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HARRISBURG, June 27, 2005 -
The state Senate today unanimously (50-0) approved legislation, sponsored by Sen. J. Barry Stout, to bring
Pennsylvania into compliance with federal regulations for
commercial driver licensing.
“We risk losing millions and millions of federal road
dollars if we don’t enact this legislation,” said Stout
(D-Washington/Greene/Beaver/Westmoreland/Allegheny).
Senate Bill 724 would implement the Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999, which requires
states to maintain a complete driving record of all traffic
violations (except parking) and disqualifies drivers from
obtaining a commercial license when they have high-risk
traffic offenses in their own, personal vehicles. The bill
also addresses several discrepancies in offenses and
penalties between state and federal law.
If state laws do not conform to the new federal guidelines
by September 30, Pennsylvania could lose up to $40 million
in federal highway and safety funding and the authority to
issue or renew a commercial driver’s license.
In addition to updating the state Motor Vehicle Code,
implementing the federal law will require changes to
computer systems and procedures at the state Department of
Transportation (PennDOT). The estimated cost for those
changes is $4.8 million, which will be mostly funded by the
federal government.
PennDOT’s Truck Safety Steering Committee has recommended
this legislation as a way to reduce crashes involving heavy
trucks. The federal government estimates its new guidelines
will reduce the number of truck-related crashes by at least
700 nationwide, with savings of $404 million annually.
With today’s vote,
Senate Bill 724 now moves to the House of Representatives.
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