2025 Georgia Codes – Page 265

and operated by a farmer, including operation by employees or family members; used to transport agricul-
tural products, farm machinery, or farm supplies to or from a farm; and operated within 150 miles of such
person’s farm; which vehicle is not used in the operations of a common or contract carrier. Any other waiv-
er by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration pursuant to Federal Law 49 C.F.R. Parts 383 and 384
of the United States Department of Transportation shall supersede state law in authorizing the Department
of Driver Services to exempt said classes.
(8) “Controlled substance” means any substance so defined under Code Section 16-13-21 and includes all
substances listed in Schedules I through V of 21 C.F.R. Part 1308, as they may be revised from time to time.
(9) “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 condi-
tion of release without bail, regardless of whether the penalty is rebated, suspended, or probated.
(10) “Disqualification” means any of the following:
(A) The suspension, revocation, or cancellation of a commercial driver’s license by any state or jurisdiction
of issuance;
(B) The withdrawal of a person’s privilege to drive a commercial motor vehicle by any state or by any other
jurisdiction as the result of a violation of any state or local law relating to motor vehicle traffic control,
other than parking, vehicle weight, or vehicle defect violations; or
(C) A determination by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that a person is not qualified to
operate a commercial motor vehicle.
(11) “Drive” means to operate or be in actual physical control of a motor vehicle in any place open to the
general public for purposes of vehicular traffic. For purposes of Code Sections 40-5-151 and 40-5-152,
“drive” includes operation or actual physical control of a motor vehicle anywhere in this state, in any other
state, or in any foreign jurisdiction.
(12) “Driver” means any person who drives, operates, or is in actual physical control of a commercial motor
vehicle in any place open to the general public for purposes of vehicular traffic or who is required to hold a
commercial driver’s license.
(13) “Driver’s license” means a license issued by a state to any individual which authorizes the individual to
drive a motor vehicle.
(13.1) “Driving a vehicle under the influence” means committing any one or more of the following acts while
a person is driving or in actual physical control of a moving commercial or noncommercial vehicle:
(A) Driving under the influence, as prescribed by Code Section 40-6-391 or any law or ordinance equivalent
thereto in this state, in any other state, or in any foreign jurisdiction; or
(B) Refusal to submit to state administered chemical testing when requested to do so by a law enforcement
officer.
(14) “Employer” means any person, including the United States, a state, or a political subdivision of a state,
who owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle or assigns a person to drive a commercial motor vehicle on
its behalf.
(14.1) “Fatality” means the death of a person as a result of a motor vehicle crash.
(15) “Felony” means any offense under state or federal law that is punishable by death, by imprisonment for
life, or by imprisonment for more than 12 months.
(16) “Foreign jurisdiction” means any jurisdiction other than a state of the United States.
(17) “Gross vehicle weight rating” (GVWR) means the value specified by the manufacturer or manufacturers
as the maximum loaded weight of a single or a combination (articulated) vehicle, or registered gross weight,
whichever is greater. The gross vehicle weight rating of a combination (articulated) vehicle, commonly
referred to as the “gross combination weight rating” (GCWR), is the gross vehicle weight rating of the
power unit plus the gross vehicle weight rating of the towed unit or units. In the absence of a value specified
for the towed unit or units by the manufacturer or manufacturers, the gross vehicle weight rating of a com-
bination (articulated) vehicle is the gross vehicle weight rating of the power unit plus the total weight of the
towed unit or units, including the loads on them.
(18) “Hazardous materials” means any material that has been designated as hazardous under 49 U.S.C. Sec-
tion 5103 and is required to be placarded in accordance with the Motor Carrier Safety Rules prescribed by
the United States Department of Transportation, Title 49 C.F.R. Part 172, subpart F or any quantity of a
material listed as a select agent or toxin in Title 42 C.F.R. Part 73.
(18.1) “Imminent hazard” means the existence of a condition that presents a substantial likelihood that death,
serious illness, severe personal injury, or a substantial endangerment to health, property, or the environment
may occur before the reasonably foreseeable completion date of a formal proceeding begun to lessen the risk
of that death, illness, injury, or endangerment.
(18.2) “Major traffic violation” means a conviction of any of the following offenses or a conviction of any
law or ordinance equivalent thereto in this state, in any other state, or in any foreign jurisdiction, when oper-
ating either a commercial motor vehicle or, unless otherwise specified, a noncommercial motor vehicle:
(A) Driving a vehicle under the influence in violation of Code Section 40-6-391;
(B) Hit and run or leaving the scene of an accident in violation of Code Section 40-6-270, failure to report
striking an unattended vehicle in violation of Code Section 40-6-271, failure to report striking a fixed object
in violation of Code Section 40-6-272, or failure to report an accident in violation of Code Section 40-6-
273;
(C) Except as provided in subsection (b) of Code Section 40-5-151, any felony in the commission of which a
motor vehicle is used;
(D) Driving a commercial motor vehicle while the person’s commercial driver’s license or commercial driv-
ing privilege is revoked, suspended, canceled, or disqualified;
(E) Homicide by vehicle in violation of Code Section 40-6-393;
(F) Racing on highways or streets in violation of Code Section 40-6-186;
(G) Using a motor vehicle in fleeing or attempting to elude an officer in violation of Code Section 40-6-395;
(H) Fraudulent or fictitious use of or application for a license as provided in Code Section 40-5-120 or sub-
section (c) of Code Section 40-5-125;
(I) Operating a motor vehicle with a revoked, canceled, or suspended registration in violation of Code Sec-
tion 40-6-15;
(J) Violating Code Sections 16-8-2 through 16-8-9, if the property that was the subject of the theft was a
vehicle engaged in commercial transportation of cargo or any appurtenance thereto or the cargo being trans-
ported therein or thereon; or
(K) Refusing to submit to a state administered chemical test requested by a law enforcement officer pursuant
to Code Section 40-5-55.
(19) “Motor vehicle” means a vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer propelled or drawn by mechani-
cal power used on highways, or any other vehicle required to be registered under the laws of this state, but
does not include any vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer operated exclusively on a rail.
(19.1) “Noncommercial motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle or combination of vehicles not defined by the
term “commercial motor vehicle” in this Code section or in the regulations of the department for the purpose
of licensure.
(20) “Nonresident commercial driver’s license” means a commercial driver’s license issued by a state to any
individual who resides in a foreign jurisdiction.
(21) “Out-of-service order” means a temporary prohibition against driving a commercial motor vehicle.
(21.1) “School bus” means a commercial motor vehicle used to transport pre-primary, primary, or secondary
school students from home to school, from school to home, or to and from school sponsored events. The
term does not include a bus used as a common carrier.
(22) “Serious traffic violation” means conviction of any of the following offenses or a conviction of any law
or ordinance equivalent thereto in this state, in any other state, or in any foreign jurisdiction, when operating
either a commercial motor vehicle or, unless otherwise specified, a noncommercial motor vehicle:
(A) Speeding 15 or more miles per hour above the posted speed limit;
(B) Reckless driving;
(C) Following another vehicle too closely;
(D) Improper or erratic lane change, including failure to signal a lane change;
(E) A violation, arising in connection with a fatal crash, of state law or a local ordinance, relating to motor
vehicle traffic control, excluding parking, weight, length, height, and vehicle defect violations, and exclud-
ing homicide by vehicle as defined in Code Section 40-6-393;
(F) A railroad grade crossing violation in a noncommercial motor vehicle;
(G) Driving a commercial motor vehicle without obtaining a commercial driver’s license;
(H) Driving a commercial motor vehicle without a commercial driver’s license in the driver’s immediate
possession, and excluding such violations when the person’s commercial driver’s license or commercial
driving privilege is suspended, revoked, canceled, or disqualified;
(I) Driving a commercial motor vehicle without a commercial driver’s license of the proper class and
endorsements for the specific vehicle being operated or for the passengers or type of cargo transported; or
(J) Use of a wireless telecommunications device in violation of Code Section 40-6-241 while driving a com-
mercial motor vehicle.
(23) “State” means a state of the United States and the District of Columbia.
(24) “Tank vehicle” means any commercial motor vehicle designed to transport any liquid or gaseous materi-
als within a tank that is either permanently or temporarily attached to the vehicle or the chassis. Such vehi-
cles include, but are not limited to, cargo tanks and portable tanks as defined by federal law. However, the
term “tank vehicle” shall not include a portable tank having a rated capacity under 1,000 gallons.
(25) “United States” means the 50 states and the District of Columbia.