Mississippi House passes 'Jesus Take the Wheel Act'

[guno]

Mississippi lawmakers are once again tackling the big issues in the state. The highest poverty rate of any state in the country? Hahahaha ... no. The second-highest high school dropout rate in the country? No, no. The second-highest teen pregnancy rate in the country? Awww, hell no.

What is more pressing than extreme poverty? Well, the Mississippi House did pass a bill (HB 132), nicknamed the "Jesus Take the Wheel Act", that would exempt churches from commercial driver's license requirements:



When contacted by The Clarion-Ledger, longtime CDL-certified driver Troy Coll of Hattiesburg called the measure potentially dangerous.

"I think this bill is trading the safety of everyone on the road for the convenience of those operating church vehicles," Coll said. "Since the bill covers vehicles up to 30 passengers, we're not just talking vans with extra rows of seats – these are buses, with long frames and much larger blind spots than passenger vehicles."

Mississippi House passes Jesus Take the Wheel Act

 

[DriftingSand]

Cool ... a law that reduces governmental, regulatory powers. I likes it!

 

[Old Rocks]

OK. And when one of their drivers with inadaquete experiance takes out a car, I hope it is you.

 

[DriftingSand]

OK. And when one of their drivers with inadaquete experiance takes out a car, I hope it is you.

Driving a church van is no different than you driving a pick up truck or a Lincoln Continental. If a driver of a church van should be required to have a "commercial driver's license" then so should you!

 

[Old Rocks]

If it allows them to drive a 30 passenger bus, yes, it is differant. I have driven a 32 passenger bus, and it is not at all like driving a large van.

 

[DriftingSand]

If it allows them to drive a 30 passenger bus, yes, it is differant. I have driven a 32 passenger bus, and it is not at all like driving a large van.

Most drivers of Church vehicles are volunteers and not on a payroll (or they're paid very little). I have a class A, double-triple, tanker, HazMat license and they're not cheap to obtain or maintain.

 

[Flopper]

Mississippi lawmakers are once again tackling the big issues in the state. The highest poverty rate of any state in the country? Hahahaha ... no. The second-highest high school dropout rate in the country? No, no. The second-highest teen pregnancy rate in the country? Awww, hell no.

What is more pressing than extreme poverty? Well, the Mississippi House did pass a bill (HB 132), nicknamed the "Jesus Take the Wheel Act", that would exempt churches from commercial driver's license requirements:



When contacted by The Clarion-Ledger, longtime CDL-certified driver Troy Coll of Hattiesburg called the measure potentially dangerous.

"I think this bill is trading the safety of everyone on the road for the convenience of those operating church vehicles," Coll said. "Since the bill covers vehicles up to 30 passengers, we're not just talking vans with extra rows of seats – these are buses, with long frames and much larger blind spots than passenger vehicles."

Mississippi House passes Jesus Take the Wheel Act

State legislatures often get to a point where all important legislation is tied up in committees or otherwise delayed so in order to appear busy, they go after low impact legislation.

 

[rightwinger]

OK. And when one of their drivers with inadaquete experiance takes out a car, I hope it is you.

Driving a church van is no different than you driving a pick up truck or a Lincoln Continental. If a driver of a church van should be required to have a "commercial driver's license" then so should you!

You have a 30 passenger pickup truck?

 

[DriftingSand]

OK. And when one of their drivers with inadaquete experiance takes out a car, I hope it is you.

Driving a church van is no different than you driving a pick up truck or a Lincoln Continental. If a driver of a church van should be required to have a "commercial driver's license" then so should you!

You have a 30 passenger pickup truck?

Sure ... hope in.

 

[DriftingSand]

OK. And when one of their drivers with inadaquete experiance takes out a car, I hope it is you.

Driving a church van is no different than you driving a pick up truck or a Lincoln Continental. If a driver of a church van should be required to have a "commercial driver's license" then so should you!

You have a 30 passenger pickup truck?

By the way ... having a commercial license doesn't assure that accidents driving commercial vehicles won't occur. The rules of the road are the same for commercial and non-commercial drivers. Now if a driver is hauling HazMat or a liquid tanker truck then special training should be required.

 

[guno]

OK. And when one of their drivers with inadaquete experiance takes out a car, I hope it is you.

Driving a church van is no different than you driving a pick up truck or a Lincoln Continental. If a driver of a church van should be required to have a "commercial driver's license" then so should you!

You have a 30 passenger pickup truck?

Maybe a trailer park limousine

 

[Papageorgio]

OK. And when one of their drivers with inadaquete experiance takes out a car, I hope it is you.

Driving a church van is no different than you driving a pick up truck or a Lincoln Continental. If a driver of a church van should be required to have a "commercial driver's license" then so should you!

Unless the van holds 15 or less, you are not required to have a CDL or follow DOT regulations. 16 people or more require a CDL and the vehicle falls under DOT regulations.

The laws are helpful to make sure the vehicle and the driver, which is responsible for every life in that vehicle, are safe and not a road hazard.

 

[Papageorgio]

If it allows them to drive a 30 passenger bus, yes, it is differant. I have driven a 32 passenger bus, and it is not at all like driving a large van.

Most drivers of Church vehicles are volunteers and not on a payroll (or they're paid very little). I have a class A, double-triple, tanker, HazMat license and they're not cheap to obtain or maintain.

Have the church foot the bill.

 

[DriftingSand]

OK. And when one of their drivers with inadaquete experiance takes out a car, I hope it is you.

Driving a church van is no different than you driving a pick up truck or a Lincoln Continental. If a driver of a church van should be required to have a "commercial driver's license" then so should you!

Unless the van holds 15 or less, you are not required to have a CDL or follow DOT regulations. 16 people or more require a CDL and the vehicle falls under DOT regulations.

The laws are helpful to make sure the vehicle and the driver, which is responsible for every life in that vehicle, are safe and not a road hazard.

Most churches don't have full sized buses. Most have E350 vans or something equivalent. But your post begs the question: If a bus driver has 15 passengers on one day and 16 passengers on the next how will does that extra passenger suddenly make the driver a hazard to other drivers simply because he doesn't have a commercial license?

 

[DriftingSand]

If it allows them to drive a 30 passenger bus, yes, it is differant. I have driven a 32 passenger bus, and it is not at all like driving a large van.

Most drivers of Church vehicles are volunteers and not on a payroll (or they're paid very little). I have a class A, double-triple, tanker, HazMat license and they're not cheap to obtain or maintain.

Have the church foot the bill.

As guno pointed out in the OP ... there's not a lot of money floating around Mississippi and most churches are of the small town variety and are on tight budgets. The bottom line is this: we have too much government regulation in every aspect of our lives. It's a breath of fresh air to see a regulation taken away.

 

[Papageorgio]

OK. And when one of their drivers with inadaquete experiance takes out a car, I hope it is you.

Driving a church van is no different than you driving a pick up truck or a Lincoln Continental. If a driver of a church van should be required to have a "commercial driver's license" then so should you!

Unless the van holds 15 or less, you are not required to have a CDL or follow DOT regulations. 16 people or more require a CDL and the vehicle falls under DOT regulations.

The laws are helpful to make sure the vehicle and the driver, which is responsible for every life in that vehicle, are safe and not a road hazard.

Most churches don't have full sized buses. Most have E350 vans or something equivalent. But your post begs the question: If a bus driver has 15 passengers on one day and 16 passengers on the next how will does that extra passenger suddenly make the driver a hazard to other drivers simply because he doesn't have a commercial license?

Any van that is designated as holding 16 people or more or have an air braking system need to follow the DOT laws and regulations, if the van has 1 passenger and it's designed for 16, DOT requires a CDL driver.

 

[Missourian]

If it allows them to drive a 30 passenger bus, yes, it is differant. I have driven a 32 passenger bus, and it is not at all like driving a large van.

But you can get a giant U-haul truck with your class D license.

Manufactured outrage that hasn't been thought through all the way.


30 passenger bus:

U-haul truck that you can rent with your standard class D license:

 

[Stephanie]

Oh well, don't move there you don't like their laws

 

[Missourian]

Here's the relevant information from U-haul's FAQ:

Do I need a special driver's license to rent a truck?

No. U-Haul trucks are not considered commercial vehicles. U-Haul requires our customers to be 16 years of age to rent our trailers and 18 years of age to rent our trucks. Both require a valid driver's license.

The driver's license can be one of the following:
- Military
- One of the 50 states
- District of Columbia
- Canadian Province
- International or from a foreign country

U-Haul Frequently asked questions Truck rentals​

 

[Missourian]

Guno fail.

[/thread]