Is this the law

[dieselcrawler]

In my state, personal use is exempt from cdl/med card. However, even if driving your personal econo box beater car to the soccer game, if you have a class D (10k to 26k) commercial licence, or class A CDL, you MUST have your up to date med card on your person. The truck and load may not be the issue here, but the licence the driver involve has... plausible, in my mind.

 

[LD1]

Too much information missing / not revealed yet.

Was he actually towing commercially?
Does he actually hold a CDL of any class?
Dually truck....check. Assuming ~12k GVW
Trailer in tow...check. But what trailer? GN 24k? 14k bumper pull? single axle landscape trailer?
What was his purpose for towing? Was this personal use or was he indeed pulling equipment or something in the commercial sense to make money?

 

[Looking4new]

I could see that happening here in Ontario Canada. Just more disguised taxation in the name of "public safety".

I also think the cop is trying to fill up his ticket book and will do it with whatever bogus charge he can come up with. He is hoping your friend is sucker enough to just pay the ticket.

 

[TSO]

Any time you are pulling a trailer over 10,000 lbs, even if you are under 26,001 lbs combined... IF used in commerce... That is still considered a commercial vehicle.

A CDL is not required if under 26,001 but you still need a medical card.

The ticket was justified IF BEING USED IN COMMERCE.

Tell your buddy to set up a court date, go to his doctor and get a medical card, and bring that to the court. Have him explain to the judge that he was unaware of the law and he is sorry, but he has since acquired his medical card to be compliant. The judge will likely dismiss the ticket and give him a small Court fine for being there.

 

[LD1]

^^^^
Thats my understanding as well.

10k+ and used commercially = a CMV (commercial motor vehicle)

A CMV dont always require a CDL. But DOES require a Med card. Trailer or not. CDL required or not.

So as to the situation....

IF he was towing for personal use and not in a commercial truck (with numbers and stickers), he should NOT be cited
IF he was towing for commerce, and between 10k and 26k...he needs a med card and SHOULD be cited
IF he was towing for commerce and over 26k GCWR...he needs a CDL AND a med card and should be considered lucky he only got cited for med card.

 

[MacLawn]

What's a medical card? Y'all act as if everyone here knows about that. I've never heard of it.

 

[dieselcrawler]

'Med card', slang for DOT physical, passed and signed off by a doctor, saying no medical/physical limitations on your ability to operate a commercial vehicle.

 

[newbury]

<snip>

Dually truck....check. Assuming ~12k GVW
<snip>

Newer duallies are up to 14K GVWR in Ford.

And there were discussions on here years ago how the State troopers in Virginia could focus on GVWR's if you were towing any payload or not. Thus an empty truck with a 14k GVWR and an empty trailer with a 14K GVWR automatically exceeded the 26K limit.

 

[GLyford]

In MA a truck with "5 or more tires in contact with the ground" must be registered commercial, regardless of weight.

There was some guy on one of the ford forums that has been trying for like 8 years to get state reps to push back to
allow it for personal use...still hasn't happened.

Commercial vs. Non-Com Registrations in MA - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

It gets more complicated then because half the troopers see the commercial plate and ask where the med card, logbook,
commercial insurance, flares, chockblock, extinguisher, owner markings, DOT Number, etc. are, and the other half
understand the difference between commercial plate and commercial owned.

 

[Rock knocker]

Any time you are pulling a trailer over 10,000 lbs, even if you are under 26,001 lbs combined... IF used in commerce... That is still considered a commercial vehicle.

A CDL is not required if under 26,001 but you still need a medical card.

The ticket was justified IF BEING USED IN COMMERCE.

Tell your buddy to set up a court date, go to his doctor and get a medical card, and bring that to the court. Have him explain to the judge that he was unaware of the law and he is sorry, but he has since acquired his medical card to be compliant. The judge will likely dismiss the ticket and give him a small Court fine for being there.

My understanding is that you're close, but no cigar.
1) In any case, the vehicle must be in commercial use.
2) The vehicle must be heavier than 10,000 lbs GVWR
3) The commercial vehicle must be being used in interstae commerce
4) Or the commercial vehicle is being used and registered in a state where commercial vehicles must have a DOT number even when not in inter state commerce.
5) If (4) is operative, then state statute must require a medical card. Not all states require a medical card for drivers of non CDL commercial vehicles. The Feds always do.

 

[TSO]

My understanding is that you're close, but no cigar.
1) In any case, the vehicle must be in commercial use.
2) The vehicle must be heavier than 10,000 lbs GVWR
3) The commercial vehicle must be being used in interstae commerce
4) Or the commercial vehicle is being used and registered in a state where commercial vehicles must have a DOT number even when not in inter state commerce.
5) If (4) is operative, then state statute must require a medical card. Not all states require a medical card for drivers of non CDL commercial vehicles. The Feds always do.

No, i have the DOT book.

If a tow vehicle is over 10000 lbs, and/or towing a trailer over 10000 lbs, AND used for commerce... It is a commercial vehicle, and requires a med card.

If the tow vehicle is over 26000 lbs, and/or the combination (tow vehicle and trailer) is over 26000 lbs, AND used for commerce, a CDL is also required.

There are lots of additional info and requirements for different aspects of the laws, interstate vs intrastate... And i can read those out of the book too if you need lol... But this thread is asking about a ticket for not having a medical card. NHTSA (fed) laws apply.

NHTSA laws apply everywhere and most states adopt NHTSA into their own books, some states add additional laws on top.

 

[Rock knocker]

Federal law only applies when in inter state commerce unless the states incorporate their requirements into state statute. It once was that commercial vehicles (by definition a truck over 10,000 pounds) involved only in intra state commerce did not require DOT numbers, med cards and record keeping. The indivdual states could accept these rules in the whole and apply them to vehicles in intra state commerce.

This used to be my lively hood.

I have the applicable book and could read it to you. It is by the FMCSA and not the NHTSA, so sorry.

Everything I wrote is correct.

 

[Sprinklerman]

a cop can write a ticket for what ever he wants , its all up to the judge .

 

[kthompson]

I am in SC and fall had accident with me driving tractor and person passing as I was turning. Officer wrote the ticket after he said he called and asked what to do. Issue against me was the road was not marked for no passing zones which by law are still no passing zones per law. He said they are not marked so he charged me where the person was making illegal pass. What am I saying, they are human (officers) they can good up also. That is why there are jury trials. Here if rig had farm tags would have been no issue. No idea on CDL.

 

[TSO]

Federal law only applies when in inter state commerce unless the states incorporate their requirements into state statute. It once was that commercial vehicles (by definition a truck over 10,000 pounds) involved only in intra state commerce did not require DOT numbers, med cards and record keeping. The indivdual states could accept these rules in the whole and apply them to vehicles in intra state commerce.

This used to be my lively hood.

I have the applicable book and could read it to you. It is by the FMCSA and not the NHTSA, so sorry.

Everything I wrote is correct.

I'm sorry... I don't know why i said NHTSA (i have NHTSA books too, guess that was on my tongue) but i meant to say FMCSA (which i have also).

Medical card is required while operating commercial vehicle for commerce (trailer over 10k lbs) whether interstate or intrastate.

 

[DK35vince]

I'm sorry... I don't know why i said NHTSA (i have NHTSA books too, guess that was on my tongue) but i meant to say FMCSA (which i have also).

Medical card is required while operating commercial vehicle for commerce (trailer over 10k lbs) whether interstate or intrastate.

That's the way it is here. Pa.
We run intra state and the commercial vehicles require a Medical card.

 

[JK22]

OP says:

Location south west virginia

From:
https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/webdoc/pdf/dmv60.pdf

View attachment 506376

Bruce

Second section clearly says not a commercial vehicle if operated for personal use. If this officer was correct, then every RV operator would need a "medical card". Average weight of a class A motor home is around 20,000 lbs.

 

[JK22]

I'm also skeptical about a state trooper writing a ticket for a "federal law." Unless that federal law has a state counterpart or the trooper has been deputized as a federal DOT officer, neither the officer, nor a state court judge has jurisdiction to write a ticket or enforce the law.

 

[TSO]

Second section clearly says not a commercial vehicle if operated for personal use. If this officer was correct, then every RV operator would need a "medical card". Average weight of a class A motor home is around 20,000 lbs.

That's exactly what everyone's been saying already... "When used in commerce"

Legally, you can drive a semi as your personal vehicle, without having a CDL or medical card. It only applies when used in commerce.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

no I have had a CDL for many years and am aware of the weight limits. the reason I didn't put the state was the trooper said it was a federal law that if you transported anything with a combined weight over 10.000 lb you were required to have a medical card.

Troopers don't write tickets based on federal law. There are actually no federal laws about this, rather, there are federal regulations which the states follow. If there is a requirement to have a medical card, it will be in your state law, and the trooper should have noted the section of the law that you violated. Look at your ticket and see what he wrote down.

Note that federal regulations are only applicable to vehicles used in interstate commerce. The fed.gov has no authority to regulate driving within your state.

I did a quick check and I think the trooper is misapplying the CDL requirement:

All commercial drivers of vehicles in interstate commerce with a maximum gross vehicle weight rating of over 10,000 pounds (4,536 kilograms) are required to obtain and maintain a valid Medical Examiner's Certificate (ME Certificate)

Medical | Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Note that this is for commercial drivers licensees, not just anybody with a vehicle over 10k pounds. But since you have a CDL, this may apply to you.

Read your ticket.