Class A licesce

Well your welcome to drop your class A and come down to FL to test it yourself. Car haulers and and hot shotters are getting nailed down here left and right. combined weight under 26k, trailer over 10K, no class A =felony charge and about $3000 fine. Heard of several other states enforcing the 10K rule as well.

Maybe Dieselbear or ScaleMaster will see this and weigh in with their opinion.

 

I got my CDL in Florida.

These are federal laws, not state laws. States cannot add or reduce restrictions on a federal law.

The keyword to a class A CDL is combination. If the combined GVWR is 26,001 LBS or greater on a combination vehicle, it needs a class A, provided the vehicle being towed weighs more than 10,000 LBS GVW. This doesn't state anywhere that if the vehicle being towed weighs 10,000 LBS GVW or more, you need a class A. As I said, you could pull that 10,000 LB trailer with a Pinto on a class C. The combined GVW needs to be more than 26,000 LBS.

The car haulers and hot shotters probably didn't have a CDL at all. Just because it's under 26,001 LBS doesn't mean you can drive it on a regular license.

And before someone turns this into a pissing contest (I know it'll happen), I retract my earlier statement about the FL60 and the 1k trailer. That was a class B vehicle, not a class A vehicle.

 

HAHA! Felony charge? What charge would that be?

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration-licensing/cdl/cdl.htm

Classes of License:
The Federal standard requires States to issue a CDL to drivers according to the following license classifications:
Class A -- Any combination of vehicles with a GCWR of 26,001 or more pounds provided the GVWR of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
Class B -- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing a vehicle not in excess of 10,000 pounds GVWR.
Class C -- Any single vehicle, or combination of vehicles, that does not meet the definition of Class A or Class B, but is either designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver, or is transporting material that has been designated as hazardous under 49 U.S.C. 5103 and is required to be placarded under subpart F of 49 CFR Part 172 or is transporting any quantity of a material listed as a select agent or toxin in 42 CFR Part 73.

You can pull a 14,000 lb. wedge all day long, in FL, or anywhere else in the us, with no commercial license, as long as you stay under the 26,001 mark. Some 1-tons are 11,000 and change, some are over. My ford is 11,000 and change, my buddies ram is 12,200.

 

It sure does. It means exactly that. I'll do you one better. Those numbers aren't even actual weight, they are GCVW Ratings. Meaning what the stickers on the equipment say, not actual weight. It's a money thing, not a safety thing. I have a hotshot rig with a combined GVW of 25800. It has an apportioned tag plated for 32,000. As long as my non-cdl holding driver stays under that 32,000 mark, he's good to go. He was in a bad accident a few months ago, other womans fault. He weighed over 27,000 lb. at the time. DOT impounded my equipment and their first stop was a CAT scale. they released my equipment the next day and we never heard another word from the police again. no citations or anything. and they went over my driver and equipment with a fine-tooth comb.

 

Yeah but the gvw is still under 26,000.

 

Requirements to operate a CMV.

Classes of License:
The Federal standard requires States to issue a CDL to drivers according to the following license classifications:
Class A -- Any combination of vehicles with a GCWR of 26,001 or more pounds provided the GVWR of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
Class B -- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing a vehicle not in excess of 10,000 pounds GVWR.
Class C -- Any single vehicle, or combination of vehicles, that does not meet the definition of Class A or Class B, but is either designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver, or is transporting material that has been designated as hazardous under 49 U.S.C. 5103 and is required to be placarded under subpart F of 49 CFR Part 172 or is transporting any quantity of a material listed as a select agent or toxin in 42 CFR Part 73.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration-licensing/cdl/cdl.htm

Who must comply with the Hours-of-Service Regulations?
Most drivers must follow the HOS Regulations if they drive a commercial motor vehicle, or CMV. In general, a CMV is a vehicle that is used as part of a business and is involved in interstate commerce and fits any of these descriptions:

• Weighs 10,001 pounds or more
• Has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more
• Is designed or used to transport 16 or more passengers (including the driver) not for compensation
• Is designed or used to transport 9 or more passengers (including the driver) for compensation
• A vehicle that is involved in Interstate or intrastate commerce and is transporting hazardous materials in a quantity requiring placards is also considered a CMV.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/topics/hos/index.htm

 

You're preaching to the choir. Vehicles under 26,001 LBS and over 10,000 LBS GVW that are still considered CMV's require a class C CDL. Hotsots are car haulers are CDL territory, because they meet the criteria for class C.

 

The part in bold regarding the class B . . . That means if the trailer exceeds 10K GVWR NOT combined, a class A is needed.

 

States are allowed to have tighter restrictions than the feds.

 

States can't add GVW restrictions on a federal law. The GVW criteria for CDL's is the same everywhere. States do not own the federal highway system.

What states can do is make getting a CDL harder, but they can't change the requirements themselves. As a example: virtually every state is different on their PTI/DVIR, as there is no federal criteria. Florida requires you to correctly name 105 of 130ish points on a PTI/DVIR in order to pass that portion of the CDL test. Other states don't even want you to open the hood. The list goes on and on, but the GVW restrictions can not be altered by any state.