The following untangles the confusion about meaning of a commercial motor vehicle by discussing several ways to determine whether the vehicle that hit you is considered a commercial vehicle. A commercial motor vehicle (CMV) is any vehicle used to transport goods or passengers for the profit of an individual or business. CMVs can include garbage trucks, pickup trucks, snow plow, salt truck, box trucks, semi-trucks, vans, coaches, buses, taxicabs, trailers, and travel trailers. However, to be subject to the federal motor carrier safety regulations, the commercial motor vehicle must fall into one of the criteria set forth in the regulations.
Generally, a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) is one that is operated for commercial, or business, purposes. In contrast, a driver operating a vehicle for personal reasons is not consider commercial because it lacks the business purpose. Sometimes, the truck may have placards of the business or may be owned by a business, which would generally automatically make the pick-up truck a commercial vehicle, but not necessarily regulated by the stringent federal motor carrier safety regulations.
An ordinary pickup truck can be considered a commercial vehicle under the federal regulations even though it is not a semi-truck or big-rig truck under certain circumstances. The following criteria found in definition §390.5 of federal motor carrier safety regulations make the vehicle subject to the safety regulations:
If the smaller vehicle meets one of the above criteria then all of the federal motor carrier safety regulations apply to the vehicle. If you have been injured by a commercial vehicle, call our experienced and skilled commercial vehicle lawyers for a free consultation to protect and pursue your legal rights.
Federally regulated commercial vehicles are required to have $1,000,000 in liability coverage in the event you are injured in an accident with a CMV. The additional benefits are the driver and vehicle will be required to have complied with the stringent federal motor carrier safety regulations.
Pick-up trucks that fall in the definition of CMVs under the federal safety regulations must be reflected on the FMCSA registration (MCS-150). The business is required to make sure both the driver and the vehicle meet all of the applicable safety regulations.
The vehicle and trailer attached are subject to these federal motor carrier safety regulations:
In addition, the driver of a vehicle regulated by the federal safety regulations, including a pickup truck, must have a complete driver’s qualification file. In addition, the business may be required to install an electronic logging device (ELD) in the vehicle, unless it qualifies for one of the exceptions. However, an exception to the ELD requirements may not remove all Hour of service requirements.
ELDs exceptions used for pickups may include:
Don’t make the mistake of failing to analyze and determine the kind of vehicle that injured you because the federal safety regulations may be extremely important to your compensation settlement or verdict. Our experienced Michigan truck accident law firm will decide if the vehicles that hurt you and drivers are subject to the federal safety regulations. We don’t limit ourselves to the big rigs. Commercial motor vehicle come in a many shapes and sizes, and are used for variety of business activities, not just transporting freight. We always compare the vehicle or vehicle combination (vehicle and trailer together) against the definition of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in §390.5. Our law firm specializes in large heavy truck accidents and we know the purpose of the federal regulations are to protect you and guarantee insurance coverage for your injuries.
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