Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 38, September 20, 2024
Section 150-9-9 - Leased Equipment9.1. Leasing of equipment by motor carriers; exceptions. - A motor carrier of passengers or property may acquire by lease the entire amount of equipment operated under its authority. However, that motor carrier may not, without prior approval from the Commission, obtain that equipment from another motor carrier or public utility.9.2. Uniform vehicle identification cards. - The Commission shall issue Uniform Vehicle Identification Cards in the name of the carrier under whose authority die equipment is to be operated.9.3. Construction of lease. - No lease of vehicles shall be construed to confer upon the lessee any right to operate under the authority held by die lessor.9.4. Certificate of lease. - A common or contract carrier shall not operate any leased equipment until a Certificate of Lease as prescribed in Rule 10.1.22., P.S.C. W. Va. M.C. Form No. 31, is filed with the Commission, and the lessee common or contract motor carrier obtains in its name a Uniform Vehicle Identification Care and/or pays the prescribed special annual assessment for the vehicle so leased.9.5. Control of leased equipment. - Equipment leased by a common or contract carrier by motor vehicle from another company shall be under the exclusive direction and control of the lessee for the duration of the lease.9.6. Single-source leasing. - A motor carrier of property may acquire, from a particular person or entity that is not regulated by the Commission, both equipment and a driver or drivers in a single transaction, through the use of a written lease, if and only if all of the following requirements are met. 9.6.1. The lease agreement must recite, and the surrounding facts must reflect, that the leased equipment and driver are exclusively committed to the lessee's use for the term of the lease for any purpose consistent with the provisions of the lease;9.6.2. The lease agreement must provide, and the surrounding facts must reflect, that the lessee has exclusive dominion and control over the transportation service conducted by the leased equipment and driver during the term of the lease;9.6.3. The lessee must obtain public liability insurance or otherwise accept responsibility to the public for any injury caused in the course of performing the transportation service conducted by it with the leased equipment and driver during the term of the lease, in accordance with the Commission's rules and regulations governing insurance for motor carriers;9.6.4. The leased equipment must display appropriate identification showing operation by the lessee during the performance of such transportation (see Rule 4.11.).9.6.5. The lessee must accept responsibility for, and bear the cost, of, the compliance of both said driver and said equipment with the Commission's safety rules and regulations during the term of the lease;9.6.6. The lessee must bear the risk of damage to cargo, subject to any right of action said lessee may have against the lessor for the latter's negligence;9.6.7. The term of the lease must be for a minimum period of thirty (30) days; and 9.6.7.a. a copy of the lease must be carried in the leased equipment during the term of said lease, and must be presented, upon demand, to the Commission's Utility Inspector for inspection thereof.9.7. Exceptions. - The provisions of Rules 9.1., 9.2., 9.3., and 9.4. do not apply to the leasing of motor vehicles by motor carriers insofar as they are exempt carriers.