South Carolina Code of Laws
Chapter 1 - Driver's License
Section 56-1-2030. Definitions.

As used in this article:
(1) "Commercial driver's license" means a license issued in accordance with the requirements of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 (Title XII of Public Law 99-570) to an individual which authorizes the individual to drive a class of commercial motor vehicle.
(2) "Commercial Driver's License Information System" means the information system established pursuant to the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 to serve as a clearinghouse for locating information related to the licensing and identification of commercial motor vehicle drivers.
(3) "Commercial driver's instruction permit" means a permit issued pursuant to Section 56-1-2080(D) of this article.
(4) "Commercial motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle designed or used to transport passengers or property if the vehicle:
(a) has a gross vehicle weight rating of twenty-six thousand one or more pounds;
(b) is designed to transport sixteen or more persons, including the driver; or
(c) is transporting hazardous materials and is required to be placarded in accordance with 49 CFR Part 172, subpart F.
(5) "CMVSA" means the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 (Title XII of Public Law 99-570).
(6) "Controlled substance" means a substance classified under Section 102(6) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802(6)) listed on Schedules I through V of 21 CFR Part 1308, as revised.
(7) "Conviction" means an unvacated adjudication of guilt, or a determination that a person has violated or failed to comply with the law in a court of original jurisdiction or an authorized administrative tribunal, an unvacated forfeiture of bail or collateral deposited to secure the person's appearance in court, a plea of guilty or nolo contendere accepted by the court, the payment of a fine or court cost, or violation of a condition of release without bail, regardless of whether or not the penalty is rebated, suspended, or probated.
(8) "Disqualification" means a withdrawal of the privilege to drive a commercial motor vehicle.
(9) "Drive" means to drive, operate, or be in physical control of a motor vehicle.
(10) "Driver" means a person who drives a commercial motor vehicle or who is required to hold a commercial driver's license.
(11) "Driver's license" means a license issued to an individual which authorizes the individual to drive a motor vehicle.
(12) "Employer" means a person, including the United States, a state, or a political subdivision of a state who owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle or assigns a person to drive a commercial motor vehicle.
(13) "Endorsement" means a special authorization to drive certain types of vehicles or to transport certain types of property or a certain number of passengers.
(14) "Felony" means an offense under state or federal law that is punishable by death or imprisonment for more than one year.
(15) "Foreign jurisdiction" means a jurisdiction other than a state of the United States.
(16) "Gross vehicle weight rating" means the weight or the value specified by the manufacturer as the maximum loaded weight of a single or a combination vehicle. The gross vehicle weight rating of a combination vehicle (commonly referred to as the "gross combination weight rating") is the gross vehicle weight rating of the power unit plus the gross vehicle weight rating of a towed unit.
(17) "Hazardous materials" means any material that has been designated as hazardous under 49 C.F.R. Section 383.5 and 49 U.S.C. 5103 and is required to be placarded under 49 C.F.R. Part 172, subpart F or any quantity of a material listed as a select agent or toxin in 42 C.F.R. Part 73.
(18) "Motor vehicle" means a vehicle which is self- propelled and a vehicle which is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires but not operated upon rails, except a vehicle moved solely by human power and motorized wheelchairs.
(19) "Out-of-service order" means declaration by an authorized enforcement officer of a federal, state, Canadian, Mexican, or local jurisdiction that a person, a commercial motor vehicle, or a motor carrier operation is out of service pursuant to 49 CFR Sections 386.72, 390.5, 392.5, 395.13, 396.9, or compatible laws, or the North American Uniform Out-of-Service Criteria. For purposes of this article, regulations requiring disqualifications for violations of out-of-service orders affect all vehicles with a gross combination weight rating or gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 pounds, as contained in 49 CFR Sections 383, 390.5, and 393 of the Federal Motor Carrier Regulations.
(20) "Recreational vehicle" means a self-propelled or towed vehicle that is equipped to serve as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, or travel purposes and is used solely as a family/personal conveyance.
(21) "Restriction" means a prohibition against driving certain types of vehicles or a requirement that the driver comply with certain conditions when driving a motor vehicle.
(22) "Serious traffic violation" means a conviction when operating a motor vehicle of:
(a) excessive speeding, involving a single charge for a speed fifteen miles an hour or more above the speed limit;
(b) reckless driving, including charges of driving a commercial motor vehicle in a wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property;
(c) improper or erratic traffic lane changes;
(d) following the vehicle ahead too closely;
(e) a violation of a state or local law related to motor vehicle traffic control, other than a parking violation, arising in connection with an accident or collision resulting in death or serious bodily injury to a person;
(f) driving a commercial motor vehicle without obtaining a commercial driver's license;
(g) driving a commercial motor vehicle without a commercial driver's license in the driver's possession. A person who provides proof to the law enforcement authority that issued the citation, by the date the individual must appear in court or pay any fine for the violation, that the individual held a valid commercial driver's license on the date the citation was issued, is not guilty of this offense; or
(h) driving a commercial motor vehicle without the proper class of commercial driver's license, or endorsements for the specific vehicle group being operated or for the passengers or type of cargo being transported, or both.
(23) "School bus" means a commercial motor vehicle used to transport pre-primary, primary, or secondary students from home to school, from school to home, or to and from school-sponsored events. School bus does not include a bus used as a common carrier.
(24) "State" means a state or territory of the United States and the District of Columbia and the federal government and a province or territory of Canada.
(25) "Tank vehicle" means a commercial motor vehicle that is designed to transport a liquid or gaseous material within a tank that either is attached permanently or temporarily to the vehicle or its chassis. These vehicles include, but are not limited to, cargo tanks and portable tanks as defined in 49 CFR Part 171. This definition does not include portable tanks having a rated capacity under one thousand gallons.
(26) "United States" means the fifty states and the District of Columbia.
(27) "Farm related vehicle" means a vehicle used:
(a) in custom harvester operations;
(b) in livestock feeding operations; or
(c) by an agri-chemical business or a company which hauls agri-chemical products to a farm.
(28) "Seasonal restricted commercial driver's license" means a commercial driver's license issued under the authority of the waiver promulgated by the Federal Department of Transportation (57 Federal Register 13650) by the department to an individual who has not passed the knowledge or skill test required of other commercial driver's license holders. This license authorizes operation of a commercial motor vehicle only on a seasonal basis, stated on the license, by a seasonal employee of a custom harvester, livestock feeder, agri-chemical operation, and company hauling agri-chemical products to a farm within one hundred fifty miles of the place of business.
(29) "Traffic violation" means the offenses contained in 49 CFR 383.51(d) regarding driving disqualifications for violating railroad-highway grade crossing violations.
HISTORY: 1989 Act No. 151, Section 2; 1993 Act No. 134, Section 2; 1993 Act No. 149, Section 1; 1998 Act No. 258, Section 18; 1998 Act No. 333, Section 1; 1998 Act No. 434, Section 3; 2005 Act No. 42, Section 4, eff May 3, 2005; 2010 Act No. 216, Section 3, eff June 7, 2010.

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