Scope Statements
Transportation
Subject
Amends Chapter
Trans 114, relating to the Uniform Traffic Citation, to eliminate figures 1-6, and also clarify that the automated citation must be in a format prescribed by the Department.
Policy Analysis
During the last audit of our Commercial Driver Licensing program in 2007, the reviewers indicated “The boxes on the uniform citation to identify CMV and hazmat involvement are not consistently and appropriately used by law enforcement for the DMV to identify and impose the appropriate disqualification action."
We have met with the Uniform Traffic Citation Council, and they have agreed to the changes. As such, we plan to remove the fields related to license class and endorsements, and vehicle class and endorsements, and replace them with yes or no indicators for CMV Operation and Hazmat Operation. The change to the CMV/Hazardous materials reporting portion of the citation involves no issue of policy; it is simply made to hopefully improve the reliability of the data provided by officers.
Requiring the date and time of appearance to be shown on the citation is simply codifying procedures that should already be mandated by courts processing citations. A person who is being issued a citation should be notified of the time and place he or she is required to appear in court as part of that process. All persons have a fundamental due process right to notice of the time and place their case will be heard.
In addition, the 2007 CDL Compliance Review included the following finding:
“Wisconsin only receives 35% of convictions electronically and, as a result, will be hard-pressed to meet deadlines imposed by MCSIA for the timely posting of convictions (within 30 days by September 30, 2005, and within 10 days by September 30, 2008). Wisconsin must address the timeliness associated with the processes currently in place by which convictions are reported and processed, if Wisconsin is to meet the initial 30-day requirement of the MCSIA by July 2005 and fully comply with the 10-day posting requirement of MCSIA by July `08."
Our plan to address this finding was to expand the use of automated citations. To achieve this goal, we would like to clarify that the Department must prescribe the automated citation form to ensure that all law enforcement agencies are using the same document. This will eliminate confusion and increase efficiency, and all law enforcement agencies in the state will be using the same format, as they are today.
Statutory Authority
Comparison with Federal Regulations
The purpose of making changes to the citation form related to CMV use or the transportation of hazardous materials is to improve compliance with federal CDL laws and regulations. Federal law requires Wisconsin to:
•
Notify the licensing jurisdiction within 10 days if one of its drivers is convicted of a CDL offense in Wisconsin.
•
Post convictions on Wisconsin driving records within 10 days of their conviction.
Section
345.48 (1m), Stats., requires courts to report convictions to DMV within 5 working days. By having consistent information regarding CMV use or hazardous materials transportation, as well as a consistent automated citation format, DMV should be more consistent in processing reported convictions within the 10-day federal time limit.
Entities Affected by the Rule
Law enforcement agencies, Wisconsin Judicial System, and third party vendors such as the vendor who keys paper citations.
Estimate of Time Needed to Develop the Rule
80 hours
