Georgia DPS adoption of federal motor carrier safety rules

Rulemaking authority in O.C.G.A. 40-1-8

Section 40-1-8(a) sets out the definitions used in that Code section, which also contains the truck driver requirements in subsection (b)(2). Under Section 40-1-8(a)(1), the term commissioner "means the commissioner of public safety", and under Section 40-1-8(a)(2), the term department "means the Department of Public Safety". Paragraph (a)(3) ties present regulations to the 49 C.F.R. regulations in force and effect on January 1, 2026, and subsection (h), unless otherwise provided by law, links the Part 391 and Part 392 standards and the Part 395 hours of service rules for trucking companies and truck drivers to that date. The official code hierarchy places Section 40-1-8 in Title 40, Motor Vehicles and Traffic, Chapter 1, Article 1, General Provisions.^[1]

Section 40-1-8(b) lists subjects that the commissioner's rules are to include, without being limited to them, and paragraph (b)(2) of that list concerns truck drivers. Under Section 40-1-8(b)(1), each commercial motor vehicle and its parts are to be kept in a safe condition, and the lights and brakes, together with equipment and other parts or accessories, are to meet the safety requirements designated under Parts 393 and 396 of the federal regulations defined in paragraph (a)(3). Under Section 40-1-8(b)(2), a driver "employed to operate a motor vehicle for a motor carrier" is to be at least 18 years of age to operate intrastate and at least 21 years of age to operate interstate. The same paragraph calls for each such truck driver to meet the qualification requirements the commissioner promulgates, to be "of temperate habits and good moral character", to hold a valid driver's license, and to avoid using or possessing prohibited drugs or alcohol while on duty. Paragraph (b)(2)(F) adds that the truck driver be "fully competent and sufficiently rested to operate the motor vehicle under his or her charge".^[1]

Section 40-1-8(b)(3) calls for accidents arising from or in connection with the operation of commercial motor vehicles, including a truck crash that meets that description, to be reported to the commissioner of transportation in the detail and manner that official requires. Section 40-1-8(b)(4) directs the commissioner to require distinctive markings, adopted by the commissioner, on each commercial motor vehicle, including the vehicle a truck driver operates for a trucking company, and those identification requirements are to comply with the "federal Unified Carrier Registration Act of 2005" to the extent that Act applies. Section 40-1-8(b)(5) calls for distinctive rules on the transportation of unmanufactured forest products in intrastate commerce, designated the "Georgia Forest Products Trucking Rules".^[1]

Section 40-1-8(c)(1) allows regulations on the safe operation of commercial motor vehicles and truck drivers, and on hazardous materials transportation, to be adopted by administrative order, including by referencing compatible federal regulations or standards, without compliance with the procedural requirements of Chapter 13 of Title 50, the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act, provided that the federal regulations or standards are maintained on file by the department and made available for public inspection and copying, including by posting on the department's website. The commissioner may comply with the Chapter 13 filing requirements by filing the name and designation of the rules, regulations, standards and orders with the office of the Secretary of State. Under the same paragraph, "The courts shall take judicial notice of rules, regulations, standards, or orders so adopted or published". Section 40-1-8(c)(2) provides that rules and orders adopted under Chapter 7 or 11 of Title 46 and in effect on June 30, 2011, "shall remain in full force and effect" until the commissioner of public safety adopts new rules or orders under that Code section.^[1]

Section 40-1-8(e) authorizes the commissioner to adopt the rules and orders he or she deems necessary to enforce that Code section, including its provisions on truck drivers, and those rules and orders "shall have the same dignity and standing as if such rules and orders were specifically provided in this Code section". The commissioner may also establish exceptions or exemptions from the requirements of Section 40-1-8, such as the truck driver requirements in subsection (b)(2), that he or she deems appropriate, consistent with federal program requirements. Those exceptions or exemptions are also to be consistent with protection of public health and safety and of the public welfare.^[1]

According to the amendment notes on the official code page for Section 40-1-8, the 2022 amendment, effective July 1, 2022, substituted January 1, 2022 for January 1, 2021 at the end of paragraph (a)(3), and the amendments of 2023 through 2025 each substituted the following January 1 date in that paragraph. The same notes state that the 2026 amendment, effective July 1, 2026, substituted January 1, 2026 for January 1, 2025 at the end of paragraph (a)(3). Paragraph (a)(3) defines present regulations as "the regulations promulgated under 49 C.F.R." in force on January 1, 2026, the date inserted by the 2026 amendment, and the subsection (h) duties of a truck driver, which apply unless otherwise provided by law, refer to that defined term.^[1]

Federal parts adopted by Rule 570-38-1-.05 and DPS Rulebook Rule 1-1

Under Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 570-38-1-.01(1), Chapter 570-38-1 extends to matters that are, or on the date of formal adoption of those rules were, within the jurisdiction or regulatory authority of "the Regulatory Compliance Section of the Motor Carrier Compliance Division of the Georgia Department of Public Safety", and to "all carriers subject to the jurisdiction or regulatory authority of the Department". Rule 570-38-1-.01(2) provides that, in the event of a conflict between rules in that chapter, the more specific rule or rules on a particular topic control. Rule 570-38-1-.05 sits within that chapter.^[3]

Rule 570-38-1-.05(1) adopts, except to the extent modified by that Rule or otherwise under the Department's state and federal authority, the FMCSA safety regulations in Parts 350, 376, 382, 383 and 390 through 397 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as now in force and as later amended, and the Rule calls them the Federal Safety Rules; those parts include Part 391, which Rule 1-391 ties to qualifications of truck drivers. Under Rule 570-38-1-.05(2), the Department enforces the Federal Safety Rules, in cooperation with other state and local law enforcement agencies, to the extent they are applicable to trucking companies the Department regulates. That paragraph states that the FMCSA prescribes those rules "as minimum standards for observance and enforcement by cooperating State agencies" and that individual states such as Georgia "cannot promulgate less stringent motor carrier safety rules".^[3][2]

In Rule 570-38-1-.05, FMCSA refers to "the United States Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration". Rule 570-38-1-.05(3) states that, because of the volume of the Federal Safety Rules and the frequent changes the FMCSA makes to them, the Department does not reproduce them, and copies may be obtained from the FMCSA, from federal government sources in Washington, D.C. and the Atlanta area, or online. Under Rule 570-38-1-.05(4), the Department may adopt safety rules for trucking companies and their truck drivers more stringent than the Federal Safety Rules, and in accordance with O.C.G.A. 40-1-8(c)(1) it may promulgate them by administrative order and publish them in its Transportation Rulebook or elsewhere, with the rules available for public inspection on the Department's website.^[3][1]

Rule 570-38-1-.05(5) provides that, in the federal regulations adopted by reference, references to the Operations Manager or to the Associate Administrator of the FMCSA "shall be interpreted to mean Commissioner, Georgia Department of Public Safety, except insofar as the term relates to preemption". The same paragraph states that references to interstate commerce in those regulations "shall be interpreted for the purposes of this Chapter to mean" intrastate commerce in Georgia. It also states the Department's intent that the rules of Chapter 570-38-1, and rules and orders promulgated under that chapter, "shall apply only to intrastate carriers and operations".^[3]

DPS Transportation Rulebook Rule 1-1(a) states that the Department's safety rules and regulations are the minimum safety requirements for "all motor carriers operating both for hire and in private transportation in either interstate or intrastate commerce in Georgia", "to the extent that they do not conflict with Georgia law". Where applicable, Rule 1-1(a) provides that those rules are the same as the FMCSA regulations in 49 C.F.R. Parts 350, 365, 376, 382, 383, 385, 386, 387 and 390 through 397, as amended.^[2]

For truck drivers and other regulated persons, Rule 1-1(b) provides that references to the U.S. Department of Transportation, except when used to designate approval of mechanical specifications, are interpreted as references to the Georgia Department of Public Safety. Under Rule 1-1(c), a reference to the "Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration" is interpreted as a reference to the Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Safety, except insofar as the term relates to preemption.^[2]

Rule 1-1(d) states that references to interstate commerce "shall be interpreted to include" intrastate commerce, and that, except as provided for in the Individual Section Pages and Notes for each Part, the Department intends the regulations to apply to "intrastate carriers and their operations". Under Rule 1-1(e), where the adopted federal regulations refer to "carriers" or "motor carriers," "the term shall mean all for hire and private motor carriers and other entities subject to the Department's jurisdiction pursuant to Title 40 O.C.G.A.".^[2]

Rule 1-390.3(l) makes the Department's Transportation Rules applicable to employers and their employees, such as truck drivers, and to commercial motor vehicles that transport property or passengers in interstate or intrastate commerce, "except as expressly exempted by law". Rule 1-390.3(m) states that "The transportation of hazardous materials in interstate and intrastate commerce is fully subject" to Rulebook Chapter 1 to the extent its terms apply, including transportation by a truck driver.^[2]

Rule 1-390 provides that, except as amended by the Department in the Rulebook, the balance of that rule is contained in 49 CFR Part 390, as amended. Rule 1-391, on qualifications of drivers, provides that, except as amended by the Department, the balance of that rule is contained in 49 CFR Part 391, as amended, so the qualification rules for truck drivers follow that federal part subject to Department amendments. Under Rule 1-4(a), unless amended in the Rulebook, rules in Chapter 1 numbered beyond 1-300, including Rule 1-391 on qualifications of truck drivers, are generally the same as the rules in the federal regulations. The compatible state rule number is formed by placing DPS and the number 1 with a hyphen before the federal rule number, so federal Section 390.15 corresponds to DPS 1-390.15. Rule 1-4(b) provides that a reference on Department documents to a federal rule by its federal section number is a valid cite of the Department's rules without listing the full Department section reference.^[2]

Compliance duties under O.C.G.A. 40-1-8(h)

Section 40-1-8(h) provides that, unless otherwise provided by law, a trucking company or an operator of a commercial motor vehicle, such as a truck driver, is required to comply with present regulations in the federal parts that subsection names. Subsection (h) uses the term motor carrier, which Section 40-1-100(12) defines only "As used in this part", and the official code hierarchy places Section 40-1-8 in Chapter 1, Article 1, General Provisions. That hierarchy lists Article 1 as Sections 40-1-1 through 40-1-9. Section 40-1-8(h)(1) points to the safety standards in 49 C.F.R. Part 391, the part that Rule 1-391 ties to qualifications of truck drivers. Section 40-1-8(h)(2) points to the standards in 49 C.F.R. Part 392, including the seatbelt usage requirements in 49 C.F.R. Section 392.16. Section 40-1-8(h)(3) points to the hours of service and record of duty status requirements of 49 C.F.R. Part 395. Because Section 40-1-8(a)(3) defines present regulations by reference to the 49 C.F.R. regulations in force and effect on January 1, 2026, the subsection (h) duties for a trucking company or truck driver track the federal text as of that date, unless otherwise provided by law.^[1][4]

Section 40-1-8(b)(2)(A) adds age minimums for a driver "employed to operate a motor vehicle for a motor carrier", with 18 years of age as the floor for intrastate operation and 21 years of age as the floor for interstate operation. Those age minimums belong to the truck driver requirements in Section 40-1-8(b)(2), which the commissioner's rules are to include, and stand apart from the subsection (h) duties.^[1]

Penalties for violating the adopted rules

Section 40-1-8(d)(1) allows the commissioner, pursuant to rule or regulation, to specify and impose civil monetary penalties, including for violations by truck drivers, of laws and of rules or regulations "relating to driver and motor carrier safety and transportation of hazardous materials", subject to the July 1, 2005 maximum stated in the same paragraph. Except as may be hereafter authorized by law, such a penalty "shall not exceed the maximum penalty authorized by law or rule or regulation for the same violation immediately prior to July 1, 2005". Under Section 40-1-8(d)(2), a cause of action to collect such a penalty may be brought in the superior court of the county where the penalized company has its principal place of business or in the superior court of the county where the action giving rise to the penalty occurred.^[1]

Section 40-1-8(i) makes a failure by a person, such as a truck driver, to comply with Section 40-1-8(h)(2) the misdemeanor offense of failure to wear a seat safety belt while operating a commercial motor vehicle, punishable upon conviction by a fine of not more than $50.00 without imprisonment. For that seat safety belt offense, the costs of prosecution are not taxed, and no "additional penalty, fee, or surcharge" to the fine is assessed against a truck driver or other person convicted of it. No points are added under Code Section 40-5-57 for a truck driver's conviction of that seat safety belt offense, and no additional fines or penalties are imposed.^[1]

Section 40-1-8(j) imposes misdemeanor liability for violations of that Code section and of rules adopted under it, including violations by a truck driver. Under subsection (j), a person who "violates or fails to comply with this Code section or any order, rule, or regulation adopted pursuant to this Code section" is guilty of a misdemeanor, and the subsection names officers of a corporation along with its agents and employees among those liable. A person who "procures, aids, or abets" such a violation is also guilty of a misdemeanor, and misdemeanor violations may be prosecuted and disposed of in the manner provided by Chapter 13 of Title 40, the title that the official code hierarchy shows for Section 40-1-8.^[1]

DPS Transportation Rulebook Rule 1-3(a) provides that a violation of a provision of Rulebook Chapter 1, including a violation by a truck driver, "shall constitute a misdemeanor" under O.C.G.A. 40-1-8, in addition to other penalties imposed by law. Under Rule 1-3(b), and in addition to other penalties imposed by law, violations of Rulebook Chapter 1 are subject to O.C.G.A. 40-1-8 and 40-1-56 as well as Chapter 6 of the Rulebook.^[2]

Definitions and inspection provisions in DPS Rules 1-390.5 and 1-396.9 and O.C.G.A. 40-1-100

DPS Rule 1-390.5, which inserts Georgia definitions into the federal Section 390.5 definitions, including agricultural vehicle, covered farm vehicle, pipeline welding truck and volunteer charitable organization, is outside this entry. DPS Rule 1-396.9, which addresses inspections of vehicles in operation, including the Driver Vehicle Inspection Report and out-of-service declarations for vehicles and truck drivers, is also outside this entry.^[2]

O.C.G.A. 40-1-100 supplies definitions "As used in this part", and its definitions of terms such as passenger and public highway are outside this entry. Section 40-1-100(12)(B)(ii) excludes from the term "motor carrier" "Taxicabs which operate within the corporate limits of municipalities and are subject to regulation by the governing authorities of such municipalities". Within that taxicab exclusion, the same division states that, notwithstanding its provisions, vehicles and their drivers operating within the corporate limits of a city are subject to the safety regulations the commissioner of public safety adopts under Code Section 40-1-8.^[4]

See also: Flanagan Law truck accident practice

See also

On related publications

• Georgia truck-crash law notes (truckaccidentlawyer.wiki)
• Liability and comparative fault in Georgia (caraccidentlawyers.wiki)