CDL in a workzone

Listen to the safety critter!

 

10 4 on the safety department's recommendation.
Or you all mite get run off.

 

My first reply was brief here is a longer one.

I am assuming you work for a small company. In a lot of these cases "safety" is a title, not a position. I have seen this many times. I remember a case back in my hometown where the "safety" man was also doing a lot of other things. In these situations sometimes the safety man is ignored because they have no teeth like they do with a large carrier. I would highly recommend you NOT operate a CMV without the proper license. If this means you lose a job so be it. What you need to do is get finished with this process and get your CDL. A lot of discussions on these boards go back to a what-if situation. What if for some reason that truck being operated by you is involved in a fatal accident? This has the potential of becoming a nightmare for you as well as costing your company major $$$$$$. Best advice! Stay out of that vehicle until either a fully licensed driver is with you OR you get your own CDL.

If on the other hand that workzone is NOT on a public roadway and on private property I see nothing that would prohibit you from driving that vehicle. I know several people that operate yard trucks and they only have regular operators licenses.

 

It all depends on the vehicle being on a public roadway. If you are operating the CDL B truck on private property you don't need even a passenger car driver's license, but if you operate the same truck to cross a public road or on a public road .you need the CDL. I don't know if a public right of way is counted as a public road or private property.

 

Just go take your test and end all speculation....

 

Sometimes it can come down to how the truck is tagged. Such as if it has a regular truck registration, or if it's tagged as mobile equipment. For example in New Jersey they have a code 56 tag that says construction equipment in transit on it. You can operate that without a CDL doing some operations, but not all.and that very state-by-state and there's a lot of nuances and stuff in the law

For example a code 56 would be okay on a bucket truck,but if you were hauling anything on that bucket truck other than tools and equipment to do the job, then you're not okay. Just for an example having chainsaws, safety harnesses, chokers, rope and stuff like that would be okay, but if you cut down a tree end loaded that tree onto the truck you'd be breaking the law.

It's much easier to just get the cdl, and not have to worry about whose interpretation of the law is going to fly

 

The biggest problem to me is when the numbskull who’s cruising Tinder while driving enters your work zone & side swipes or rear ends that bucket truck you’re moving. All of a sudden what you think or what we on the forum think doesn’t matter anymore. Now the Lawyers, Judge, & Insurance companies will make that decision.