Driving a privately owned Semi

That dosen't make too much sense now does it.

 

The key word is commercial. Private Coaches exceed those weight guidelines on a regular basis and do not require a CDL. I have had this same debate in an Ohio court and won.

I was stopped going 70 in a 70 driving a "Private Coach" for an employer. The Ohio limit was the 70/55 Split. The officer ASSUMED that because I held a CDL, that the, 55 mph limit applied to me. He issued me a +15 citation. It took a court of appeals to over rule the lower courts agreement with the officer. The arguement that the officer and DA came up with did not hold water because the standard would have applied in any private car or truck as well. We won, because the FMCSA rules apply to commerical carriers and not for "not for hire" private coaches.

However, I agree that this should not be the case. Some of those Marathon Prevost Coaches weigh in at well over 50,000 lbs and cost over $1M. They are also 102' wide.

A valid CDL should be required.

 

I wonder how this would translate to airplanes? "well, I'm just tooling around in this "private" jumbo jet for my own amusement, I don't need training or licensing to fly this jumbo jet!"

 

If you were driving for hire, how do you figure you're exempt from the FMCSR?

 

Interesting
If your point holds up
Then all those who received DWI's for driving with a level of .05 while driving their personal cars can have them reversed
Fat chance on that LOL

 

Could you refresh my memory as to what the Ohio speed limit signs say on them? Is it a "Trucks - 55" or a "Commercial Vehicles -55" or "Vehicles over 5tons GVWR - 55"?

 

Wisconsin's Driver License Classes - the only other options for Wisconsin are D which is for cars and M for motorcycles.

Here is some info pertaining to farm machinery.

 

The sign now says vehicles over 4 tons empty weight 55 mph.

 

responding to a couple of posts in order......

Rookiedriver....
"Drivers need CDLs if they are in interstate, intrastate, or foreign commerce and drive a vehicle that meets one of the following definitions of a CMV:"

The operative word is "AND"... reading that sentence as writen, to require a CDL under FMCSA rules the driver of the vehicle only needs a CDL when the vehicle is actually engaged in commerce. Legally (in a simplistic way) that means the vehicle is on company time. If its being used for recreational purposes the driver wouldn't be required to have a CDL under that particular FMCSA rule. However....

As I stated before, be prepared for lots of grief if you get caught and knowing what I know about how law enforement officers generally think.. be prepared to get a ticket and have the vehicle at minimum put out of service until a CDL driver picks it up or at worst impounded and you possibly arrested for being an unlicensed driver. Just imagine the cost of fighting that even if you're right and the officer is wrong.


Hyper....

I'm curious about you winning a fight in an Ohio court under the circumstances you claim....

#1 Ohio hasn't had a 70mph speed limit anywhere in the state since 1973.. when you were 7, and well before the CDL went into effect in 1992.

#2 Ohio's 55 limit is based on vehicle weight of 8k lbs (regardless of vehicle use or driver's licensing) or any non-commercial bus regardless of weight. (A Greyhound can run 65, an 8 passenger van registered as a school or church bus, for instance, cannot)


Ohio Code 4511.11 (C) It is prima-facie unlawful for any person to exceed any of the speed limitations in divisions (B)(1)(a), (2), (3), (4), (6), (7), and (8) of this section, or any declared pursuant to this section by the director or local authorities and it is unlawful for any person to exceed any of the speed limitations in division (D) of this section. No person shall be convicted of more than one violation of this section for the same conduct, although violations of more than one provision of this section may be charged in the alternative in a single affidavit.

(C)(3) If a motor vehicle weighing in excess of eight thousand pounds empty weight or a noncommercial bus as prescribed in division (B)(11) of this section, at a speed exceeding fifty-five miles per hour upon a freeway as provided in that division;

exception. Ohio Turnpike 80/90 speedlimit is (was?) 65 across the board in an effort to relieve traffic on US 20 (in reality to generate revenue by getting more trucks/RV's to pay the toll)