A new pilot program aims to make law enforcement and government officials better informed about the requirements of reporting convictions of commercial vehicle drivers, and ultimately get unqualified drivers off the road.
New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella recently announced the state's Department of Justice is partnering with the National Traffic Law Center, the New Hampshire Department of Safety, and traffic safety partners to strengthen the enforcement of commercial driver's license regulations and improve highway safety.
The state was selected to participate in a $7.9 million pilot project funded by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The effort is meant to increase awareness of federal and state prohibitions against masking driver convictions, improve the accuracy of commercial driver conviction reporting, and ensure that disqualified commercial drivers are removed from the nation's roadways, according to astatement from the attorney general.
As part of the initiative, the New Hampshire Department of Justice will lead a statewide working group comprised of representatives from agencies involved in investigating, prosecuting, adjudicating, licensing, and tracking commercial driver offenses.
This group will focus on:
- Providing education and training for prosecutors, law enforcement officers, judges, clerks and traffic safety professionals regarding federal and state CDL requirements, including anti-masking laws
- Improving statewide compliance with federal reporting requirements
- Developing a state implementation plan to ensure accurate and timely transfer of information from roadside to conviction
“Traffic safety is public safety,” said Formella. “This partnership will strengthen coordination among prosecutors, law enforcement, the courts, and our state and federal partners to ensure that commercial driver's license laws are enforced consistently and accurately."
