16- 163 C.M.R. ch. 3, § 11 - Vehicles - General

1. Except as otherwise exempted by 32 M.R.S. §82, no vehicle shall be operated as an ambulance (from within Maine) or emergency medical services vehicle unless it is licensed or authorized in accordance with these Rules.

2. An vehicle license or authorization is valid for a period of one year, starting from the month the service license is issued.

Maine EMS will prorate the vehicle licensing fee for a service licensing a new vehicle within its one-year service license period to ensure concurrent expiration dates for service and vehicle licenses.

3. A vehicle license or authorization is issued to a particular service and for a particular vehicle, except as permitted in Chapter 3 § 12 of these Rules. If a service is required to relicense under Chapter 3 § 2 because of a change of ownership, then all of the service's vehicle licenses and authorizations end, and the service must apply for new vehicle licenses and/or authorizations. The fee for licensing a vehicle is $60.00.

4. When a service acquires a new or used vehicle under Chapter 3 § 12 of these Rules, it shall apply to Maine EMS on forms available from Maine EMS and shall pay the applicable vehicle licensing fee. Within 45 days, Maine EMS shall issue, or decline to issue, a license for the vehicle.

5. Vehicles licensed under this chapter must:

A. Display the name of the service operating the vehicle on the left (driver) and right (passenger) side of the vehicle in letters no less than 6 inches high or display a logo that adequately identifies the service. Vehicles temporarily transferred to a service under the provision of Chapter 3 § 12 are exempt from this requirement;

B. Be exclusively leased or owned and operated by a service licensed by Maine EMS or by an agency designated by Maine EMS.

6. Upon request by Maine EMS, a licensed service shall make its licensed and/or authorized vehicle(s) available for inspection to ensure that each vehicle is safe, clean, and otherwise in conformity with these Rules. If a licensed or authorized vehicle does not pass inspection and its continued operation presents a hazard to health or safety, the Board may suspend its license to provide emergency medical services at once consistent with Maine Law (See 5 M.R.S. §10004 and 4 M.R.S. §184 ). Alternatively, if the continued operation of the licensed and/or authorized vehicle at the level which the service is permitted pursuant to Chapter 3§ 7(3) of these rules presents a hazard to health or safety, the Board may immediately suspend the licensed and/or authorized the service's permit consistent with Maine Law (see 5 M.R.S. §10004 and 4 M.R.S §184 ) and allow the service to operate at the next lowest level for which it is properly equipped. If the deficiencies are not such as to require the vehicle's immediate removal from service or the immediate suspension of the service's permit, then Maine EMS shall notify the service of the deficiencies and set a reasonable amount of time in which the service may continue to provide emergency medical services while bringing it into conformity with the law and Rules. If the licensed and/or authorized vehicle is not brought into conformity within the time set, Maine EMS may refuse to renew, or seek revocation of, the licensed and/or authorized vehicle's license to provide emergency medical services.

Notes

16- 163 C.M.R. ch. 3, § 11