[VAL] Florida law - FHP response (no personal comments)

["Peter Ryner" <pryner@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

FHI, Following is what I received after contacting the Florida Governor's
office.
Pete

Governor Bush received your email and has asked us to respond on his behalf
regarding when a Class D license is required.

Technically, a Class D license is required for pickup trucks having a GVWR
of 8,000 pounds or more.  Section 322.54 (2d), Florida Statutes, states that
"Any person, except a person who possesses a valid Class A, valid Class B,
or valid Class C driver's license, who drives a truck or a truck tractor
having a gross vehicle weight rating, a declared weight, or an actual
weight, whichever is greatest, of 8,000 pounds or more but less than 26,001
pounds, or which has a width of more than 80 inches must possess a valid
Class D driver's license.  Any person who possesses a valid Class D driver's
license may, subject to the appropriate restrictions and endorsements, drive
any type of motor vehicle, other than the type of motor vehicle for which a
Class A, Class B, or Class C driver's license is required, within this
state."

Sport utility vehicles, like the Hummer, Chevrolet Suburban, Ford
Expedition/Excursion are considered passenger vehicles and not trucks for
purposes of licensing pursuant to Section 320.08, Florida Statutes
(available online at www.leg.state.fl.us).  Therefore, a Class D license is
not required to drive one of these types of vehicles.

We believe the intent of the statute was not to require drivers of personal
pickup trucks or sport utility vehicles to obtain a Class D license.  The
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles plans to seek legislative
approval to eliminate the Class D license during next year's legislative
session.  If approved, questions previously used in Class D driver license
testing would be incorporated in the Class E test questions.

In the meantime, we are asking our troopers not to enforce this law until
appropriate legislative changes are made.

Thank you for writing.

Sincerely,

Colonel Christopher A. Knight
Director
Florida Highway Patrol