CERTAIN VEHICLE INDORSEMENTS
House Bill 5172
Sponsor: Rep. Joanne Voorhees
Committee: Transportation
Complete to 12-28-99
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 5172 AS INTRODUCED 12-7-99
House Bill 5172 would amend the Michigan Vehicle Code to exempt police officers who operate authorized emergency vehicles from the provisions of the code that require vehicle indorsements on operators' or chauffeurs' licenses when drivers operate certain kinds of vehicles.
Under Michigan law, drivers must pass different kinds of tests to get group A, B, or C vehicle designations on their driver's licenses, a designation that generally depends on the weight and configuration of the vehicles the driver intends to operate. Further, vehicle indorsements on a driver's license are needed to operate certain kinds of vehicles: a 't vehicle indorsement' when pulling double trailers; an 'n vehicle indorsement' when operating a tank vehicle; an 'h vehicle indorsement' when hauling hazardous materials; or, an 'x code' when a combined vehicle indorsement is required, for example in the instance when one drives a tank vehicle carrying hazardous wastes which would require the driver to have both an 'n' and an 'h' indorsement.
Currently firefighters who operate an authorized emergency vehicle and who meet the driver training standards of the Michigan fire fighters' training council are exempt from these provisions of the vehicle code. House Bill 5172 would extend this exemption to police officers.
In addition, out-dated provisions of the law concerning class 1, class 2, and class 3 indorsements would be deleted.
MCL 257.312e
Analyst: J. Hunault