Can Commercial Motor Vehicles Carry Passengers?

Most of the time, when a person uses the term “commercial motor vehicle (CMV),” they are talking about large commercial trucks like tractor-trailers or box trucks. In truth, both the state and federal definition of a CMV include vehicles that carry passengers, or carry both passengers and cargo. If you have been involved in a crash with a passenger CMV like a tour bus or coach, its status can affect the ultimate outcome of your case.

Definitions Differ Slightly

The U.S. federal government’s definition of a commercial motor vehicle is any non-governmental vehicle carrying “property or passengers” in interstate commerce that meets certain specific criteria, among them, a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,001 pounds or more OR any vehicle carrying hazardous materials requiring a placard. Florida’s definition is similar, but it requires a GVWR of 26,001 pounds or more, among other slight differences.

If a passenger vehicle seeks to qualify as a CMV, it must carry at least 8 passengers for compensation, or 15 for free under federal regulations (in Florida, it must carry 15 or more people, period). The reason this may matter in an accident case has to do with determining the correct defendant or defendants against whom to file suit. Filing suit against a sole proprietor who crashes his tour bus will be very different from filing suit against Greyhound, which has thousands of vehicles in its fleet.

Potential For Multiple Defendants

Accidents involving a passenger CMV like a minibus or a coach can lead to serious harm, up to and including spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), and blunt force trauma. If you believe that the negligence of the CMV driver was a direct cause of your injuries, you have the right to seek money damages for what you have experienced, as long as your injuries are serious enough to bypass the state’s injury threshold. In other words, if your injuries are not minor enough to be dealt with via no-fault insurance claims, you may file suit against the allegedly culpable person.

If the vehicle in your accident qualifies as a CMV, this often means that you will be able to file suit against not only an allegedly negligent driver, but their employer as well. If the driver can be shown to have acted within the scope of their employment at the time of the accident, their employer will be on the proverbial hook under a theory known as vicarious liability. An employer is not always responsible for their employees’ actions, but it is found liable more often in cases such as these.

Contact A Tampa CMV Accident Attorney

Being involved in an accident with a commercial motor vehicle is always frightening simply because most CMVs are so much larger and heavier than the average passenger car. If this has happened to you, a Tampa truck accident attorney from the Rinaldo Law Group may be able to help get you what you deserve. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.

Source:

fmcsa.dot.gov/faq/what-difference-between-commercial-motor-vehicle-cmv-and-non-cmv