New Hampshire Selected for National Commercial Driver's License Safety Pilot

Concord, NH - Attorney General John M. Formella announces that the New Hampshire Department of Justice is partnering with the National Traffic Law Center, the New Hampshire Department of Safety, and traffic safety partners to strengthen the enforcement of Commercial Driver's License (CDL) regulations and improve roadway safety throughout the State.

This follows the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's award of a three-year, $7.9 million Commercial Driver's License Program Implementation (CDLPI) grant to the National District Attorneys Association's National Traffic Law Center. As a part of the grant, New Hampshire was selected to participate in the Roadside to Record: CDLPI pilot project, which is designed to bring awareness to the fundamentals of the federal and state prohibitions against masking convictions, improve the accuracy of commercial driver conviction reporting, and ensure that disqualified commercial drivers are removed from the nation's roadways. Prior to the award, Attorney General Formella submitted a letter supporting the National Traffic Law Center's application, highlighting New Hampshire's commitment to improving commercial driver accountability and traffic safety.

"Traffic safety is public safety," said Attorney General Formella. "This partnership will strengthen coordination among prosecutors, law enforcement, the courts, and our state and federal partners to ensure that commercial driver's license laws are enforced consistently and accurately. By increasing compliance with federal and state regulations and improving how convictions are reported, we can help keep unsafe commercial drivers off New Hampshire's roads and make travel safer for everyone."

As part of the initiative, the New Hampshire Department of Justice will lead a statewide CDLPI Working Group comprised of representatives from agencies involved in investigating, prosecuting, adjudicating, licensing, and tracking commercial driver offenses.

The Working Group will focus on:

• Providing education and training for prosecutors, law enforcement officers, judges, clerks and traffic safety professionals regarding federal and state CDL requirements, including anti-masking laws;
• Improving statewide compliance with federal reporting requirements; and
• Developing a New Hampshire-specific implementation plan to ensure accurate and timely transfer of information from roadside to conviction.

A statewide kickoff meeting for participating stakeholders was held yesterday at the New Hampshire Department of Justice to establish program goals, expectations, and implementation priorities.

For more information regarding New Hampshire's Roadside to Record: CDLPI pilot project, please contact:

Alexandria M. Morrell
Assistant Attorney General
Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor
New Hampshire Department of Justice
[email protected]
(603) 271-6724