California Trucking Law Update ...continued
By Karleen Kos, PSAI Executive Director
The law. To better understand why these conflicting scenarios are
occurring, the PSAI has continued to seek information from various sources.
The best information currently available is:
• The California law that passed in the 2013 - 14 legislative session and
went into effect in 2016 defined tank vehicles with an aggregate
capacity of 1,000 gallons or more as "commercial motor vehicles"
irrespective of the GVRW of the vehicle. This was new.
• Because of the new classification, all drivers of vehicles equipped
with tanks of this size or larger should hold a "Tank Endorsement"
even if their truck's GVWR is below 26,001 lbs. (See California
Vehicle Code section 15210 for the definition of a commercial motor
vehicle and a tank vehicle and AB 1047, Ch 649 signed October 8,
2013 for the definition change. See section 15278 for the
endorsement requirements referred to in AB 1047.)
• However, California does not currently issue "Tank Endorsements"
to class C licenses – the most common type of driver license held.
Only drivers with Class A or B CDLs are currently eligible to obtain a
tank endorsement on their licenses.
This creates a situation in which, by definition, the only manner in which a driver can be in compliance with
California law if s/he is driving a vehicle with a tank capacity of 1,000 gallons or more is to have a Commercial Driver
License (CDL) with a tank endorsement.
Situation on the ground. In California, several portable sanitation tank trucks having a GVWR below 26,001 lbs.
have been stopped and placed out of service for the driver not having a CDL with a tank endorsement. In those
cases the trucks have been impounded until the operating company provided a driver with a CDL containing a tank
endorsement to remove the truck. In Northern Calif ornia, a portable sanitation company failed a BIT inspection for
allowing "unqualified drivers" to operate regulated vehicles. In this case the operating authority of that company
has been placed in jeopardy. A follow up inspection is scheduled for Febru ary 2017. In other cases California
Highway Patrol (CHP) personnel have not indicated any compliance issues to drivers with Class C licenses and no
endorsements that pass through scales. We have heard that some CHP personnel have assured PSAI Members that
it is acceptable for drivers lacking a CDL to operate tank vehicles so long as the GVWR is 26,000 l bs or below. All of
this creates a very confusing picture for our industry.
Analysis and update. A BIT official has confirmed that under the 2013 -
14 law th at went into effect in 2016, a motor carrier should not allow
anyone to operate a vehicle equipped with a tank or tanks having an
aggregate capacity of 1,000+ gallons without verifying first that the
driver has at least a Class B CDL with proper endorsemen ts. If a driver
lacking the proper license or endorsement is stopped by CHP
personnel, the violation is viewed as any other in which someone is
operating a vehicle without a CDL .
W EEKLY EDITION JAN 11, 2017
P AGE 2
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