R708-37. Certification of Licensed Instructors of Commercial Driver Training Schools or Testing Only Schools to Administer Driving Skills Tests, R708. Public Safety, Driver License, Utah Administrative Code

Utah Administrative Code (Current through November 1, 2019)

R708-37. Certification of Licensed Instructors of Commercial Driver Training Schools or Testing Only Schools to Administer Driving Skills Tests

R708-37-1. Purpose

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The purpose of this rule is to establish standards and procedures to certify instructors of commercial driver training schools and testing only schools to administer driving skills tests.

R708-37-2. Authority

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This rule is authorized by Section 53-3-510.

R708-37-3. Definitions

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(1) "Agreement" means a written agreement between the state and a third-party tester agreeing to the conditions contained in this rule.

(2) "Cancellation" means action taken by the division that voids an instructor's testing certification.

(3) "Certification" means the process by which commercial driver training instructors are certified by the division to administer driving skills tests.

(4) "Commercial driver training school" or "school" means a business enterprise conducted by an individual, association, partnership, or corporation for the education and training of persons to drive motor vehicles, and to prepare applicants for examinations prerequisite to their obtaining driver licenses or learner permits.

(5) "Commercial driver training vehicle" means a motor vehicle equipped with a second functioning foot brake and inside and outside mirrors which are positioned for use by the instructor for the purpose of observing rearward.

(6) "Corporation" means a business incorporated under the laws of a state or other jurisdiction.

(7) "Division" means the Driver License Division of the Utah Department of Public Safety.

(8) "Instructor" means a person who is authorized to teach driver education in an approved commercial driver training school.

(9) "Partnership" means an association of two or more persons who co-own and operate a commercial driver training school or a testing only school.

(10) "Probation" means action taken by the department which includes a period of close supervision as determined by the division.

(11) "Suspension" means action taken by the division that temporarily voids an instructor's testing certification. The certification may be reinstated whenever the instructor follows a division-approved plan and complies with reinstatement procedures.

(12) "Test" means a driving skills test approved by the division.

(13) "Tester" means an instructor who is certified to administer driving skills tests.

R708-37-4. Application Procedures

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(1) An instructor shall become a certified tester by making application and by meeting the requirements of this rule. In order to become a certified tester, an individual must be certified as a commercial driver education instructor in accordance with R708-2-6,8 and 9. Application shall be made on a form furnished by the division and shall include the following information:

(a) the name of the instructor who is applying for tester certification;

(b) the name and address of the commercial driver training or testing only school where the instructor is employed; and

(c) the signature of the school owner indicating approval of the instructor for tester certification and consent to the use of school vehicles, facilities, etc. for the purpose of testing.

(2) The instructor must enter into a written agreement with the division. The agreement must contain provisions that:

(a) the tester cannot maintain employment with more than one commercial driver training school or testing only school at a time;

(b) allow the division to conduct random examinations, inspections, and audits without prior notice during normal business hours; and

(3) The division will offer training to instructors regarding minimum standards which must be met in the administration and scoring of tests.

(4) The division may authorize, train, and approve persons outside the division to provide the training. Instructors are responsible for any costs associated with training provided by approved organizations, agencies, or individuals.

(5) The division shall maintain a list of approved testers and shall assign testers identification numbers.

R708-37-5. Medical Screening

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(1) Prior to administering a driving skills test, the tester shall screen students for visual acuity, visual field and physical or emotional conditions which may compromise public safety. Screening may not be performed over the telephone. An employee of the tester who is not certified as an instructor or tester may not perform medical or visual screening unless approved in writing by the division.

(a) Students must have 20/40 or better visual acuity in one eye and a visual field of 90 degrees. Students with less than the required visual acuity and/or visual field shall be referred to a licensed medical practitioner for further consideration.

(b) Students must answer all questions on a health questionnaire approved by the Driver License Medical Advisory Board and sign a statement of affirmation of truth. Students indicating a physical or emotional condition on the questionnaire shall be referred to a licensed medical practitioner for further consideration. Health questionnaires shall be provided by the division and maintained for three years by the commercial driver training school or testing only school as a part of the school's records.

(i) a verification of medical fitness approval form as completed by a commercial driver education instructor; or

(ii) a driver receipt issued by the division that indicates that the medical screening has taken place in the division.

R708-37-6. Tests

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(1) When testing students for driver licenses, instructors certified as testers shall administer tests developed in accordance with these rules which meet or exceed minimum division testing standards.

(2) Tests shall be conducted:

(a) on test routes approved by the division;

(b) by certified testers who are also certified instructors;

(c) in vehicles provided by commercial driver training schools or testing only schools which have been inspected and approved for use in driver training by the division or in a personal vehicle provided by the applicant. Each school shall notify the division of any vehicle added to or deleted from their fleet. No vehicle owned by a commercial driver training school or testing only school may be used for testing until it passes an inspection by the division;

(d) using division approved content, forms, and scoring procedures;

(e) only for students who have completed a course of driver education or who have had a previous driver license;

(f) with only the student and the tester occupying the vehicle. The tester shall be seated next to the student. No other passengers or observers shall occupy the vehicle during the test, except upon approval and written consent by the division; and

(g) only for students who have in their possession a temporary driving permit, a learner permit, an instruction permit issued by the division; or a valid driver license issued by a jurisdiction other than the State of Utah.

(h) only for students who have in their possession adequate verification of their identity.

(3) a tester may not make any changes to a testing route without prior written approval by the division.

(4) a tester shall not employ an employee of the division as a tester.

R708-37-7. Test Requirements

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(1) A tester may not administer a skills test to a student who:

(a) completed the driver training course at the same commercial driver training school or testing only school in which the tester is employed as an instructor; or

(b) completed the driver training course at a commercial driver training school that is owned completely or partially by an individual or individuals who possess any ownership in the school in which the tester is employed as an instructor.

(2) A student who fails the skills test given by a tester may:

(a) apply to the same tester for additional testing;

(b) apply to a different tester for additional testing; or

(3) The written test shall be administered by the division.

R708-37-8. Notification of Accident

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If any vehicle is involved in an accident during the driving skills test the tester shall notify the division of the accident in a written report on a form supplied by the division within five working days of the date of the accident. If damages are $1,000 or more, the accident must also be reported to the local law enforcement agency. A copy of the officer's report shall also be submitted to the division when available.

R708-37-9. Evidence of Test Completion

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(1) The tester shall furnish a certificate of test completion to the student in a sealed envelope with the tester's signature signed over the seal. The certificate shall be a form approved by the division and shall contain the results of tests taken, the signature and certification number of the tester who administered the tests, and the dates the tests were completed. The test results are valid for a period of one year from the test completion date.

(2) The tester shall provide the student with a receipt each time money is paid by the student to the tester. The tester shall maintain a copy of all receipts.

(3) A student, under this rule, must submit a certificate of completion of a driver education course and a certificate of successful test completion, issued by a tester, to the division and make an application in order to obtain a Class D Driver License.

(4) The commercial driver training school or testing only school shall maintain records of all tests administered for a period of three years. Records shall be maintained in separate files for each tester for auditing purposes. The records shall be subject to inspection by the division during business hours.

R708-37-10. Monthly Reports

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(1) Each third-party tester shall submit to the division a monthly report containing the number of tests administered each month.

(2) Monthly reports shall be submitted on forms supplied by the division and must be received by the division no later than the 10^th day of each month following the month in which the testing occurred.

(3) Failure to submit monthly reports within the prescribed time is grounds for suspension or cancellation of the third-party tester's certification.

(4) Monthly reports may be submitted electronically with division approval.

R708-37-11. Refusal to Certify, Grounds for Cancellation, Suspension, or Probation of a Tester's Certification

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(1) The division may refuse to certify tester applicants who do not meet the standards for training or who submit an application that contains false or incomplete information.

(2) The tester certification shall remain effective as long as the tester retains the status of instructor for a commercial driver training school or testing only school or until the tester certification is canceled or suspended by the division. A commercial driver training school or testing only school may initiate suspension or cancellation of the testing certification held by one of their instructors by providing the division with acceptable written justification.

(3) The tester certification shall be canceled or suspended upon cancellation, revocation, denial of issuance of renewal of the tester's instructor certification. Grounds for cancellation or suspension of the tester certification shall include all items listed in R708-2-25.

(4) Certification may be canceled or suspended for non-compliance with these rules.

(5) Certification may be canceled or suspended for failure to participate in any in-service training required by the division.

(6) Certification may be canceled or suspended when a third-party tester's personal driver license has been denied, suspended, revoked, canceled, or disqualified. The tester shall be required to notify the division in writing within five working days of any action taken against the tester's driving privilege.

(7) When the division determines it is necessary to cancel, suspend, or place on probation a tester's certification, it shall determine an appropriate course of action from the following options:

(a) probation, with terms that must be met and adhered to by the tester;

(b) suspension, pending a remedial plan leading to reinstatement; or

(8) Action by the division to cancel, suspend, place on probation or refuse to issue a tester certification is designated as an informal adjudicative proceeding under the Utah Administrative Procedures Act, Section 63G-4-202.

(9) The following procedures will govern informal adjudicative proceedings:

(a) action by the division to cancel, revoke, place on probation or refuse to issue a certification will be commenced by the division by the issuance of a notice of agency action. The notice of agency action will comply with the provisions of Section 63G-4-201;

(b) no response is required to the notice of agency action;

(c) an opportunity for a hearing will be granted on a cancellation, revocation, probation or refusal to issue a certification if, within five days, the division receives a request for a hearing;

(d) the tester will receive written notice of the hearing at least ten days prior to the date of the hearing;

(e) no discovery, either compulsory or voluntary, will be permitted prior to the hearing except that all parties shall have access to information contained in the division's files, and to investigatory information and materials not restricted by law;

(f) the hearing shall be conducted by an individual, or panel designated by the division; and

(g) within twenty days after the close of the hearing or after the failure of a party to appear for the hearing, the individual conducting the hearing shall issue a written decision which shall constitute final agency action. The written decision shall state the decision, the reason for the decision, notice of right to request reconsideration under Section 63G-4-302, notice of right to judicial review under Section 63G-4-402, and the time limits for filing an appeal to the appropriate district court.

(10) Reinstatement following cancellation of certification shall consist of completing an approved training plan and making application for a new certification. Instructors and testers must have a driving record free of suspensions or revocations of their driving privilege resulting from moving violations, chargeable accidents, and drug or alcohol related offenses, in all states, for a two year period immediately prior to application and during employment.

(11) Certification shall be canceled when testers are no longer employed as instructors in commercial driver training schools or testing only schools. Testers who discontinue employment as instructors with a commercial driver training schools or testing only school and subsequently return to instruct and test under the sponsorship of a different commercial driver training schools or testing only school must make a new application with the division for a new instructor certification and tester certification. If the period of cancellation of testing certification exceeds six months the applicant shall complete a course of approved training.

R708-37-12. Advertising

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(1) No advertisement shall indicate in any way that a commercial driver training schools or testing only school or a tester can issue or guarantee the issuance of a driver license, or imply that the testing program, except for reporting test scores, can in any way influence the division in the issuance of a Class D driver license; or imply that preferential or advantageous treatment can be obtained from the division through participation in their testing program.

(2) No tester, employee, or agent of a commercial driver training schools or testing only school shall be permitted to advertise or solicit business or cause business to be solicited in its behalf, or display or distribute any advertising material within 1500 feet of a building in which vehicle registrations or driver licenses are issued to the public.