Source: https://cms.fmcsa.dot.gov/print/regulations/title49/part/383
Timestamp: 2019-04-18 11:29:12+00:00

Document:
Question 3: Does part 383  apply to drivers of recreational vehicles?
Question 4: Does part 383  apply to drivers of vehicles used in "van pools"?
Question 6: Does off-road motorized construction equipment meet the definitions of "motor vehicle" and "commercial motor vehicle" as used in §§383.5  and 390.5 ?
Guidance: Yes, unless they are waived by the State under the firefighting and emergency equipment exemption in §383.3(d) .
Guidance: No, as long as the vehicle does not meet the weight/configuration thresholds for Groups A or B (in §383.91 ).However, under the HMTUSA of 1990, when a Federal, State or local government agency "offers HM for transportation in commerce or transports HM in furtherance of a commercial enterprise," its vehicles are subject to the placarding requirements of part 172, subpart F . Vehicles that are controlled and operated by government agencies in the conduct of governmental functions normally are not subject to placarding, since governmental activities usually are not commercial enterprises. Based on the above, local police emergency responders driving a vehicle having a gross vehicle or combination weight rating under 26,001 pounds do not need a CDL, according to the Federal minimum standards, when transporting HM as a function of their agency. The drivers should check with their State licensing agency to determine what class of license the State may require to operate the vehicles.
The CDL regulations provide that "no person shall operate" a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV)s before passing the written and driving tests required for that vehicle (§383.23(a)(1) ). Virtually all of the vehicles used for training purposes meet the definition of a CMV, and student drivers must therefore obtain a CDL.
The Federal Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMRs) apply to motor carriers in intrastate commerce only if they transport hazardous wastes, hazardous substances, flammable cryogenic liquids in portable tanks and cargo tanks, and marine pollutants (as those terms are defined in the HMRs) (see 49 CFR 171.1(a)(3)). Such carriers transporting any other cargo are not required to use HM placards, even if the cargo qualifies as hazardous under the Federal HMRs. Unless the vehicles used by these carriers had Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWRs) of 26,001 pounds or more, they would not meet either the placarding or the GVWR test in the jurisdictional definition of a Commercial Motor Vehicle CMV (§383.5 ), and the driver would be exempt from the CDL requirements.
However, if the State has adopted the Federal Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMRs), or the placarding requirements of 49 CFR part 172 , as regulations applicable to intrastate commerce, then the drivers of all vehicles required to use placards must also have CDLs.
If the State promulgates its own rules for the regulation of HM in intrastate commerce, instead of adopting the Federal Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMRs), and those rules are approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) under 49 CFR 355.21(c)(3)  and paragraph 3(d) of the Tolerance Guidelines (49 CFR part 350, appendix C), the drivers of vehicles with Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR)s of less than 26,001 pounds transporting such materials in intrastate commerce are required to obtain CDLs only if State law requires the use of placards.
Question 19: Must a civilian operator of a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV), as defined in §383.5 , who operates wholly within a military facility open to public travel, have a CDL?
Question 20: Does the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) include the Space Cargo Transportation System (SCTS) off-road motorized military equipment under the definitions of "motor vehicle" and "commercial motor vehicle" as used in §383.5 ?
Guidance: Yes. The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 (CMVSA) applies to anyone who operates a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV), including employees of Federal, State and local governments. Crowd control activities do not meet the conditions for a waiver of operators of firefighting and other emergency vehicles in §383.3(d) .
Question 22: May fuel be considered "farm supplies" as used in §383.3(d)(1) ?
Question 23: Is the transportation of seed-cotton modules from the cotton field to the gin by a module transport vehicle considered a form of custom harvesting activity that may be included under the Farm-Related Service Industries FRSI waiver (§383.3(f) )?
Question 25: May a State (1) require an applicant for a CDL farmer waiver (§383.3(d) ) to take HM training as a condition for being granted a waiver and (2) reduce the 150-mile provision in the waiver to 50 miles if the driver is transporting HM?
Guidance: If the State considers a firm that harvests trees for tree farmers to be a custom harvesting operation, then its employees could qualify for the FRSI-restricted CDLs, subject to the stringent conditions and limitations of the waiver provisions in §383.3(f) .
Question 29: May a State exempt commercial motor vehicle drivers employed by a partnership, corporation or an association engaged in farming from the CDL requirements under the farmer waiver (49 CFR 383.3(d) ) or is the waiver only available to drivers employed by a family-owned farm?
Guidance: The purpose of the farmer exemption was to give relief to family farms (53 FR 37313, September 26, 1988). The conditions for the waiver were established to ensure that the waiver focused on this type of farm operation. However, "farmer" is defined in §390.5  as "any person who operates a farm or is directly involved in the cultivation of land, crops, or livestock which (a) [a]re owned by that person; or (b) [a]re under the direct control of that person." Since farming partnerships, corporations and associations are legal "persons," States may exempt drivers working for these organizations from the CDL requirements, provided they can meet the strict limits imposed by the waiver conditions.
Question 30: May a State exempt commercial motor vehicle drivers employed by farm cooperatives from the commercial driver’s license (CDL) requirements under the farmer waiver (§383(d) )?
Guidance: No. The waiver covers only operators of farm vehicles which are controlled and operated by "farmers" as defined in §390.5 . The waiver does not extend to ancillary businesses, like cooperatives, that provide farm-related services to members. As stated in the waiver notice (53 FR 37313, September 26, 1988), "[t]he waiver would not be available to operators of farm vehicles who operate over long distances, operate to further a commercial enterprise, or operate under contract or for-hire for farm cooperatives or other farm groups. Such operators drive for a living and do not drive only incidentally to farming."
Guidance: Yes. One of the primary objectives of the CDL program is to ensure that drivers are qualified to safely operate the type of vehicle they will be driving. To achieve this objective, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) require a driver to pass a knowledge and skills test for the CMV group they intend to drive. In addition to this requirement, if the driver will be operating double/triple trailers, a tank vehicle, or a CMV used to transport passengers, they must also obtain an appropriate endorsement on their CDL. The specific requirements for the knowledge and skills tests an applicant must meet to obtain a CDL and the various endorsements can be found in Subpart G of part 383  of the FMCSRs.

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