HB278 Summary

• Requires contract carriers transporting railroad employees in vehicles designed for 15 or fewer passengers to comply with federal safety standards for drivers, including hours-of-service limits of 10 hours driving and 15 hours combined on-duty/drive time per day, with maximum 70 hours per seven-day period.

• Mandates contract carriers maintain driver qualification files including physical examinations (within 2 years), driving record reviews, employment applications, and current driver's licenses, and disqualify drivers with two or more serious traffic violations in three years.

• Requires pre-employment alcohol and controlled substances testing for all drivers with zero alcohol concentration and verified negative drug test results; also requires post-accident testing within 8 hours for alcohol and 32 hours for controlled substances.

• Mandates annual vehicle inspections, weekly maintenance programs, and specific equipment including operable tires, spare tires, seatbelts, emergency kits, first aid kits, and amber/strobe warning lights for all fleet vehicles.

• Requires contract carriers to obtain insurance coverage of $2,000,000 per person and $6,000,000 maximum per vehicle for bodily injury/death, plus $1,000,000 uninsured/underinsured coverage per passenger; violations subject to civil penalties up to $2,000 per offense.