Anti-Masking Law and Tickets Issued to CDL Holders
If you’re a commercial driver’s license (CDL) holder, you worked hard to earn that license. However, if you receive a ticket for any moving violation, that could impact your CDL. Accordingly, understanding the federal anti-masking law as it applies to CDL holders is important.
CDL versus Regular License
For most drivers, a regular license is all that is needed. This would allow you to operate a personal vehicle. In New York this is a class D license. For those who wish to drive motorcycles, there is usually a separate license, and in New York this is a class M license.
For commercial vehicles, additional testing is required to get special licenses. This may include licenses to drive taxis or limos (in New York, this is a class E license). A commercial driver’s license (CDL) allows a driver to operate vehicles such as buses, tow trucks, and trucks carrying freight. In New York, there are three CDL classes – A, B, and C licenses. In addition to written tests and skills tests, CDL holders undergo health and safety exams to ensure they are fit to operate these vehicles.
What is the Anti-Masking Law?
Because CDL holders are entrusted with driving vehicles that could potentially be more dangerous, there are more rules for them to follow. There are also more severe penalties if they don’t follow those rules or don’t follow the general rules of the roads.
As such, if a CDL holder receives a traffic ticket, they have more limited options with how to deal with it afterwards. Pursuant to federal laws and regulations, CDL holders are prohibited from resolving their traffic tickets in ways that the general public may use. This is called anti-masking.
The State must not mask, defer imposition of judgment, or allow an individual to enter into a diversion program that would prevent a [ ] CDL holder’s conviction for any violation, in any type of motor vehicle, of a State or local traffic control law (other than parking, vehicle weight, or vehicle defect violations) from appearing on the [Commercial Driver’s License Information System] driver record, whether the driver was convicted for an offense committed in the State where the driver is licensed or another State. 49 CFR § 384.226
How the Anti-Masking Law Works
Specifically, masking is the process of preventing a violation made by a CDL holder so it will not show up on their CDL record. Under the anti-masking law, a court is not allowed to hide the fact that the CDL holder received a moving violation. In general, this means that the CDL holder can’t receive a parking ticket, deferred judgment, or take a safety course in lieu of a conviction for the moving violation.
For CDL holders, this prohibition against masking applies even if they receive the ticket when driving their personal vehicles. It does not just apply to tickets received when driving a commercial vehicle. Additionally, the prohibition applies for tickets issued in any state, not just the state which issued the CDL. However, there are exceptions for tickets which carry no points, such as equipment violations and parking tickets.
The anti-masking law doesn’t keep CDL holders from receiving due process. For example, the driver could still plead not guilty and proceed to trial. Additionally, a prosecutor may still engage in plea bargaining that does not violate the masking prohibition.
References:
- NYS Department of Motor Vehicles, New York State driver license types and classes. Available at: https://dmv.ny.gov/driver-license/nys-driver-license-classes (last accessed Aug. 2, 2024).
- 49 CFR § 384.226, Prohibition on masking convictions. Available at: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/384.226 (last accessed Aug. 2, 2024).
- National Traffic Law Center, Between the Lines 27(6), July 2019. Available at: https://ndaa.org/wp-content/uploads/July-BTL-Masking-1.pdf (last accessed Aug. 2, 2024).
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