposes, the gross vehicle weight rating shall be the greater of (i) theactual gross weight of the vehicle, including any load thereon; or (ii) thegross weight at which the vehicle is registered in its state of registration;however, the registered gross weight of the vehicle shall not be applicablefor determining the classification of a vehicle for purposes of skillstesting pursuant to § 46.2-341.14 or 46.2-341.16.
"Hazardous materials" means materials designated to be hazardous inaccordance with § 103 of the federal Hazardous Materials Transportation Act,as amended, (49 U.S.C. § 5101 et seq.) and which require placarding whentransported by motor vehicle as provided in the federal Hazardous MaterialsRegulations (49 C.F.R. Part 172, Subpart F); it also includes any quantity ofany material listed as a select agent or toxin in federal Public HealthService Regulations at 42 C.F.R. Part 73.
"Out-of-service order" or "out-of-service declaration" means an order bya judicial officer pursuant to § 46.2-341.26:2 or 46.2-341.26:3 or an orderor declaration by an authorized law-enforcement officer under § 46.2-1001 orregulations promulgated pursuant to § 52-8.4 relating to Motor CarrierSafety, and including similar actions by authorized judicial officers orenforcement officers acting pursuant to similar laws of other states, theUnited States, the Canadian Provinces, Canada, Mexico, and localities withinthem, and also including actions by federal or other jurisdictions' officerspursuant to federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, that a driver, acommercial motor vehicle, or a motor carrier is out of service. Such order ordeclaration as to a driver means that the driver is prohibited from operatinga commercial motor vehicle for the duration of the out-of-service period.Such order or declaration as to a vehicle means that such vehicle cannot beoperated until the hazardous condition that resulted in the order ordeclaration has been removed and the vehicle has been cleared for furtheroperation. Such order or declaration as to a motor carrier means that novehicle may be operated for or on behalf of such carrier until theout-of-service order or declaration has been lifted. For purposes of thisarticle, the provisions of the federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (49C.F.R. Parts 390 through 397), including such regulations or anysubstantially similar regulations as may have been adopted by any state ofthe United States, the Provinces of Canada, Canada, Mexico, or any localityshall be considered laws similar to the Virginia laws referenced herein.
"Seasonal restricted commercial driver's license" means a commercialdriver's license issued, under the authority of the waiver promulgated by thefederal Department of Transportation (49 C.F.R. § 383.3) by Virginia or anyother jurisdiction, to an individual who has not passed the knowledge orskills tests required of other commercial driver's license holders. Thislicense authorizes operation of a commercial motor vehicle only on a seasonalbasis, stated on the license, by a seasonal employee of a farm servicebusiness, within 150 miles of the place of business or the farm currentlybeing served.
"State" means one of the 50 states of the United States or the District ofColumbia.
"Tank vehicle" means any commercial motor vehicle that is designed totransport any liquid or gaseous materials within a tank that is eitherpermanently or temporarily attached to the vehicle or the chassis. Suchvehicles include, but are not limited to, cargo tanks and portable tanks, asdefined in 49 C.F.R. Part 171. However, this definition does not includeportable tanks having a rated capacity under 1,000 gallons.
(1989, c. 705, § 46.1-372.4; 1990, c. 218; 1993, c. 70; 1998, c. 883; 2005,c. 513; 2008, c. 190.)