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(a) Farmers. Bona fide farmers or farm vehicle drivers, as defined, operating a vehicle otherwise covered by the commercial driver's license requirements may be exempted from the provisions of this article only if the vehicle used is:
(1) Driven by a farmer or farm vehicle driver;
(2) Used only to transport either agricultural products, farm machinery, farm supplies, to or from a farm;
(3) Not used in the operation of a common or contract motor carrier; and
(4) Used within 150 miles of the qualifying farm. Farmers who wish to be exempted from the commercial driver's license requirements must apply to the Division of Motor Vehicles for a certificate of exemption.
(b) Military Personnel. Active duty military personnel operating vehicles being used for military purposes are exempted from the provisions of this article in accordance with the provisions of 49 CFR § 383.3 (c)(2006).
(c) Fire Fighting and Rescue Equipment. Operators of vehicles authorized to hold an authorized emergency vehicle permit for use of red signal lights only are exempt from the provisions of this article while the authorized emergency vehicle permit is in force. Vehicles in this class include, but are not limited to, fire fighters and rescue equipment:
(1) Owned and operated by state, county and municipal fire departments.
(2) Owned and operated by state, county and municipal civil defense organizations.
(3) Owned and operated by a manufacturer engaged in a type of business that requires fire fighter equipment to protect the safety of their plants and its employees.
(4) Owned and operated by volunteer fire departments.
(d) Operators of Off-Road Construction and Mining Equipment. Operators of equipment which, by its design, appearance and function, is not intended for use on a public road, including, without limitation, motorscrapers, backhoes, motorgraders, compactors, excavators, tractors, trenches and bulldozers, are exempt from the provisions of this article: Provided, that the exemption recognized by this subsection shall not be construed to permit the operation of such equipment on any public road except such operation as may be required for a crossing of such road: Provided, however, that no such equipment may be operated on a public road for a distance exceeding five hundred feet from the place where such equipment entered upon the public road.
(e) Exempt Vehicles. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 exempts vehicles used exclusively for personal use such as recreation vehicles and rental trucks used only to transport the driver's personal or household property.
(WVaC 17E-1-8)
(a) In addition to any other penalties provided by the West Virginia Code or these Codified Ordinances, any person who drives, operates or is in physical control of a commercial motor vehicle while having an alcohol concentration in his or her blood, breath or urine of four hundredths of one percent or more, by weight, shall be imprisoned for not less than twenty-four hours nor more than thirty days, and shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00). A person convicted of a second or any subsequent offense under the provisions of this subsection shall be imprisoned for a period of thirty days, and the court may, in its discretion, impose a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than three thousand dollars ($3,000).
(b) A person who violates the provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall be treated in the same manner set forth in West Virginia Code 17C-19-3, as if he or she had been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or of any controlled substance.
(c) In addition to any other penalties provided by the West Virginia Code or these Codified Ordinances, a person who drives, operates or is in physical control of a commercial motor vehicle having any measurable alcohol in such person’s system or who refuses to take a preliminary breath test to determine such person’s blood alcohol content as provided by West Virginia Code 17E-1-15 shall be placed out of service for twenty-four hours by the arresting law- enforcement officer.
(WVaC 17E-1-14)
(WVaC 17E-1-14)
(a) No commercial driver may engage in texting while driving a commercial motor vehicle.
(b) No motor carrier may allow or require its drivers to engage in texting while driving a commercial motor vehicle.
(c) For the purposes of this section only, and unless a more restrictive prohibition is prescribed in the West Virginia Code, driving means operating a commercial motor vehicle with the motor running, including while temporarily stationed because of traffic, a traffic control device or other momentary delays. Driving does not include operating a commercial motor vehicle with or without the motor running when the driver moved the vehicle to the side of or off a highway, as defined in 49 CFR 390.5, and halted in a location where the vehicle can safely remain stationary. (WVaC 17E-1-14(a))
Unless another penalty is provided in this article, whoever violates any provision of this article shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or imprisoned for not more than thirty days, or both except that for the second violation of Section 353.04, the offender shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) nor more than two thousand dollars ($2,000) or imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both. For the third or any subsequent conviction for violation of Section 353.04, the offender shall be fined not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or imprisoned for not more than thirty days, or both.
(WVaC 17E-1-25)