Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-30 - Passenger transportation companies › Part 5 - EQUIPMENT AND DRIVERS › Section 480-30-222 - Vehicles with capacity for eight or fewer passengers (including the driver)

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
A company must ensure compliance with the requirements of
				  this section for all vehicles with a capacity of eight or fewer passengers
				  (including the driver) used to provide passenger transportation service under
				  the authority of the company's certificate and for all drivers of those
				  vehicles. Regardless of whether a record required under this section is
				  maintained by the certificated company or its contractor, the certificated
				  company must make the record available to the commission upon request within 48
				  hours of the request.
(1) All vehicles
				must be inspected annually by a mechanic who has successfully passed the
				applicable examinations of, and met the applicable experience requirements
				prescribed by, the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, and
				certified by the mechanic as safe to operate.
(2) At the beginning and end of each day's
				work, the driver must check each vehicle the driver operates to determine if
				the lights, brakes, tires, steering, seat belts, and other safety and operating
				equipment are working properly. The driver must document the inspection the
				driver performs at the end of each day.
(3) Records of inspection, repair, and
				maintenance indicating the date and nature of the inspection, repair, or
				maintenance must be kept by the certificated company or contractor for a period
				of three years.
(4) Drivers used to
				operate vehicles with a capacity of eight or fewer passengers (including the
				driver) must have the following qualifications when operating a vehicle on
				behalf of a certificated company:
(a) Be
				licensed to drive in the state of Washington;
(b) Be a safe driver as demonstrated by a
				complete driving record from the Washington department of licensing and a
				complete driving record from any other state in which the driver held a
				driver's license in the previous five years;
(c) Have not been convicted within the past
				five years of hit-and-run, reckless driving, attempting to elude an officer by
				using a vehicle, vehicular assault, vehicular homicide, reckless endangerment,
				negligent driving in the first degree, or driving under the influence of
				alcohol or a controlled substance, and have not been convicted within the past
				five years of a crime pertaining to physical violence or crimes reasonably
				related to the driver's honesty including, but not limited to, robbery, fraud,
				theft, extortion, assault, or identity theft, as demonstrated by a state
				criminal background check;
(d) Have
				not been required to register as a sex offender or been convicted of a sex
				offense or been convicted of a kidnapping offense against a minor;
(e) Have been medically examined and
				certificated by a medical examiner who is listed on the National Registry of
				Certified Medical Examiners, and be physically and mentally qualified to
				operate a passenger carrying vehicle for compensation; and
(f) Have passed a defensive driving course
				certified by the National Safety Council or passed an equivalent course
				approved by the commission.