NYS DMV Presentation NYS DOT Rural Specialized Transportation

NYS DMV Presentation NYS DOT Rural & Specialized Transportation Conference March 13, 2008

Article 19 -A Vehicle & Traffic Law Today’s Focus: n n n 19 -A & DMV 19 -A requirements – the basics & things to know OSC Audit What’s new What’s coming Q&A

Reorganization Information n n Our name is changing – AGAIN! No longer Driver Program Regulation (DPR) Now part of the Motor Carrier Safety Bureau Will be known as the Bus Driver Unit (BDU)

Bus Driver Unit (BDU) n n n Same phone#: (518) 473 -9455 M – F, 9 AM – 4 PM Same fax#: (518) 474 -0593 Same address: 6 Empire State Plaza, Room 220 C Albany, NY 12228

Field Operations Testing & Investigations Units n Located in 14 offices across the State n T&I Units and examiners n n Conduct the periodic 19 -A record reviews Road tests for licensing Bus driver 3 -accident re-examinations Testing for 19 -A Certified Examiners

T & I Locations n n n n Albany Binghamton Buffalo Rochester Syracuse Utica West Haverstraw n n n n Yonkers Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Bethpage (Nassau County) Hauppauge (Suffolk County)

Licensing Basics n n All 19 -A drivers need a CDL with a Passenger (P) endorsement Drivers of school buses that seat 15 adult passenger or larger need a School Bus (S) endorsement An A 3 restriction on a CDL limits the driver’s driving to school bus or municipal CMV operations only Commencing on 2/1/2006 all new applicants for a CDL or those renewing commencing 4/1/2006 must meet the Federal DOT qualification standards – unless exempt from them

Article 19 -A Special Requirements for Bus Drivers n n Sections 509 -a – 509 -o of the VTL Part 6 of the Commissioner’s Regulations Enacted in 1974 to further highway safety by creating standards for the qualification of bus drivers

When Does 19 -A Apply? Motor Carrier ? Driver ? Vehicle ? YES YES

Pre-employment Procedures Investigate the applicant’s employment record during the preceding three years § Require each applicant to submit to and pass the 19 -A physical examination to drive a bus § Require each applicant to possess a currently valid CDL in the class appropriate to the type of vehicle that the driver will operate. § Review the applicant’s license document for driving restrictions and endorsements. §

Pre-employment Procedures Continued § § § Obtain an abstract of driving record from every state in which the applicant was licensed during the preceding three years Have the applicant take and pass the 19 -A physical examination, and have form DS-874 completed (the Federal medical form will now be accepted in lieu of the DS-874) Send the BDU the bus driver applicant’s Article 19 -A Bus Driver Application, DS-870 form, within ten days of hiring

Annual Procedures § § Obtain an abstract of each driver’s driving record Conduct an annual review of each driver’s driving record Conduct a defensive driving observation for each driver – must be done by an Article 19 -A Certified Examiner File an annual affidavit of compliance by July 1 st

Biennial Procedures § § § Have a physical examination conducted for each driver Conduct a behind-the-wheel road test for each driver * Conduct a written (or oral) examination for each driver * * These procedures must be conducted by an Article 19 -A Certified Examiner

Carrier Penalties § § If after an administrative hearing a carrier is found to have violated provisions of 19 -A, it may be subject to a civil penalty ranging from $500 to $5000 per violation, and/or have its vehicle registrations suspended or revoked The Department may in some instances offer a carrier an opportunity to waive a hearing

Driver Responsibilities § § § Report accidents (NY as well as out-of-state) to employer within 5 working days Report convictions for traffic infractions (NY as well as out-of-state) to employer within 5 working days Report driver license suspension, revocation or withdrawal, or misdemeanor/felony convictions in any jurisdiction to employer by the end of the business day following the day the driver received it

Driver Disqualifications § § § § Stop (suspension/revocation) on NYS driver license/driving privilege record 9 points within 18 months Conviction for leaving the scene of a personal injury or fatal accident 2 DWI/DWAI/DUI convictions within 10 years Conviction for aggravated unlicensed operation 1 st degree Failure of the Article 19 -A 3 -accident re-exam road test Failure of the biennial behind-the wheel road test Failure of the biennial written test

Law Change 11/1/2007 n Chapter 345 of the Laws of 2007 added new Penal Law sections that will result in a 5 year disqualification of a bus driver upon conviction. They are: n n Aggravated Vehicular Assault (120. 04 -a PL) Aggravated Vehicular Homicide (125. 14 PL)

Office of the State Comptroller’s Audit of the 19 -A Program

OSC 19 -A Audit Commenced in 9/2005 – final report issued 9/4/2007 n The full report and DMV’s response and be found at: http: //osc. state. ny. us/audits/allaudits/093007/05 s 53. htm Focused on: n Carrier Compliance n Unregistered Carriers and Drivers n Criminal History Checks n

OSC Recommendations to DMV Carrier Compliance (Highlights) n Revise the driver sampling methodology used to include all drivers who were employed by the carrier during the review period n Develop formal criteria for identifying “problem” carriers that require more frequent reviews n Do more unannounced reviews especially at carriers with a history of noncompliance n Impose progressively stronger penalties when carriers are repeatedly found to be in noncompliance

OSC Recommendations to DMV Unregistered Drivers and Carriers n Develop and implement proactive methods for identifying unregistered carriers and drivers n n n Curbside verifications Compare NYS DOT carrier list with DMV’s Require carriers to provide driver list to DMV examiner conducting a 19 -A review

OSC Recommendations to DMV Criminal History Checks n n Seek law changes to allow for criminal history checks of non-school bus drivers Use fingerprinting scanning technology or other methods to make the criminal history checks of bus drivers more efficient

New 19 -A Database n n n Phase 1 for BDU & DMV T&I Units Went into production 12/10/2007 Enhancements that affect carriers New Notifications New 19 -A Status indicators on the license file

Enhancements For Carriers n n n Automatic requalification of drivers for driver license stops No need to modify the FEIN for different locations DMV Business ID for each location No need for R & S driver rosters Verification of O/S driver license status

New Notifications n n Separate Pending Disqualification Notice Cleared Pending Disqualification Notice Initial Affidavit of Compliance Acknowledgement Notice

New 19 -A Status Indicators n n Active School Pending Inactive School Pending These join the existing statuses of: Active/Inactive School Qualified Active/Inactive Non School Only Disqualified

Annual Affidavit of Compliance 2008 n n n AFCO –that’s what we call it! Automated mailing this year – around 4/15/08 Separate roster & AFCO packets No driver SSN or address on roster Annual Statistical Report printed on reverse side of AFCO

Electronic Notifications and Reporting n n n Phase 2 of the 19 -A Re-Write Project Anticipated delivery date will be in late 2008/early 2009 Carriers will be able to electronically access the 19 -A system via the Internet to: n n n Add/Drop Drivers Receive electronic driver notifications File their Annual Affidavit of Compliance View their roster of drivers Maybe more!

Revision of 19 -A Forms & Part 6 Update n n n All forms have been reviewed for revisions We will notify carriers when they become available Updates to Part 6 of the Commissioner’s Regulations are in process

Visit DMV’s Website Lots of information and on-line services available at: WWW. NYSDMV. COM

Q&A Any questions for us?