(TRENTON) –New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Charles M. Kuperus
and New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission
Chief Administrator Sharon A. Harrington
today announced that New Jersey and Pennsylvania
have signed an agreement allowing operators
of farm vehicles to drive their vehicles
across state borders.
The reciprocal agreement recognizes each state’s exemption from the commercial
drivers license requirement for farmers, enabling farmers to drive their vehicles
into the other state without being cited.
The “Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986” requires a person
who operates a vehicle that has a gross weight rating in excess of 26,000, carries
15 or more passengers or transports hazardous materials to have a commercial
drivers license (CDL). However, states have the authority to exempt certain drivers,
including operators of farm vehicles, from the CDL requirement, which both New
Jersey and Pennsylvania have done.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations limit use of the CDL
exemptions for the operators of farm vehicles to the driver’s home state
unless there is a reciprocity agreement with adjoining states.
The CDL exemption applies to vehicles controlled and operated by farmers, their
employees or family members that are used to transport agricultural products,
farm machinery or both to and from a farm, provided they are within 150 miles
of their farms.
Dialogue continues with the other states within 150 miles of New Jersey that
have not yet signed reciprocity agreements with the Garden State.
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