Subdivision 1. Postcrash inspection. (a) A peace officer responding to an accident involving a commercial motor vehicle must immediately notify the State Patrol if the accident results in:

(1) a fatality;

(2) bodily injury to a person who, as a result of the injury, immediately receives medical treatment away from the scene of the accident; or

(3) one or more motor vehicles incurring disabling damage as a result of the accident, requiring the motor vehicles to be transported away from the scene by tow truck or other motor vehicle.

(b) It is a misdemeanor for a person to drive or cause to be driven a commercial motor vehicle after such an accident unless the vehicle:

(1) has been inspected by a state trooper or other person authorized to conduct inspections under section 169.781, subdivision 3, paragraph (a), who is an employee of the Department of Public Safety or Transportation, and the person inspecting the vehicle has determined that the vehicle may safely be operated; or

(2) a waiver has been granted under subdivision 2.

Subd. 2. Waiver. A state trooper or other authorized person called to the scene of an accident by a responding peace officer under subdivision 1 may waive the inspection requirement of that subdivision if the person determines that a postcrash inspection is not needed or cannot be accomplished without unreasonable delay. A person who grants a waiver must provide to the driver of the commercial motor vehicle for which the waiver is granted a written statement that the inspection has been waived. The written statement must include the incident report number assigned to the accident by the State Patrol.

History: 1990 c 563 s 3; 1991 c 174 s 7; 2008 c 287 art 1 s 50