Commercial Motor Vehicle Violation

Defendant appealed the decision of the trial magistrate sustaining the charged violation of R.I.G.L. 1956 § 31-14-23-1(b) “Driving of unsafe vehicle – Commercial motor vehicle violation.”  Defendant argued that because he was an employee of the company that owned the truck, the safety violation for improperly inflated tires should have been issued to the company, not to him.  The Panel reviewed the applicable statute, which plainly states that any company or “any person” who uses a company’s vehicle is subject to penalty.  Accordingly, the Panel sustained the charged violation.

State of Rhode Island v. John Ngotho, C.A. No. T12-0073 (January 20, 2013).pdf