[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 49, Volume 5]
[Revised as of October 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 49CFR390.5]

[Page 313-318]
 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
                      DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
 
PART 390_FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY REGULATIONS; GENERAL--Table of 
Contents
 
             Subpart A_General Applicability and Definitions
 
Sec.  390.5  Definitions.

    Unless specifically defined elsewhere, in this subchapter:
    Accident means--
    (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this definition, an 
occurrence involving a commercial motor vehicle operating on a highway 
in interstate or intrastate commerce which results in:
    (i) A fatality;
    (ii) Bodily injury to a person who, as a result of the injury, 
immediately receives medical treatment away from the scene of the 
accident; or
    (iii) One or more motor vehicles incurring disabling damage as a 
result of the accident, requiring the motor vehicle(s) to be transported 
away from the scene by a tow truck or other motor vehicle.
    (2) The term accident does not include:
    (i) An occurrence involving only boarding and alighting from a 
stationary motor vehicle; or
    (ii) An occurrence involving only the loading or unloading of cargo.
    Alcohol concentration (AC) means the concentration of alcohol in a 
person's blood or breath. When expressed as a percentage it means grams 
of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood or grams of alcohol per 210 
liters of breath.
    Bus means any motor vehicle designed, constructed, and or used for 
the transportation of passengers, including taxicabs.
    Business district means the territory contiguous to and including a 
highway when within any 600 feet along such highway there are buildings 
in use for business or industrial purposes, including but not limited to 
hotels, banks, or office buildings which occupy at least 300 feet of 
frontage on one side or 300

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feet collectively on both sides of the highway.
    Charter transportation of passengers means transportation, using a 
bus, of a group of persons who pursuant to a common purpose, under a 
single contract, at a fixed charge for the motor vehicle, have acquired 
the exclusive use of the motor vehicle to travel together under an 
itinerary either specified in advance or modified after having left the 
place of origin.
    Commercial motor vehicle means any self-propelled or towed motor 
vehicle used on a highway in interstate commerce to transport passengers 
or property when the vehicle--
    (1) Has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight 
rating, or gross vehicle weight or gross combination weight, of 4,536 kg 
(10,001 pounds) or more, whichever is greater; or
    (2) Is designed or used to transport more than 8 passengers 
(including the driver) for compensation; or
    (3) Is designed or used to transport more than 15 passengers, 
including the driver, and is not used to transport passengers for 
compensation; or
    (4) Is used in transporting material found by the Secretary of 
Transportation to be hazardous under 49 U.S.C. 5103 and transported in a 
quantity requiring placarding under regulations prescribed by the 
Secretary under 49 CFR, subtitle B, chapter I, subchapter C.
    Conviction means an unvacated adjudication of guilt, or a 
determination that a person has violated or failed to comply with the 
law in a court of original jurisdiction or by an authorized 
administrative tribunal, an unvacated forfeiture of bail or collateral 
deposited to secure the person's appearance in court, a plea of guilty 
or nolo contendere accepted by the court, the payment of a fine or court 
cost, or violation of a condition of release without bail, regardless of 
whether or not the penalty is rebated, suspended, or probated.
    Direct assistance means transportation and other relief services 
provided by a motor carrier or its driver(s) incident to the immediate 
restoration of essential services (such as, electricity, medial care, 
sewer, water, telecommunications, and telecommunication transmissions) 
or essential supplies (such as, food and fuel). It does not include 
transportation related to long-term rehabilitation of damaged physical 
infrastructure or routine commercial deliveries after the initial threat 
to life and property has passed.
    Direct compensation means payment made to the motor carrier by the 
passengers or a person acting on behalf of the passengers for the 
transportation services provided, and not included in a total package 
charge or other assessment for highway transportation services.
    Disabling damage means damage which precludes departure of a motor 
vehicle from the scene of the accident in its usual manner in daylight 
after simple repairs.
    (1) Inclusions. Damage to motor vehicles that could have been 
driven, but would have been further damaged if so driven.
    (2) Exclusions. (i) Damage which can be remedied temporarily at the 
scene of the accident without special tools or parts.
    (ii) Tire disablement without other damage even if no spare tire is 
available.
    (iii) Headlamp or taillight damage.
    (iv) Damage to turn signals, horn, or windshield wipers which makes 
them inoperative.
    Driveaway-towaway operation means an operation in which an empty or 
unladen motor vehicle with one or more sets of wheels on the surface of 
the roadway is being transported:
    (1) Between vehicle manufacturer's facilities;
    (2) Between a vehicle manufacturer and a dealership or purchaser;
    (3) Between a dealership, or other entity selling or leasing the 
vehicle, and a purchaser or lessee;
    (4) To a motor carrier's terminal or repair facility for the repair 
of disabling damage (as defined in Sec.  390.5) following a crash; or
    (5) To a motor carrier's terminal or repair facility for repairs 
associated with the failure of a vehicle component or system; or
    (6) By means of a saddle-mount or tow-bar.
    Driver means any person who operates any commercial motor vehicle.

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    Driving a commercial motor vehicle while under the influence of 
alcohol means committing any one or more of the following acts in a CMV: 
Driving a CMV while the person's alcohol concentration is 0.04 or more; 
driving under the influence of alcohol, as prescribed by State law; or 
refusal to undergo such testing as is required by any State or 
jurisdiction in the enforcement of Table 1 to Sec.  383.51 or Sec.  
392.5(a)(2) of this subchapter.
    Emergency means any hurricane, tornado, storm (e.g. thunderstorm, 
snowstorm, icestorm, blizzard, sandstorm, etc.), high water, wind-driven 
water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, mud slide, 
drought, forest fire, explosion, blackout or other occurrence, natural 
or man-made, which interrupts the delivery of essential services (such 
as, electricity, medical care, sewer, water, telecommunications, and 
telecommunication transmissions) or essential supplies (such as, food 
and fuel) or otherwise immediately threatens human life or public 
welfare, provided such hurricane, tornado, or other event results in:
    (1) A declaration of an emergency by the President of the United 
States, the Governor of a State, or their authorized representatives 
having authority to declare emergencies; by the FMCSA Field 
Administrator for the geographical area in which the occurrence happens; 
or by other Federal, State or local government officials having 
authority to declare emergencies, or
    (2) A request by a police officer for tow trucks to move wrecked or 
disabled motor vehicles.
    Emergency condition requiring immediate response means any condition 
that, if left unattended, is reasonably likely to result in immediate 
serious bodily harm, death, or substantial damage to property. In the 
case of transportation of propane winter heating fuel, such conditions 
shall include (but are not limited to) the detection of gas odor, the 
activation of carbon monoxide alarms, the detection of carbon monoxide 
poisoning, and any real or suspected damage to a propane gas system 
following a severe storm or flooding. An ``emergency condition requiring 
immediate response'' does not include requests to refill empty gas 
tanks. In the case of a pipeline emergency, such conditions include (but 
are not limited to) indication of an abnormal pressure event, leak, 
release or rupture.
    Emergency relief means an operation in which a motor carrier or 
driver of a commercial motor vehicle is providing direct assistance to 
supplement State and local efforts and capabilities to save lives or 
property or to protect public health and safety as a result of an 
emergency as defined in this section.
    Employee means any individual, other than an employer, who is 
employed by an employer and who in the course of his or her employment 
directly affects commercial motor vehicle safety. Such term includes a 
driver of a commercial motor vehicle (including an independent 
contractor while in the course of operating a commercial motor vehicle), 
a mechanic, and a freight handler. Such term does not include an 
employee of the United States, any State, any political subdivision of a 
State, or any agency established under a compact between States and 
approved by the Congress of the United States who is acting within the 
course of such employment.
    Employer means any person engaged in a business affecting interstate 
commerce who owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle in connection 
with that business, or assigns employees to operate it, but such terms 
does not include the United States, any State, any political subdivision 
of a State, or an agency established under a compact between States 
approved by the Congress of the United States.
    Exempt intracity zone means the geographic area of a municipality or 
the commercial zone of that municipality described in appendix F to 
subchapter B of this chapter. The term ``exempt intracity zone'' does 
not include any municipality or commercial zone in the State of Hawaii. 
For purposes of Sec.  391.62, a driver may be considered to operate a 
commercial motor vehicle wholly within an exempt intracity zone 
notwithstanding any common control, management, or arrangement for a 
continuous carriage or shipment to or from a point without such zone.

[[Page 316]]

    Exempt motor carrier means a person engaged in transportation exempt 
from economic regulation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration (FMCSA) under 49 U.S.C. 13506. ``Exempt motor carriers'' 
are subject to the safety regulations set forth in this subchapter.
    Farm vehicle driver means a person who drives only a commercial 
motor vehicle that is--
    (a) Controlled and operated by a farmer as a private motor carrier 
of property;
    (b) Being used to transport either--
    (1) Agricultural products, or
    (2) Farm machinery, farm supplies, or both, to or from a farm;
    (c) Not being used in the operation of a for-hire motor carrier;
    (d) Not carrying hazardous materials of a type or quantity that 
requires the commercial motor vehicle to be placarded in accordance with 
Sec.  177.823 of this subtitle; and
    (e) Being used within 150 air-miles of the farmer's farm.
    Farmer means any person who operates a farm or is directly involved 
in the cultivation of land, crops, or livestock which--
    (a) Are owned by that person; or
    (b) Are under the direct control of that person.
    Fatality means any injury which results in the death of a person at 
the time of the motor vehicle accident or within 30 days of the 
accident.
    Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator means the chief executive 
of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, an agency within the 
Department of Transportation.
    For-hire motor carrier means a person engaged in the transportation 
of goods or passengers for compensation.
    Gross combination weight rating (GCWR) means the value specified by 
the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a combination (articulated) 
motor vehicle. In the absence of a value specified by the manufacturer, 
GCWR will be determined by adding the GVWR of the power unit and the 
total weight of the towed unit and any load thereon.
    Gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) means the value specified by the 
manufacturer as the loaded weight of a single motor vehicle.
    Hazardous material means a substance or material which has been 
determined by the Secretary of Transportation to be capable of posing an 
unreasonable risk to health, safety, and property when transported in 
commerce, and which has been so designated.
    Hazardous substance means a material, and its mixtures or solutions, 
that is identified in the appendix to Sec.  172.101, List of Hazardous 
Substances and Reportable Quantities, of this title when offered for 
transportation in one package, or in one transport motor vehicle if not 
packaged, and when the quantity of the material therein equals or 
exceeds the reportable quantity (RQ). This definition does not apply to 
petroleum products that are lubricants or fuels, or to mixtures or 
solutions of hazardous substances if in a concentration less than that 
shown in the table in Sec.  171.8 of this title, based on the reportable 
quantity (RQ) specified for the materials listed in the appendix to 
Sec.  172.101.
    Hazardous waste means any material that is subject to the hazardous 
waste manifest requirements of the EPA specified in 40 CFR part 262 or 
would be subject to these requirements absent an interim authorization 
to a State under 40 CFR part 123, subpart F.
    Highway means any road, street, or way, whether on public or private 
property, open to public travel. ``Open to public travel'' means that 
the road section is available, except during scheduled periods, extreme 
weather or emergency conditions, passable by four-wheel standard 
passenger cars, and open to the general public for use without 
restrictive gates, prohibitive signs, or regulation other than 
restrictions based on size, weight, or class of registration. Toll 
plazas of public toll roads are not considered restrictive gates.
    Interstate commerce means trade, traffic, or transportation in the 
United States--
    (1) Between a place in a State and a place outside of such State 
(including a place outside of the United States);
    (2) Between two places in a State through another State or a place 
outside of the United States; or
    (3) Between two places in a State as part of trade, traffic, or 
transportation

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originating or terminating outside the State or the United States.
    Intrastate commerce means any trade, traffic, or transportation in 
any State which is not described in the term ``interstate commerce.''
    Medical examiner means a person who is licensed, certified, and/or 
registered, in accordance with applicable State laws and regulations, to 
perform physical examinations. The term includes but is not limited to, 
doctors of medicine, doctors of osteopathy, physician assistants, 
advanced practice nurses, and doctors of chiropractic.
    Motor carrier means a for-hire motor carrier or a private motor 
carrier. The term includes a motor carrier's agents, officers and 
representatives as well as employees responsible for hiring, 
supervising, training, assigning, or dispatching of drivers and 
employees concerned with the installation, inspection, and maintenance 
of motor vehicle equipment and/or accessories. For purposes of 
subchapter B, this definition includes the terms employer, and exempt 
motor carrier.
    Motor vehicle means any vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or 
semitrailer propelled or drawn by mechanical power and used upon the 
highways in the transportation of passengers or property, or any 
combination thereof determined by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration, but does not include any vehicle, locomotive, or car 
operated exclusively on a rail or rails, or a trolley bus operated by 
electric power derived from a fixed overhead wire, furnishing local 
passenger transportation similar to street-railway service.
    Multiple-employer driver means a driver, who in any period of 7 
consecutive days, is employed or used as a driver by more than one motor 
carrier.
    Operating authority means the registration required by 49 U.S.C. 
13902, 49 CFR part 365, 49 CFR part 368, and 49 CFR 392.9a.
    Operator--See driver.
    Other terms--Any other term used in this subchapter is used in its 
commonly accepted meaning, except where such other term has been defined 
elsewhere in this subchapter. In that event, the definition therein 
given shall apply.
    Out-of-service order means a declaration by an authorized 
enforcement officer of a Federal, State, Canadian, Mexican, or local 
jurisdiction that a driver, a commercial motor vehicle, or a motor 
carrier operation is out of service pursuant to 49 CFR 386.72, 392.5, 
392.9a, 395.13, or 396.9, or compatible laws, or the North American 
Standard Out-of-Service Criteria.
    Person means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, 
business trust, or any other organized group of individuals.
    Previous employer means any DOT regulated person who employed the 
driver in the preceding 3 years, including any possible current 
employer.
    Principal place of business means the single location designated by 
the motor carrier, normally its headquarters, for purposes of 
identification under this subchapter. The motor carrier must make 
records required by parts 382, 387, 390, 391, 395, 396, and 397 of this 
subchapter available for inspection at this location within 48 hours 
(Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays excluded) after a request has 
been made by a special agent or authorized representative of the Federal 
Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
    Private motor carrier means a person who provides transportation of 
property or passengers, by commercial motor vehicle, and is not a for-
hire motor carrier.
    Private motor carrier of passengers (business) means a private motor 
carrier engaged in the interstate transportation of passengers which is 
provided in the furtherance of a commercial enterprise and is not 
available to the public at large.
    Private motor carrier of passengers (nonbusiness) means private 
motor carrier involved in the interstate transportation of passengers 
that does not otherwise meet the definition of a private motor carrier 
of passengers (business).
    Radar detector means any device or mechanism to detect the emission 
of radio microwaves, laser beams or any other future speed measurement 
technology employed by enforcement personnel to measure the speed of 
commercial motor vehicles upon public roads and highways for enforcement

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purposes. Excluded from this definition are radar detection devices that 
meet both of the following requirements:
    (1) Transported outside the driver's compartment of the commercial 
motor vehicle. For this purpose, the driver's compartment of a 
passenger-carrying CMV shall include all space designed to accommodate 
both the driver and the passengers; and
    (2) Completely inaccessible to, inoperable by, and imperceptible to 
the driver while operating the commercial motor vehicle.
    Regional Director of Motor Carriers means the Field Administrator, 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, for a given geographical 
area of the United States.
    Residential district means the territory adjacent to and including a 
highway which is not a business district and for a distance of 300 feet 
or more along the highway is primarily improved with residences.
    School bus means a passenger motor vehicle which is designed or used 
to carry more than 10 passengers in addition to the driver, and which 
the Secretary determines is likely to be significantly used for the 
purpose of transporting preprimary, primary, or secondary school 
students to such schools from home or from such schools to home.
    School bus operation means the use of a school bus to transport only 
school children and/or school personnel from home to school and from 
school to home.
    Secretary means the Secretary of Transportation.
    Single-employer driver means a driver who, in any period of 7 
consecutive days, is employed or used as a driver solely by a single 
motor carrier. This term includes a driver who operates a commercial 
motor vehicle on an intermittent, casual, or occasional basis.
    Special agent See appendix B to subchapter B--Special agents.
    State means a State of the United States and the District of 
Columbia and includes a political subdivision of a State.
    Trailer includes:
    (a) Full trailer means any motor vehicle other than a pole trailer 
which is designed to be drawn by another motor vehicle and so 
constructed that no part of its weight, except for the towing device, 
rests upon the self-propelled towing motor vehicle. A semitrailer 
equipped with an auxiliary front axle (converter dolly) shall be 
considered a full trailer.
    (b) Pole trailer means any motor vehicle which is designed to be 
drawn by another motor vehicle and attached to the towing motor vehicle 
by means of a ``reach'' or ``pole,'' or by being ``boomed'' or otherwise 
secured to the towing motor vehicle, for transporting long or 
irregularly shaped loads such as poles, pipes, or structural members, 
which generally are capable of sustaining themselves as beams between 
the supporting connections.
    (c) Semitrailer means any motor vehicle, other than a pole trailer, 
which is designed to be drawn by another motor vehicle and is 
constructed so that some part of its weight rests upon the self-
propelled towing motor vehicle.
    Truck means any self-propelled commercial motor vehicle except a 
truck tractor, designed and/or used for the transportation of property.
    Truck tractor means a self-propelled commercial motor vehicle 
designed and/or used primarily for drawing other vehicles.
    United States means the 50 States and the District of Columbia.

[53 FR 18052, May 19, 1988]

    Editorial Note: For Federal Register citations affecting Sec.  
390.5, see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the 
Finding Aids section of the printed volume and on GPO Access.