Montana Code Annotated 2017

TITLE 61. MOTOR VEHICLES

CHAPTER 8. TRAFFIC REGULATION

Part 8. Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety

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:

(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;

(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.

History: En. Sec. 3, Ch. 378, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 28, Ch. 195, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 105, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 12, Ch. 207, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 15, Ch. 428, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 28, Ch. 428, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 7, Ch. 296, L. 2011.