Department of Transportation

    Yale University is required to ensure that certain weight vehicles and the drivers or mechanics of these vehicles meet certain Department of Transportation (DOT) standards and comply with regulations, mandated by either the Federal (FMCSA) or State (Connecticut DOT). All drivers and mechanics must be aware of these regulations, especially the varying regulations required by other states.

    DOT regulated vehicles are consider Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMV) and require standard compliance as outlined below. However, different weigh vehicles and/or transporting of Hazmat material, will require additional certification, including a commercial driver license (CDL).

    Additionally, vehicles that transport students must have specific endorsements on their licenses to be in compliance.

    The following is a summary of what is required to drive or maintain DOT compliance vehicles:

    Drivers/Mechanics

    The university is required to assure that all drivers and mechanics of the following vehicles be in compliance with FMCSA or Connecticut DOT regulations:

    • Vehicles with a GVW of 10,001 lbs. or greater, combination of vehicle and trailer that are considered INTERSTATE (travelling outside the borders of Connecticut)
    • Vehicles with a GVW of 18,000 lbs. or greater, combination of vehicle and trailer that are considered INTRASTATE travelling within the borders of Connecticut)
    • All vehicles with a GVW of 26,000 lbs. or greater, combination of vehicle and trailer INTERSTATE or INTRASTATE (requires CDL license)
    • All Hazmat vehicles regardless of weight INTERSTATE or INTRASTATE (requires CDL license)

    All employees who may drive or maintain vehicles listed above will be notified of the requirements by Human Resources or Fleet Management and must:

    • Complete motor vehicle record (MVR) check that meets university policy. MVR background checks are sent to the employee via email (Hire Right) who must respond to the email before the background check can be completed.  Subsequent MVR’s are completed annually, and the employee, Fleet Coordinator/Supervisor and Human Resources will be notified in advance of the required MVR check.
    • Pass a medical certification by an authorized physician from the DOT registry. The preferred examiner is Yale Health at 55 Lock Street, New Haven. Your supervisor will need to make the appointment for you. The Medical Examiner’s Certificate and Medical Examination Report forms will need to be completed and taken with you to your appointment. The Medical Certification must be renewed according to the date set by the physician. Fleet Management will notify the supervisor and employee when medical certification is due for renewal.
    • Complete and pass On-Road testing to be conducted by a Yale authorized vendor. This testing is required only once unless remedial training is required. CDL drivers/mechanics are excluded from this requirement, as their license renewal requires this testing at each renewal period.

    In addition, several other requirements are needed prior to a driver or mechanic assuming their - responsibilities:

    • A Driver Qualification (DQ) file must be created and maintained by Fleet Management. The following information will be included:
      • Applicant original hiring application
      • Medical Examination Report
      • Medical Examiner’s Certificate
      • Medical Examiner’s national Registry Verification
      • Record of Road Test
      • Certification of Road Test
      • Safety Performance History Records Requests for previous three (3) employers
      • Motor Vehicle Driver’s Certification of Violations/Annual Review of Driving Record
      • Original and Annual Motor Vehicle Reports for Driver-MVR/Abstract Information
      • Drug and Alcohol Forms (CDL only)
        In the event that an existing employee is asked to take on vehicle driving responsibilities, the department must notify their HR Business Partner prior to the employee assuming driving responsibilities.

    Once a driver or mechanic has completed and passed all DOT requirements and the university has completed all requirements for the DQ file, the employee will be allowed to drive or maintain a FMCSA or CT DOT regulated vehicle.

    Any employee that fails to meet these requirements, will be notified by their department Fleet Coordinator/Supervisor and restricted from driving or maintaining vehicles. Labor Relations will also be notified and driving privileges will be suspended until all issues regarding driving are resolved.

    Department Responsibilities

    Departments that own DOT vehicles are required to notify Human Resources and of any position that will require driving these vehicles. Human Resources will initiate the MVR check and the Fleet Coordinator/Supervisor will initiate the scheduling of the medical examination. Upon completion of these testing’s, Human Resources will begin collecting the information for the DQ files and will notify Fleet Management of a new DOT driver. Fleet Management will initiate the request for an On-Road Testing with the department who will schedule this training with our vendor within 2 weeks. Drivers will be verbally notified at the end the training of their pass/failure and will receive a copy of the report within 2 weeks.

    DOT Vehicles

    FMCSA requires all DOT vehicles to undergo a mandatory safety inspection of their vehicle. The notification of this requirement is auto-generated by the Fleet Management software system to the Fleet Coordinator in each department/school. The department is required to schedule the inspection with the university preferred vendors.

    Additionally, university buses are required to have an additional inspection for the State of Connecticut to be completed prior to the registration renewal. This form must be included with the renewal application.

    The vendor completing the FMCSA annual inspection will also complete the state form each year as well. These documents will be given to the department at the time of pickup and must be kept in the vehicle at all times. A copy of the inspection reports will be scanned to the vehicle record in Collective Data for access by the department as needed.

    Validation stickers are required for these vehicles and will be affixed to the vehicle by the vendor.

    Drug and Alcohol Testing

    Employees who hold a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) will be required to undergo Drug and Alcohol Testing at time of hire and periodically throughout employment at Yale. Selection for testing is random and actual test are administered by Yale New Haven Health Services. Yale is a member of a consortium consisting of companies throughout the New Haven area.  Yale University and Yale Fleet Management have no role in selection of drivers for testing.  Upon notification of a selection, Fleet Management will send an email with the required forms attached to the employee’s supervisor.  The supervisor will then need to notify the employee that they have been selected for testing and the employee is to immediately stop driving the Yale vehicle and report to one of the testing sites. The employee presents the form to the site and the form is returned with a signature and time indicating they have reported, and the testing has been completed.  The department is to send a copy of the form to Fleet Management to be filed as part of the driver qualification files.  If there are issues a retest may be required.  Yale will be notified of any negative results which will be forwarded to HR for further review and handling.

    Accidents

    If a FMCSA or CT DOT regulated vehicle is involved in an accident resulting in damage to the vehicle or another vehicle and/or resulting in injuries, Fleet Management must be notified promptly.  A report must be filed with Risk Management as soon as possible with police case number included so a police report can be obtained.   Any DOT issues noted by the police must be included in communication with Fleet Management and Risk Management. 

    DOT Roadside Inspections

    FMCSA/CT DOT vehicles may be randomly pulled over for a roadside inspection.  If a vehicle is pulled for random roadside inspection and violations are found, the violation report must be forwarded to Fleet Management as soon as possible.  If the violation results in a stop order, the vehicle will be required to stay at the location where it is pulled over and may not be moved for 24 hours or the time noted on the violation.  If a stop order is issued Fleet management must be notified immediately.

    DOT Vehicle Logs

    Vehicles travelling over 150 airmiles from New Haven CT must maintain travel logs and such logs must be in the vehicle.  Vehicles traveling less than 150 air miles do not need logs. 

    DOT Driver Safety

    The National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners (National Registry) is a new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) program. All commercial drivers whose current medical certificate expires on or after May 21, 2014, at expiration of that certificate must be examined by a medical professional listed on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners. Only medical examiners that have completed training and successfully passed a test on FMCSA’s physical qualification standards will be listed on the National Registry. The preferred examiner is Yale Health at 55 Lock Street, New Haven. If you are a driver, please see your supervisor before contacting Yale Health.

    Interpretation of FMCSA, CONNDOT, and CDL Licensing requirements is the responsibility of Yale General Counsel’s Office and Yale Fleet.  Regulations and Policies are subject to change.