Senate Bill No. 478–Committee on Transportation

 

CHAPTER..........

 

AN ACT relating to the Department of Public Safety; authorizing the Department to adopt certain regulations relating to motor carriers; clarifying the duty of the Department to enforce certain provisions relating to motor carriers; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

    Section 1. NRS 706.151 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    706.151  1.  It is hereby declared to be the purpose and policy

of the Legislature in enacting this chapter:

    (a) Except to the extent otherwise provided in NRS 706.881 to

706.885, inclusive, to confer upon the Authority the power and to

make it the duty of the Authority to regulate fully regulated carriers,

operators of tow cars and brokers of regulated services to the extent

provided in this chapter and to confer upon the Department of

Motor Vehicles the power to license all motor carriers and to make

it the duty of the Department of Motor Vehicles and the

Department of Public Safety to enforce the provisions of this

chapter and the regulations adopted by the Authority pursuant to it,

to relieve the undue burdens on the highways arising by reason of

the use of the highways by vehicles in a gainful occupation thereon.

    (b) To provide for reasonable compensation for the use of the

highways in gainful occupations, and enable the State of Nevada, by

using license fees, to provide for the proper construction,

maintenance and repair thereof, and thereby protect the safety and

welfare of the traveling and shipping public in their use of the

highways.

    (c) To provide for fair and impartial regulation, to promote safe,

adequate, economical and efficient service and to foster sound

economic conditions in motor transportation.

    (d) To encourage the establishment and maintenance of

reasonable charges for:

        (1) Intrastate transportation by fully regulated carriers; and

        (2) Towing services performed without the prior consent of

the owner of the vehicle or the person authorized by the owner to

operate the vehicle,

without unjust discriminations against or undue preferences or

advantages being given to any motor carrier or applicant for a

certificate of public convenience and necessity.

    (e) To discourage any practices which would tend to increase or

create competition that may be detrimental to the traveling and

shipping public or the motor carrier business within this state.

    2.  All of the provisions of this chapter must be administered

and enforced with a view to carrying out the declaration of policy

contained in this section.

    Sec. 2.  NRS 706.169 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    706.169  1.  The Department of Motor Vehicles and the

Department of Public Safety shall[:

    1.  Regulate] regulate the activities of common and contract

carriers of property other than fully regulated carriers and operators

of tow cars.

    2.  [Regulate] The Department of Motor Vehicles shall

regulate the licensing of private motor carriers of property used for

private commercial enterprises on any highway in this state.

    Sec. 3.  NRS 706.171 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    706.171  1.  The Authority , [and] the Department of Motor

Vehicles and the Department of Public Safety may:

    (a) Make necessary and reasonable regulations governing the

administration and enforcement of the provisions of this chapter for

which they are each responsible.

    (b) Adopt by reference any appropriate rule or regulation, as it

exists at the time of adoption, issued by the United States

Department of Transportation, the Surface Transportation Board,

any other agency of the Federal Government, or the National

Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.

    (c) Require such reports and the maintenance of such records as

they determine to be necessary for the administration and

enforcement of this chapter.

    (d) Except as otherwise provided in this section, examine, at any

time during the business hours of the day, the books, papers and

records of any fully regulated carrier, and of any other common,

contract or private motor carrier doing business in this state to the

extent necessary for their respective duties. The Authority [and] ,

the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Public

Safety may examine in other states or require by subpoena the

production inside this state of such books, papers and records as are

not maintained in this state.

    (e) Temporarily waive any requirement for a certificate or

permit when an emergency exists as defined in NRS 706.561.

    2.  No personnel records of an employee of a fully regulated

carrier, or of any other common, contract or private motor carrier

may be examined pursuant to paragraph (d) of subsection 1 unless

the records contain information relating to a matter of public safety

or the Authority , the Department of Motor Vehicles andthe

Department of Public Safety determine that the examination is

required to protect the interests of the public.

    3.  The Department of Motor Vehicles may adopt regulations to

ensure the payment of any fee due or authorized pursuant to the

provisions of this chapter.

    4.  As used in this section, “personnel records” does not

include:

    (a) The name of the employee who is the subject of the record;

    (b) The gross compensation and perquisites of the employee;

    (c) Any record of the business expenses of the employee;

    (d) The title or any description of the position held by the

employee;

    (e) The qualifications required for the position held by the

employee;

    (f) The business address of the employee;

    (g) The telephone number of the employee at his place of

business;

    (h) The work schedule of the employee;

    (i) The date on which the employee began his employment; and

    (j) If applicable, the date on which the employment of the

employee was terminated.

    Sec. 4.  NRS 706.173 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    706.173  1.  The Authority , the Department of Motor

Vehicles or the Department of Public Safety may, by regulation

applicable to common, contract and private motor carriers of

passengers and property, adopt standards for safety for drivers and

vehicles.

    2.  The Department of Motor Vehicles or the Department of

Public Safety may, by regulation applicable to all motor vehicles

transporting hazardous materials, adopt standards for the

transportation of hazardous materials and hazardous waste as

defined in NRS 459.430.

    Sec. 5.  NRS 706.231 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    706.231  Sheriffs and all other peace officers and traffic officers

of this state are charged with the duty, without further

compensation, of assisting in the enforcement of this chapter. They

shall make arrests for this purpose when requested by an authorized

agent of the Department[,] of Motor Vehicles, the Department of

Public Safety, the Authority or other competent authority.

    Sec. 6.  NRS 706.235 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    706.235  1.  Whenever a peace officer detains the driver of a

heavy-duty motor vehicle for a violation of any provision of this

chapter or any other specific statute or regulation relating to the

equipment, lights, brakes, tires, mechanisms or safety appliances

required of such a vehicle, the peace officer shall, in lieu of arresting

the driver, prepare manually or electronically and issue a citation, a

notice of correction, or both. If a notice of correction is issued, it

must set forth the violation with particularity and specify the

corrective action which must be taken.

    2.  If, at the time of the issuance of a citation or a notice of

correction, the peace officer determines that the vehicle is unsafe

and poses an immediate threat to the life of the driver or any other

person upon a public highway, the peace officer may require that the

vehicle be taken to the nearest garage or other place where the

vehicle may be safely repaired. If the vehicle is transporting wet

concrete or other perishable cargo and does not pose an immediate

threat to life, and if the destination of the vehicle is within a distance

of not more than 15 miles, the peace officer shall not delay the

vehicle for more than 15 minutes and shall permit the vehicle to

proceed to its destination and unload its cargo. Upon the arrival of

the vehicle at its destination, the peace officer may order that the

vehicle be taken, after the cargo of the vehicle has been unloaded, to

the nearest garage or other place where the vehicle may be safely

repaired.

    3.  As used in this section:

    (a) “Heavy-duty motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle which:

        (1) Has a manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight rating of

10,000 pounds or more; and

        (2) Is owned or leased by or otherwise used in the regular

course of the business of a common, contract or private motor

carrier.

    (b) “Peace officer” means:

        (1) A peace officer or an inspector of the Department[;] of

Motor Vehicles or Department of Public Safety; or

        (2) A sheriff, peace officer or traffic officer assisting in the

enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.

    Sec. 7.  NRS 706.246 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    706.246  Except as otherwise provided in NRS 706.235:

    1.  A common or contract motor carrier shall not permit or

require a driver to drive or tow any vehicle revealed by inspection or

operation to be in such condition that its operation would be

hazardous or likely to result in a breakdown of the vehicle, and a

driver shall not drive or tow any vehicle which by reason of its

mechanical condition is so imminently hazardous to operate as to be

likely to cause an accident or a breakdown of the vehicle. If, while

any vehicle is being operated on a highway, it is discovered to be in

such an unsafe condition, it may be continued in operation, except

as further limited by subsection 2, only to the nearest place where

repairs can safely be effected, and even that operation may be

conducted only if it is less hazardous to the public than permitting

the vehicle to remain on the highway.

    2.  A common or contract motor carrier or private motor carrier

shall not permit or require a driver to drive or tow, and a driver shall

not drive or tow, any vehicle which:

    (a) By reason of its mechanical condition is so imminently

hazardous to operate as to be likely to cause an accident or a

breakdown; and

    (b) Has been declared “out of service” by an authorized

employee of the Authority , the Department of Motor Vehicles or

the Department[.] of Public Safety.

When the repairs have been made, the carrier shall so certify to the

Authority or the Department[, whichever agency] that declared the

vehicle “out of service,” as required by the Authority or [the] that

Department.

    Sec. 8.  This act becomes effective on July 1, 2003.

 

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