Overview The Georgia Commercial Driver’s License Manual (GCDLM) is an excellent reference. The GCDLM is a Georgia-specific version of the FMCSA-approved Commercial Driver’s License Manual published by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) and used in states throughout the country. It is available for download free of charge…
Turn and Stop Signals The Georgia Rules of the Road require one turning, changing lanes, or stopping to give an “appropriate and timely signal” signal of their intention to do so. Likewise, a driver may only turn at an intersection or change lanes when properly positioned to do so, and…
Stopping, Standing, or Parking Stopping, standing or parking a vehicle is prohibited except at the certain locations specified within the statute, except “when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic, or in compliance with law or the directions of a police officer or official traffic-control device. For example, stopping standing…
Maximum Driving Time: Overview The regulations concerning maximum driving time constitute the heart of the HOS rules promulgated by the FMCSA. The rules provide the time a driver may drive, be on-duty, and the period of rest necessary to “reset” driving or on-duty time. These rules must be understood in…
Discovery and Retention of Drug and Alcohol Records: Overview The regulations erect hurdles to production of drug and alcohol testing records and privileges which may prevent the motor carrier from disclosing results even when it would like to do so. Note that a subpoena will not suffice and may be…
Observations The specific requirements for an alcohol or controlled substance test are carefully described in the regulations. A written record describing these “contemporaneous, articulatable observations” must be prepared before the test results are reported. If reasonable suspicion testing occurred on the subject driver, review not only the results, but the…