This project is designed to assess the reporting issues described below and to recommended research-based methods for improving the processes within States and in courts.

The study will track the final disposition of a citation from issuance. This process will determine if a major or serious traffic offense for a CDL holder results in a conviction, an exoneration, a suspension, or a non-suspension. This will aid in the assessment of a commercial driver’s safety risk when a violation has been documented. It will also identify the process gaps when a conviction occurs that fails to result in the appropriate disqualification or suspension of a driver’s CDL. Process gaps may include a court’s failure to transmit a disqualified or suspended CDL to the State Licensing Agency (SLA) or a SLA’s failure to disqualify or suspend the CDL when required. The study will investigate why courts are not promptly and accurately reporting convictions (related to major and serious traffic offenses) of CDL holders.

Outcomes of this study include an assessment of the disposition of major traffic citations of CDL holders; a discussion on why many courts are not promptly or accurately reporting CDL holders convicted of major traffic offenses; an assessment of the percentage of suspended CDL holders who are not detected at roadside inspections; and an assessment of the percentage of CDL holders suspended for safety reasons versus the percentage suspended for non-safety reasons.

November 2014: Project kick-off

February 2015: Identify methodology for calculating total count of CDL holders

September 2015: Develop and carry out a plan and related activities to track the disposition of citations for major traffic offenses by CDL holders

June 2016: Analysis of suspended CDL holders

September 2016: Final report, briefing

Data analysis in progress.

TransAnalytics, LLC in collaboration with Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute (North Dakota State University) and Leidos