Should RV drivers be required to have more than a regular license?

Question

I know drivers of 18 wheelers have to past all kind of test of both skill and knowledge. But I see alot of people (mostly ederly) driving these huge RVs and pulling a car behind. All they have to have are regular auto license. And ALOT don't know how to handle them!

Answer 1

YES! YES! YES!

RVs are huge and they don't handle like a car at all. Most people don't have experience with anything larger than a 1 ton pick up truck. I can't count the number of times I've watched an "experienced" RV driver do something dangerous just because they didn't understand the dynamics of the vehicle they're driving.

Answer 2

You asked a very good Question. The US law says you don't have to have a CDL if the vehicle is under 26,600lbs. most RVs are not over 26,600lbs. anyone age 16- + can drive anything under 26,600lbs with valid driver license. In my book yes they should do to the size of most RVs on the highway and the people behind the wheele,but the law is the law.

Answer 3

Most states require drivers of RVs over twenty feet to hold a class A or B License Depending on the weight of the Vehicle


CLASSES OF LICENSE

Class A: Any combination of vehicles with a G V W R of 26,001 or more pounds provided the G V W R of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.

Class B: Any single vehicle with a G V W R of 26,001 or more pounds or any such vehicle towing a vehicle not in excess of 10,000 pounds G V W R.

Class C: Any single vehicle or combination of vehicles, that does not meet the definition of Class A or Class B, but is either designed to transport 16 or more passengers including the driver, or is certified to carry hazardous materials.

Answer 4

This is an excellent question. In Mo. you only need a drivers license. I went out with this guy in his rv and was frightened most of the time we were on the road. He isn't even good driving a car.
He was all over the road. He was running off the edge of the road and it seemed he just needed some training. He bragged the entire trip how he could drive anything! HA I dropped him like a
hot potato.

Answer 5

In most states you do not need a special class of drivers license to drive an RV, even a giant one, and it's not only old people driving them, people of all ages can rent an RV's and drive it to the destination all because you only need a regular license to Drive this type of vehicle, is it dangerous for people to drive these types of vehicles?, oh yes, some people go rent and RV and have never driven a large vehicle in their life, most states have a guide book available from DMV or BMV, whatever your states calls their motor vehicles department.

The amazing thing is most people who are new to RV's and go out and buy one end up driving about 20 to 30 minutes with the sales man and then they are on their own after that, might I add that a salesman would never tell you that you’re a rotten driver, even if you almost killed him during the test drive, he wants to keep a feeling of joy and pleasure when he is selling you this giant highway weapon of mass destruction, so now you own this huge RV and you drive off the lot on your own, good luck the salesman says, as he waves you off (he whispers "your gonna need it").

Get this, it's hard to get people to take any kind of training when driving is concerned, and now you want some poor guy who can't afford lessons to spend a couple of thousand dollars of his hard earned money on lessons, gee (ding ding) he’s gonna need that money to fill up his giant gas tank, were talking dinosaur with engine mounted to it, its gonna eat a lot of gas per mile, don’t forget the generator takes gas too, my god it costs 200.00 bucks to fill that puppy up, maybe more, and the 1000.00 he pays each month for the payment for that RV, now add-in the insurance and who can leave on vacation with an empty refrigerator, oh don't forget about the propane, parking fee, luxuries taxes and a whole host of other fees he has not figured out yet, and you want this poor man to fork out more money, what makes you think YOUR LIFE is more important than the RV owner being able to enjoy his life, my god who’s the selfish one here?

Pondering................................................................

Answer 6

yes they should and I really think the RV rental places should look into driving tests for rentals I met an older gentleman this year driving a motor home the size of a school buss and he told me he had never driven anything larger than a small car in his entire life but when he rented the RV the only thing they told him was this is where you put the key, water, fuel.


buy the way I met him because he had backed into a car in a parking lot across the street form my shop

Answer 7

Depends on the size of the RV. I believe that a larger RV such as a Winnebago should require a commercial license. Especially since some of them are bigger than buses!

Answer 8

The irony behind this is the people who deliver RVs are required to have a commercial drivers license, but the people who sell them will sell them to anyone who can afford them. I see people who are at least 80 years old driving one of those things. Half the time people can't handle them.

Answer 9

/ All motorists might desire to have a valid driving force's license to function a vehicle of any form on the line. a valid driving force's license is a motorbike license for a motorbike or for a scooter with extra effective than 49cc of energy. A scooter of 49cc or much less, might desire to be genuinely equipped with headlight, tailight, turn indicators, and different permitted protection factors till now than being pushed on the line.

Answer 10

Anymore, most everything on the road over 20,000 GVW requires a license similar almost to a CDL. Anyone driving one of those bus conversions should definitely be required to have a CDL.