§1523.  For-hire carriers of passengers; definitions; driving time; rules and regulations

A.  When used in this Section, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

(1)  "Driving time" means all time spent at the driving controls of a commercial for-hire vehicle designed to transport passengers.

(2)  "Eight consecutive days" means the period of eight consecutive days beginning on any day at the time designated by the for-hire carrier for a twenty-four-hour period.

(3)  "On duty time" means all time from the time a driver begins to work or is required to be in readiness to work until the time the driver is relieved from work and all responsibility for performing work.

(4)  "Twenty-four-hour period" means any twenty-four-consecutive-hour period beginning at the time designated by the for-hire carrier for the terminal from which the driver is normally dispatched.

B.  The provisions of this Section shall apply only to for-hire carriers designed to transport more than eight passengers, including the driver, on any public highway or road in this state.

C.  Drivers of for-hire carriers shall be prohibited from:

(1)  Driving a vehicle designed to transport more than eight passengers for more than ten hours without eight consecutive hours off duty.

(2)  Driving a for-hire vehicle after the driver has been on duty for fifteen hours without eight consecutive hours off duty.

(3)  Driving a for-hire vehicle after the driver has been on duty for a total of seventy consecutive hours within eight consecutive days.

D.  For-hire carrier companies shall keep time records, for six months, indicating the time all for-hire drivers report for duty, the time of  relief from duty, hours driven, hours on duty, and hours off duty.  These records shall be made available to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, office of state police, for inspection and shall be subject to the provisions of R.S. 32:1505.

E.  The Department of Public Safety and Corrections, office of state police, shall adopt rules and regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, as are necessary, to implement the provisions of this Section.

Acts 1999, No. 907, §1, eff. July 2, 1999.