Robert Ransom Williams IV was found guilty in a bench trial of violating OCGA § 40-5-146 a by operating a commercial motor vehicle without being issued a commercial driver’s license valid for the vehicle. Williams appeals pro se claiming that the State failed to prove under the applicable legal provisions that the driver’s license he possessed was not valid for the vehicle he was operating. We find the evidence was sufficient to sustain the verdict and affirm. A law enforcement officer of the Georgia Department of Public Safety Motor Carrier Compliance Division issued Williams a uniform traffic citation charging him with a violation of the Uniform Commercial Driver’s License Act the Uniform Act OCGA § 40-5-140 et seq.. The Uniform Act implements the federal Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 the Federal Safety Act, Title XII of Public Law 99-570, and is designed to “reduce or prevent commercial motor vehicle accidents, fatalities, and injuries by permitting commercial drivers to hold only one license; disqualifying commercial drivers who have committed certain criminal or other offenses or serious traffic violations; and strengthening commercial driver licensing and testing standards.” OCGA § 40-5-141.
Williams was charged with violating OCGA § 40-5-146 a by operating a combination articulated commercial motor vehicle with a gross combination weight rating of the power unit tractor and the towed unit trailer of 26,001 or more pounds, without having been issued a “class A” commercial driver’s license required for operation of the vehicle. As provided in OCGA § 40-5-146 a, “no person may operate a commercial motor vehicle unless the person has been issued and is in immediate possession of a commercial driver’s license valid for the vehicle he or she is driving.” A “commercial motor vehicle” is defined under OCGA § 40-5-142 7 A as “a motor vehicle designed or used to transport passengers or property . . . if the vehicle has a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds or such lesser rating as determined by federal regulation.” Under OCGA § 40-5-150 b 1, a “class A” commercial driver’s license is required to operate a commercial motor vehicle consisting of “any combination of vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more, provided the gross vehicle weight rating of the vehicle or vehicles being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.” Under OCGA § 40-5-142 17, ‘gross vehicle weight rating’ GVWR means the value specified by the manufacturer or manufacturers as the maximum loaded weight of a single or a combination articulated vehicle, or registered gross weight, whichever is greater. The gross vehicle weight rating of a combination articulated vehicle, commonly referred to as the ‘gross combination weight rating’ GCWR, is the gross vehicle weight rating of the power unit plus the gross vehicle weight rating of the towed unit or units. In the absence of a value specified for the towed unit or units by the manufacturer or manufacturers, the gross vehicle weight rating of a combination articulated vehicle is the gross vehicle weight rating of the power unit plus the total weight of the towed unit or units, including the loads on them. The officer who issued the citation testified that he inspected the combination articulated commercial motor vehicle that Williams was operating, including the power unit tractor and the towed unit trailer. It is undisputed that Williams was operating the vehicle to transport property, and that the power unit tractor had a gross vehicle weight rating of 11,500 pounds. As to the towed unit trailer, the officer testified that he observed what appeared to be manufacturer-affixed plates on the trailer which showed that the manufacturer-specified value for the gross vehicle weight rating on the towed unit trailer was 15,000 pounds. Thus the State produced evidence that the combination articulated vehicle operated by Williams had a gross combination weight rating of 26,500 pounds which included a towed vehicle trailer with a gross vehicle weight rating in excess of 10,000 pounds, and therefore a “class A” commercial driver’s license was required to operate the vehicle. It was undisputed that Williams had not been issued a “class A” commercial driver’s license by Georgia under the Uniform Act or by any other licensing jurisdiction in accordance with the Federal Safety Act.
