Redefining Commercial Vehicle Permitting and Credentialing Violations
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Redefning Commercial Vehicle Permitting and Credentialing Violations Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report — KTC-15-17/SPR14–489-1F DOI: https://doi.org/10.13023/KTC.RR.2015.17 The Kentucky Transportation Center is committed to a policy of providing equal opportunities for all persons in recruitment, appointment, promotion, payment, training, and other employment and education practices without regard for economic or social status and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, or age. Kentucky Transportation Center College of Engineering, University of Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky in cooperation with Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Commonwealth of Kentucky © 2018 University of Kentucky, Kentucky Transportation Center Information may not be used, reproduced, or republished without KTC’s written consent. KENTUCKY Kentucky Transportation Center • University of Kentucky Transporation Center Kentucky 176 Raymond Building • Lexington KY 40506 • 859.257.6898 • www.ktc.uky.edu Research Report KTC-15-17/SPR14-489-1F Redefining Commercial Vehicle Permitting and Credentialing Violations Andrew Martin, Ph.D. Research Scientist Jennifer Walton, P.E. Program Manager And Valerie Keathley, Ph.D. Research Associate Kentucky Transportation Center College of Engineering University of Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky In Cooperation With Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Commonwealth of Kentucky The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the University of Kentucky, the Kentucky Transportation Center, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, the United States Department of Transportation, or the Federal Highway Administration. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. The inclusion of manufacturer names or trade names is for identification purposes and should not be considered an endorsement. April 2018 Notes on Revisions (4.2018) This report has been updated from the original version published in August 2015. During a subsequent analysis of the same data for a later study, researchers realized there were duplicate court records erroneously included in the initial analysis of the data. The research team wanted the analysis (e.g., case totals, conviction rates, dismissal rates, and revenue projections) to be as accurate as possible, so the study analysis was corrected after removing the duplicate court records. The primary findings of the original study remain unchanged, but all tables, figures, and textual references affected by duplicate records have been corrected for the sake of greater accuracy. 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No KTC-15-17/SPR14-489-1F 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Redefining Commercial Vehicle Permitting and Credentialing Violations April 2018 6. Performing Organization Code KTC-15-17/SPR14-489-1F 7. Author(s): Andrew Martin, Jennifer Walton, and Valerie Keathley 8. Performing Organization Report No. 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) Kentucky Transportation Center College of Engineering University of Kentucky 11. Contract or Grant No. Lexington, KY 40506-0281 SPR 14-489 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Final Report State Office Building 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Frankfort, KY 40622 15. Supplementary Notes Prepared in cooperation with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet 16. Abstract The objective of this study was to analyze enforcement and adjudication of common commercial vehicle tax, credentialing, and safety offenses. This study examined violations of the International Fuel Tax Agreement and the Kentucky Intrastate Tax, Kentucky’s weight-distance tax, Unified Carrier Registration, Kentucky size and weight laws, and federal safety regulations, from 2004 to 2013. Statistical analysis showed declining conviction rates, increasing dismissal rates, and a drop in collections of court costs and fines associated with these offenses. In addition, adjudication varies significantly from district court to district court, which creates an equity issue for motor carriers operating in Kentucky. Surveys of other states and conversations with Kentucky officials were used to develop two policy alternatives to the current system. The first policy is a piecemeal reform of current practices, and the second policy creates a civil penalties system where a review board adjudicates commercial vehicle offenses in lieu of district courts. An implementation analysis shows the latter would be a more equitable, efficient, and fiscally responsible alternative to current practices. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement civil penalties, motor carriers, commercial vehicle offenses, district courts, Only distributed by permission of the weight-distance tax Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. 19. Security Classification (report) 20. Security Classification (this 21. No. of Pages 19. Security Unclassified page) 73 Classification Unclassified (report) Unclassified Table of Contents Table of Figures .............................................................................................................................. v Table of Tables .............................................................................................................................. vi Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1. Commercial Vehicle Enforcement and Adjudication Processes ................................... 2 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Commercial Vehicle Offenses .............................................................................................. 2 1.3 Commercial Vehicle Enforcement ........................................................................................ 4 1.4 Kentucky Court System ........................................................................................................ 6 1.5 Commercial Vehicle Adjudication Process........................................................................... 6 Chapter 2. Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 13 2.1 Background ......................................................................................................................... 13 2.2 Judges and Impartiality ....................................................................................................... 13 2.3 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 3. Commercial Vehicle Enforcement and Adjudication Performance ............................ 15 3.1 Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Statistics....................................................................... 15 3.2 Commercial Vehicle Adjudication Statistics ...................................................................... 21 3.3 Discussion ........................................................................................................................... 32 Chapter 4. Revenues from Commercial Vehicle Penalties ........................................................... 33 4.1 Court Costs and Estimation Assumptions ........................................................................... 33 4.2 Revenue Estimates for Commercial Vehicle Offenses ....................................................... 35 Chapter 5. Commercial Vehicles and Civil Penalties in Other States .......................................... 42 5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 42 5.2 Background ......................................................................................................................... 42 5.3 Jurisdiction and Processes ................................................................................................... 42 5.4 Florida Commercial Motor Vehicle Review Board ............................................................ 43 5.5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 46 Chapter 6. Challenges to Enforcement and Adjudication ............................................................. 48 6.1 Conviction Rates ................................................................................................................. 48 6.2 Inequitable Adjudication ..................................................................................................... 48 6.3 Unresolved Cases ................................................................................................................ 50 KTC Research Report Redefining Commercial Vehicle Permitting and Credentialing Violations iii 6.4 Declining Enforcement, Revenue and Revenue Reporting ................................................. 50 6.5 Revenue Allocation ............................................................................................................. 51 6.6 Systematic Inefficiencies....................................................................................................