Persons exempted from commercial driver license (CDL) requirements
are:
(1) A person operating a vehicle that is controlled
and operated by a farmer which is used to transport agricultural products,
farm machinery, or farm supplies to or from a farm and which is not
used in the operations of a common or contract carrier and used within
150 miles of the person's farm.
(A) Under this exemption, a rancher is considered a
farmer.
(B) A farmer and his farmhands are equally exempt when
the farmhands are in the employ of the farmer.
(C) One who purchases a crop in a field and only harvests
and transports the produce, but takes no part in the planting and
cultivating of the product, is not considered a farmer.
(D) One who purchases acres of growing timber and cultivates
and harvests it over a period of months or years is considered a farmer.
(2) A person operating a fire fighting or emergency
vehicle necessary to the preservation of life or property or the execution
of emergency governmental functions, whether operated by an employee
of a political subdivision or by a volunteer fire fighter, or a fire
fighter employed by a private company, for example, a refinery. This
would not exempt operators of vehicles used by utility companies.
(A) Drivers of industrial emergency response vehicles,
including an industrial ambulance are exempt only if the vehicle is
operated in compliance with criteria established by the Texas Industrial
Fire Training Board or the State Firemen's and Fire Marshall's Association
of Texas.
(B) Drivers of public or private ambulances are exempt
only if they have been issued a license by the Department of State
Health Services.
(C) Electric company employees repairing downed power
lines are not exempt.
(3) A person operating a military vehicle or a commercial
motor vehicle, when operated for military purposes by military personnel,
members of the reserves and national guard on active duty (including
personnel on full-time national guard duty), personnel on part-time
training duty, and national guard military technicians. This exemption
includes the operation of vehicles leased by the United States government
for use by the military branches of government.
(4) A person operating a vehicle that is a recreational
vehicle that is driven for personal use.
(A) For purposes of this exemption recreational vehicle
means a vehicular type unit primarily designed as temporary living
quarters for recreational camping or travel use that either has its
own motive power or is mounted on or towed by another vehicle.
(B) This exemption includes travel trailers, camping
trailers, truck campers, and motor homes.
(5) A person operating a vehicle that is owned, leased,
or controlled by an air carrier, as defined by Texas Transportation
Code, §21.155(d), and that is driven or operated exclusively
by an employee of the air carrier only on the premises of an airport,
as defined by Texas Transportation Code, §22.001(2), on service
roads to which the public does not have access.
(6) A person operating a vehicle used exclusively to
transport seed cotton modules or cotton burrs.
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