Opinion
No. 73-187
Decided March 19, 1974.
Motor Vehicle Division hearing officer found that truck driver had exceeded the maximum number of traffic violation penalty points and ordered that his chauffeur's license be suspended. District court ordered that license be reinstated, and Division appealed.
Reversed
1. AUTOMOBILES — Chauffeur's License — Suspension — Statute — Limited Exception — All Points — In Course of Employment — Not Applicable — Error — Order Reinstatement. In regard to suspension of truck driver's chauffeur's license, the statute establishes a basic rule that any operator or chauffeur is subject to license suspension if he is convicted of traffic violations which result in the accumulation of twelve points within any twelve consecutive months, but contains a limited exception for chauffeurs which allows them to accumulate additional points if all points are accumulated while said chauffeur is in the course of his employment; thus, since all of the violations and resulting points of truck driver did not occur within the course of his employment, the statutory exception is not applicable, and the trial court erred in entering judgment ordering reinstatement of chauffeur's license.
Appeal from the District Court of the City and County of Denver, Honorable George McNamara, Judge.
No appearance by plaintiff-appellee.
John P. Moore, Attorney General, John E. Bush, Deputy Attorney General, Dennis J. Sousa, Special Assistant to Attorney General, for defendants-appellants.
The Motor Vehicle Division of the Department of Revenue (Department) appeals from a judgment ordering reinstatement of Edwards' driver's license which had been suspended by a Department hearing officer pursuant to 1969 Perm. Supp., C.R.S. 1963, 13-4-23.
This proceeding was initiated when the Department notified Edwards that he had accumulated a sufficient number of points for conviction of traffic violations to be subject to license suspension and ordered him to appear for a hearing to be held in accordance with 1969 Perm. Supp., C.R.S. 1963, 13-4-23(1)(a), which reads in pertinent part as follows:
"The department shall have the authority to suspend the license of any operator or chauffeur who, in accordance with the schedule of points set forth in this section, has been convicted of traffic violations resulting in the accumulation of twelve points within any twelve consecutive months, or eighteen points within any twenty-four consecutive months, . . . except that the accumulation of points causing the subjection to suspension of the license of a chauffeur, who in the course of his employment, has as his principal duties the operation of a motor vehicle, shall be sixteen points in one year, twenty-four points in two years, or twenty-eight points in four years, if all such points are accumulated while said chauffeur is in the course of his employment. . . ." (emphasis added)
The record of the hearing reveals that Edwards was a truck driver holding a chauffeur's license. The pertinent portion of Edwards' verified driving record shows that from August 4, 1970, to April 21, 1971, he accumulated eight points for violations which occurred while he was driving in the course of his employment and six points for a violation which occurred while he was driving on personal business. The hearing officer found that the points accumulated by Edwards exceeded the maximum permitted under the statute and suspended Edwards' chauffeur's license for a period of one year and granted him an opportunity to seek reconsideration of the order after six months.
Edwards sought review of the decision of the hearing officer in the district court. The court interpreted 1969 Perm. Supp., C.R.S. 1963, 13-4-23(1)(a), to mean that a chauffeur may accumulate sixteen points in any twelve consecutive months irrespective of whether the underlying violations occurred within the course of employment. On appeal, the Department contends that the court misinterpreted the statute. We agree.
[1] The statute establishes a basic rule that any operator or chauffeur is subject to license suspension of he is convicted of traffic violations which result in the accumulation of twelve points within any twelve consecutive months. The statute contains a limited exception for chauffeurs which allows them to accumulate a maximum of sixteen points in one year subject, however, to the proviso that "all such points are accumulated while said chauffeur is in the course of his employment." The words of the statute are plain and unambiguous. Since all of the violations and the resulting points did not occur within the course of Edwards' employment, the sixteen-point exception is not applicable. See Michels v. Motor Vehicle Div. of Dept. of Revenue, 32 Colo. App. 106, 506 P.2d 1243.
Judgment reversed and the cause remanded to the district court with directions to affirm the order of suspension.
CHIEF JUDGE SILVERSTEIN and JUDGE SMITH concur.