Quote:
Originally Posted by ShortBus
Regarding CDL stuff: (somewhat off-topic) one thing I was wondering today is when a regular person buys a bus for personal use, do you need to have it certified by the DOT or anything? I've never seen DOT stickers in windshields of personal buses, so I suppose the DOT has absolutely nothing to do with personally-owned/retired buses.
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In our state there are lots of seldom enforced, but on-the-books laws pertaining to large vehicles. For instance...
169.75 FLARES, FLAGS, OR REFLECTORS REQUIRED.
blah...blah...blah...blah
Summary: If the GVWR or total gross weight of a single vehicle or combination of vehicles exceeds 10,000 lbs you need to be carrying flares. Are you going to tell me that Grandpa in his Winnabago is going to have flares with him all the time? How about the 1-ton truck owners out there? Are they going to have flares with them? The law says they need to based on the manufacturer's GVWR.
However, it has been revised enough now over the years to get rid of most of the confusion surrounding commercial vehicles versus non-commercial vehicles. If the bus is still outwardly equipped as a school bus (it doesn't say IS a school bus...just looks like one) it is supposed to have an inspection.
Interestingly enough the law also also says specifically "a bus" as another criteria for needing an inspection sticker. Now for those of us Minnesotans that register as RV's that's fine...we are exempted. But my bus came with "YB" plates which are gross weight bus plates. That would have meant I needed an inspection. Likewise I think someone like Jason with a private bus license, even from another state, would be subject to a roadside commercial motor vehicle inspection. One would hope he would be granted some immunity.
As a side note...non-commercial vehicles can also be spot checked on the side of the highway for safety. The inspection is not nearly as intense as a commercial motor vehicle inspection, but nevertheless, the chance is there. I know I experienced that more than once from officers that failed to believe my truck fell in accordance with Minnesota's lift laws. Coincidently it technically doesn't, but they only went by bumper restrictions. What's fun is getting inspected once and then showing the documentation of that inspection to anyone that pulls you over for the next 90 days. They can't do anything but tell you to have a nice day, legal equipment or not.