Purpose
The Board adopts this policy to establish procedures, obligations and expectations of employees who, within the scope of their employment, have occasion to operate District owned vehicles and equipment, or personal vehicles for official District purposes.
District Vehicles and Equipment – Authorization for Use
Kimberly School District employees shall operate District owned vehicles and equipment only when the employee:
- Is authorized by their position and/or supervisor, to act as the operator of a vehicle or piece of equipment;
- Holds a valid Idaho operators license for each class of vehicle or piece of equipment they are approved to operate. The District may verify license status by checking motor vehicle records.
- Has demonstrated, to the supervisor’s satisfaction, that they are qualified to operate the vehicle or piece of equipment.
- Is 18 years of age or older.
Responsibilities of Vehicle/Equipment Operator
Employees operating District vehicles and equipment shall:
- Inspect vehicles or equipment before operating to ensure the vehicle or equipment will function in a safe manner.
- Refrain from eating or engaging in other activities which may distract an individual from safely operating a vehicle or piece of equipment.
- Operate such vehicles and equipment in a safe, responsible manner, and in compliance with State laws and regulations governing vehicle use.
- Pull off to a safe area and stop driving to use a cell phone in a vehicle.
- Be personally responsible for traffic fines, court appearances, and other personal judgments or penalties arising from their violation of traffic laws while operating such vehicles or equipment.
- Refrain from operating any such vehicles or equipment when under the influence of controlled substances, medications, or mental or physical conditions which could impair their ability to properly operate a vehicle or piece of equipment.
- Return such vehicles and equipment daily to the District facility designated for that vehicle or piece of equipment unless it is taken to the operator’s residence as authorized under section 4 or this policy.
- If the vehicle or piece of equipment is taken to the operator’s residence as authorized by section 4, the operator shall ensure the vehicle or equipment is made available for routine maintenance as well as unscheduled maintenance when required.
- Report any loss, redaction or suspension of their operator license or endorsements status to their supervisor as soon as they are notified of the licensing status change.
- Report all accidents immediately to the supervisor and/or to the Business Manager so that they can be reported to the District’s insurance carrier. All CDL holders shall comply with Federal and State laws regarding the reporting of accidents, citations, or driving convictions and shall immediately report such occurrences to their supervisor.
- Use of District fueling cards shall be limited to bona-fide District vehicle and equipment. Not allow other persons to use their refueling card or request that others allow them to use refueling cards which are not assigned to them.
- Be evaluated in connection with their use of District vehicles and equipment as part of their annual job performance review.
Prohibited Conduct of Vehicle/Equipment Operator
Any employee involved in one or more of the following circumstances while operating District vehicles and equipment will immediately lose their operational authorization:
- Unlawful use, distribution, dispensing, manufacture, or possession of a controlled substance.
- Operating any District vehicle or piece of equipment while under the influence of alcohol, any drug, or the combined influence of alcohol and any drug.
- Use of any District vehicle or piece of equipment for illegal or unauthorized purposes.
- Operating a vehicle or piece of equipment in a manner which endangers the safety or life of others.
- Clearly negligent use of District owned vehicles or piece of equipment as sited per Prohibited Conduct of Vehicle/Equipment Operator.
Any employee convicted of any of the items listed in section 3 of this procedure, regardless of whether it occurred while operating a District vehicle or piece of equipment, may be permanently prohibited from operating District vehicles and equipment, an/or subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
Emergency Call Out
In specific instances, the superintendent and/or department directors may establish specific positions and/or classes of employees who are subject to emergency call out. These employees or classes of employees may be assigned a District vehicle to keep at their personal residence in order to more quickly respond to emergency circumstances. Employees so designated, may be changed at any time by the Superintendent and/or department director without consultation or negotiation with the affected employee or classes of employees. When an employee is designated to have a District vehicle at their residence for emergency call out use, the vehicle shall not be used for personal purposes.
Disposal of Vehicles and Equipment
All vehicles and equipment shall be disposed of only by sales events and methods which are approved by the Board and by rules adopted by the State for disposal of surplus property. Each sales event must be approved individually by the Board.
Accident Management Procedures
The Kimberly School District establishes the following procedures and guidelines for reporting, investigating, and documenting all accidents, collisions, and incidents involving District vehicles and equipment.
- All accidents/collisions/vandalism (herein collectively referred to as “accidents”) involving District vehicles, regardless of the amount of damages or personal injuries sustained, shall be reported immediately to the driver’s supervisor and/or any other identified District personnel. Failure to report an accident shall be cause for disciplinary action.
- An employee involved in any accident while operating District vehicles or equipment may be required to submit to a drug and alcohol test. Submission to a drug and alcohol test will be required for accidents that involve an injury; citation issued, or estimated damages that exceed five-hundred dollars ($500.) Failure to submit to a drug and alcohol test; or testing positive for drug use; or prohibited levels of alcohol as outlined in applicable law; shall be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
- An accident report shall be completed within 24 hours of any accident regardless of the amount of damage sustained to any District vehicle or equipment.
- All accidents shall be investigated by the transportation director or his/her designee.
- All accidents involving any personnel injury and/or accidents for which the estimated damages exceed one-thousand dollars ($1,000) shall be reviewed by the Superintendent.
- The Superintendent shall hold a fact finding meeting within 15 days of receiving an accident report from the transportation director to determine if the accident was preventable or non-preventable.
- The driver involved in the accident has the right to attend the fact-finding meeting to explain the situation and answer questions of the Committee.
- The committee shall inform the driver of their findings in a timely manner.
- An employee may appeal the findings and recommendations of the Committee by following the appeals procedure outlined in the District Grievance Procedure.
- Administrative actions shall be taken based on the findings and recommendations of the Committee as follows:
- If the accident was non-preventable, a statement to that effect shall be included in the employee’s personnel file and no disciplinary action will be recommended.
- If the accident was preventable, procedures of remediation and disciplinary action shall be implemented according to the degree of culpability, severity of the accident and service record of the employee.
- Driver Education instructors shall not be disciplined under these driver accident guidelines for vehicle accidents resulting from the actions of student drivers who are operating District vehicles under the instructor’s supervision, as part of the District Driver Education course unless a valid investigation by the District or a court of law finds the instructor was grossly negligent in their instruction or driving supervision.
Definitions
“Equipment” for purposes of this policy means utility vehicles, construction and lawn equipment.
“Vehicle” for purposes of this policy means buses, vans and passenger vehicles, maintenance and delivery trucks.
Policy History:
Anticipated First Reading: February 19, 2009
Adopted on: March 12, 2009
Revised on: