Section 281A.190 - Disqualification - Suspension, revocation, or cancellation - Right to appeal(1) A person who holds or is required to hold a CDL shall be disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle for a period of one (1) year if convicted of:(a) Driving or being in physical control of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance;(b) Driving or being in physical control of a motor vehicle while the alcohol concentration of the person's blood or breath or urine is four hundredths (0.04) or more;(c) Leaving the scene of an accident involving a motor vehicle driven by a person who holds or is required to hold a CDL;(d) Using a motor vehicle in the commission of any felony listed in KRS 186.560;(e) Refusing to submit to testing as required by KRS 281A.220 when driving a motor vehicle;(f) Committing a first violation of driving a commercial motor vehicle while the person's commercial driver's license is revoked, suspended, or canceled, or when the person is disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle; or(g) Causing a fatality through negligent or criminal operation of a commercial motor vehicle.(2) A person who holds or is required to hold a CDL shall be disqualified for life if convicted of two (2) or more violations of any of the offenses specified in subsection (1) of this section or any combination of those offenses arising from two (2) or more separate incidents. The provisions of this subsection shall only apply to convictions that occurred after the disqualification dates established by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The Transportation Cabinet shall set forth those dates in an administrative regulation promulgated in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A.(3) If any violation specified in subsection (1) of this section occurred while transporting a hazardous material required to be placarded, the person who holds or is required to hold a CDL shall be disqualified for a period of three (3) years.(4) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, a period of suspension, revocation, or disqualification imposed under the provisions of this chapter shall not be reduced. However, in accordance with the provisions of 49 C.F.R. pt. 383, the cabinet may establish guidelines including conditions under which a disqualification of not less than ten (10) years may be imposed.(5) A person who holds or is required to hold a CDL shall be disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle for life if the person is convicted of any felony in which a commercial motor vehicle was used and that involved: (a) The manufacture, distribution, or dispensing of a controlled substance, or possession with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense a controlled substance; or(b) An act or practice of severe forms of trafficking in persons.(6) A person who holds or is required to hold a CDL shall be disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle for a period of sixty (60) days if convicted of two (2) serious traffic violations, or one hundred twenty (120) days consecutively if convicted of three (3) serious traffic violations, committed in a commercial motor vehicle arising from separate incidents occurring within a three (3) year period.(7) A person who holds or is required to hold a CDL shall be disqualified for the first offense from driving a commercial motor vehicle for six (6) months if the person has been convicted of committing any of those offenses enumerated in KRS 186.610 involving a commercial motor vehicle, commercial driver's license, or application for that license. For the second and each subsequent offense, the person shall be disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle for a period of one (1) year.(8) The cabinet shall deny a person a commercial driver's license or shall suspend, revoke, or cancel his or her commercial driving privilege, subject to a hearing conducted in accordance with KRS 189A.107, when the cabinet has reason to believe that the person refused to submit to a test to determine his or her alcohol concentration while driving a commercial motor vehicle.(9) If a person who holds or is required to hold a CDL is convicted of any of the railroad crossing offenses or conduct enumerated in KRS 189.500, 189.560, and 189.565, then the person shall be disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle for a period of: (a) Sixty (60) days for the first offense;(b) One hundred twenty (120) days for the second offense within a three (3) year period; and(c) One (1) year for the third or subsequent offense within a three (3) year period.(10) If a person who holds or is required to hold a CDL violates an out-of-service order while transporting nonhazardous materials, then the person shall be disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle for a period of:(a) One hundred eighty (180) days for the first offense;(b) Two (2) years for the second offense in a separate incident within a ten (10) year period; and(c) Three (3) years for the third or subsequent offense in a separate incident within a ten (10) year period.(11) If a person who holds or is required to hold a CDL violates an out-of-service order while transporting hazardous materials required to be placarded under the 49 U.S.C. sec. 5101 et seq., or operating a commercial motor vehicle designed to transport sixteen (16) or more passengers, including the driver, then the person shall be disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle for a period of:(a) One hundred eighty (180) days for the first offense; and(b) Three (3) years for the second or subsequent offense in a separate incident within a ten (10) year period.(12) A person who violates the provisions of KRS 281A.205 shall be fined fifty dollars ($50) for the first offense. For a subsequent offense, a violator shall be fined one hundred dollars ($100) and shall have his or her school bus endorsement suspended for a period of six (6) months.(13) After disqualifying a commercial driver's license holder or suspending, revoking, or canceling a commercial driver's license, the Transportation Cabinet shall update its records to reflect that action within ten (10) days of receipt. After disqualifying a commercial driver's license holder or suspending, revoking, or canceling an out-of-state commercial driver's license holder's privilege to operate a commercial motor vehicle for at least sixty (60) days, the Transportation Cabinet shall notify the licensing authority of the state which issued the commercial driver's license or commercial learner's permit with this information within ten (10) days. The notification shall include both the disqualification and the violation that resulted in the disqualification, suspension, cancellation, or revocation.(14) Upon notice from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that a driver has been determined to be an imminent hazard and has been disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle, the cabinet shall act in accordance with the provisions of 49 C.F.R. sec. 383.52. The cabinet shall notify the driver of the disqualification, which shall not exceed one (1) year in duration, and of the right to appeal to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in accordance with 49 C.F.R. sec. 383.52.Amended by 2024 Ky. Acts ch. 123,§ 7, eff. 7/15/2024.Effective:6/26/2007
Amended 2007, Ky. Acts ch. 28, sec. 7, effective6/26/2007; and ch. 138, sec. 2, effective6/26/2007. -- Amended 2005, Ky. Acts ch. 165, sec. 8, effective 6/20/2005. -- Amended 1996, Ky. Acts ch. 318, sec. 210, effective 7/15/1996. -- Amended 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 274, sec. 6, effective 4/7/1992. -- Created 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 455, sec. 19, effective 7/1/1991.