307.400. Commercial vehicles, equipment and operation, regulations, exceptions--department of public safety, rules, procedure, this chapter. - Missouri Statutes

Commercial vehicles, equipment and operation, regulations,exceptions--department of public safety, rules, procedure, thischapter.

307.400. 1. It is unlawful for any person to operate any commercialmotor vehicle as defined in Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part390.5, either singly or in combination with a trailer, as both vehicles aredefined in Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 390.5, unless suchvehicles are equipped and operated as required by Parts 390 through 397,Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, as such regulations have been andmay periodically be amended, whether intrastate transportation orinterstate transportation. Members of the Missouri state highway patrolare authorized to enter the cargo area of a commercial motor vehicle ortrailer to inspect the contents when reasonable grounds exist to causebelief that the vehicle is transporting hazardous materials as defined byTitle 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The director of thedepartment of public safety is hereby authorized to further regulate thesafety of commercial motor vehicles and trailers as he deems necessary togovern and control their operation on the public highways of this state bypromulgating and publishing rules and regulations consistent with thischapter. Any such rules shall, in addition to any other provisions deemednecessary by the director, require:

(1) Every commercial motor vehicle and trailer and all parts thereofto be maintained in a safe condition at all times;

(2) Accidents arising from or in connection with the operation ofcommercial motor vehicles and trailers to be reported to the department ofpublic safety in such detail and in such manner as the director mayrequire.

Except for the provisions of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection,the provisions of this section shall not apply to any commercial motorvehicle operated in intrastate commerce and licensed for a gross weight ofsixty thousand pounds or less when used exclusively for the transportationof solid waste or forty-two thousand pounds or less when the license platehas been designated for farm use by the letter "F" as authorized by theRevised Statutes of Missouri, unless such vehicle is transporting hazardousmaterials as defined in Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1 of this section tothe contrary, Part 391, Subpart E, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations,relating to the physical requirements of drivers shall not be applicable todrivers in intrastate commerce, provided such drivers were licensed by thisstate as chauffeurs to operate commercial motor vehicles on May 13, 1988.Persons who are otherwise qualified and licensed to operate a commercialmotor vehicle in this state may operate such vehicle intrastate at the ageof eighteen years or older, except that any person transporting hazardousmaterial must be at least twenty-one years of age.

3. Commercial motor vehicles and drivers of such vehicles may beplaced out of service if the vehicles are not equipped and operatedaccording to the requirements of this section. Criteria used for placingvehicles and drivers out of service are the North American UniformOut-of-Service Criteria adopted by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Allianceand the United States Department of Transportation, as such criteria havebeen and may periodically be amended.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1 of this section tothe contrary, Part 395, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, relating tothe hours of drivers, shall not apply to any vehicle owned or operated byany public utility, rural electric cooperative or other public serviceorganization, or to the driver of such vehicle, while providing restorationof essential utility services during emergencies and operating intrastate.For the purposes of this subsection, the term "essential utility services"means electric, gas, water, telephone and sewer services.

5. Part 395, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, relating to thehours of drivers, shall not apply to drivers transporting agriculturalcommodities or farm supplies for agricultural purposes in this state ifsuch transportation:

(1) Is limited to an area within a one hundred air-mile radius fromthe source of the commodities or the distribution point for the farmsupplies; and

(2) Is conducted during the planting and harvesting season withinthis state, as defined by the department of public safety by regulation.

6. The provisions of Part 395.8, Title 49, Code of FederalRegulations, relating to recording of a driver's duty status, shall notapply to drivers engaged in agricultural operations referred to insubsection 5 of this section, if the motor carrier who employs the drivermaintains and retains for a period of six months accurate and true recordsshowing:

(1) The total number of hours the driver is on duty each day; and

(2) The time at which the driver reports for, and is released from,duty each day.

7. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1 of this section tothe contrary, Parts 390 through 397, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulationsshall not apply to commercial motor vehicles operated in intrastatecommerce to transport property, which have a gross vehicle weight rating orgross combination weight rating of twenty-six thousand pounds or less. Theexception provided by this subsection shall not apply to vehiclestransporting hazardous materials or to vehicles designed to transportsixteen or more passengers including the driver as defined by Title 49 ofthe Code of Federal Regulations. Nothing in this subsection shall beconstrued to prohibit persons designated by the department of public safetyfrom inspecting vehicles defined in this subsection.

8. Violation of any provision of this section or any rule promulgatedas authorized therein is an infraction.

9. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in section536.010, RSMo, that is created under the authority delegated in thissection shall become effective only if it complies with and is subject toall of the provisions of chapter 536, RSMo, and, if applicable, section536.028, RSMo. This section and chapter 536, RSMo, are nonseverable and ifany of the powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536,RSMo, to review, to delay the effective date, or to disapprove and annul arule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemakingauthority and any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 2009, shall beinvalid and void.

(L. 1984 H.B. 1410 §§ 307.400, 307.401, A.L. 1986 H.B. 1428, H.B. 1572, A.L. 1988 S.B. 423, A.L. 1991 H.B. 251, A.L. 1993 S.B. 52, A.L. 1995 S.B. 3, A.L. 1999 S.B. 19, A.L. 2003 H.B. 371, A.L. 2004 S.B. 1233, et al., A.L. 2009 H.B. 683)