Driving the Crew: California's Farm Labor Vehicle Rules

Every harvest season, vans and buses carry crews between labor camps, towns and fields up and down the valley and the Central Coast. The state regulates those vehicles closely, and for good reason: a crowded van on a two-lane farm road at dawn is a serious responsibility. If you own one, drive one, or are thinking of carrying coworkers in your own vehicle for pay, these are the rules that apply.

What counts as a farm labor vehicle

Vehicle Code section 322 defines a farm labor vehicle as any motor vehicle designed, used or maintained to transport nine or more farmworkers, in addition to the driver, to or from a place of employment or employment-related activities. A farmworker is anyone working for pay in producing or harvesting farm products. Two kinds of vehicle are excluded: one carrying only members of the owner's or driver's immediate family, and one operating under specific authority from the Public Utilities Commission or a transit agency.

A van carrying eight workers is not a farm labor vehicle under that definition. That does not make it a personal errand, though, and the insurance questions below still apply.

Inspection and the certificate

Under section 31401, the state inspects every farm labor vehicle at least once a year, and no one may drive one unless a certificate is displayed inside showing that an authorized employee inspected it on a date within 13 months and found it compliant. The CHP runs that program, and its farm labor vehicle page explains that registration will not be issued or renewed without the inspection certification. The CHP can also inspect these vehicles at maintenance yards, labor camps and other private property.

Seats and seat belts

Section 31405 requires a seat belt meeting federal standards at every passenger position in a certified farm labor vehicle, and the CHP will not issue an initial certificate to a vehicle without them. The owner must keep every belt and anchorage in good working order, and, with limited exceptions, no one may drive the vehicle on a highway unless the driver and all passengers are wearing their belts. Seats themselves must meet the federal seating standard, so homemade benches are out.

Who may drive

Section 12519 sets the driver requirements: a license for the right class of vehicle, endorsed for passenger transportation, and, when carrying farmworker passengers, a certificate permitting operation of farm labor vehicles. A permanent certificate requires completing an approved driver training course, and the examinations are conducted by the CHP.

On the road, farm labor vehicles carrying passengers must also stop at every railroad crossing before going over, like school buses do, so drivers behind them should expect it.

Why the personal policy is not the answer

A personal auto policy is written and priced for personal use. Policies commonly exclude carrying people for a fee and limit business use to what was disclosed, though the wording varies by insurance company. Transporting a paid crew is commonly a commercial auto question, and if you work through a farm labor contractor or a grower, ask what coverage applies to the vehicle you drive. Injuries to workers riding to or from a job can also raise workers' compensation questions that belong with the employer's advisor.

The same caution applies to the foreman who carries four or five coworkers in a personal pickup and takes gas money. Tell your insurer how the vehicle is used, because an undisclosed use is exactly the kind of thing that turns a claim into a dispute.

If you are not sure whether your vehicle is insured for the way it is really used, you can ask a licensed agent and get a straight answer.