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On Nevada's CDL, is there an air brake endorsement? Or is it a restriction? In Arizona, there is no air brake endorsment, only an air brake restriction. It might seem like minutiae, but I think there is an important difference in most cases.
This article says what I would say better than I could -
http://illinoistruckcops.org/?p=758
I came looking for this article that I posted a link to 7 years ago, but now the link no longer works. I found another similar blog post type write up that sums up what the old link said.
www.donahuetrucks.net
I will paste the text of the article here in case this new link goes bad at some point in the future as well -
"CDL Clarification - Air Brake Restriction
There has been some confusion as to whether a CDL is required when driving a truck with air brakes. The CDL is NOT required unless the vehicle has a GVWR or a GCWR of 26,001 lbs. or more; is designed to transport 16 or more passengers (including the driver); or hauls hazardous materials requiring placards. For example, a person can drive a straight truck with a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,000 (under 26,001 lbs.) with air brakes, and no CDL is required. The "air brake" reference is commonly thought of as an "endorsement". It is NOT an endorsement, but rather a "restriction" that states if an applicant either fails the air brake component of the knowledge test, or performs the skills test in a vehicle not equipped with air brakes, the State shall indicate on the CDL that the person is restricted from operating a CMV equipped with air brakes. As further clarification, the regulations REQUIRING a CDL do NOT include any reference to air brakes; they only require a CDL for a vehicle in the following categories (§383.91 Commercial motor vehicle groups):
(a)(1) Combination vehicle (Group A) -- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight rating (GCWR) of 11,794 kilograms or more (26,001 pounds or more) provided the GVWR of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds).
(a)(2) Heavy Straight Vehicle (Group B) -- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 11,794 kilograms or more (26,001 pounds or more), or any such vehicle towing a vehicle not in excess of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) GVWR.
(a)(3) Small Vehicle (Group C) -- Any single vehicle, or combination of vehicles, that meets neither the definition of Group A nor Group B, as contained in this section, but that either is designed to transport 16 or more passengers including the driver, or is used in the transportation of materials found to be hazardous for the purposes of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act and which require the motor vehicle to be placarded under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (49 CFR part 172, subpart F)."
I am no lawyer, and this is someone's opinion, but I agree with it and I believe it makes sense.
Edit -
Remembering that the internet wayback machine is a thing, I've found the text of the original link here -
https://web.archive.org/web/20200813120204/http://illinoistruckcops.org/?p=758
This is the text in case it isn't available in the future -
"Legendary golfer
Arnold Palmer once said “golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated”. Many times when confronted with understanding a dynamic concept, our brain over-complicates things. Instead of just standing back and looking at the big picture, we make a puzzle out of it and try to fit pieces into places they do not belong. A common place to see this manifested is figuring how airbrakes play into commercial driver’s licenses.
Braking is obviously a critical system on heavy trucks. Those who are going to drive trucks requiring CDL’s need to demonstrate their ability to understand these systems in a vehicle representative to what they will be driving in the real world…and herein lies the confusion.
It is not uncommon to hear someone say “that truck has airbrakes…you need a CDL to operate it” or “you can’t drive that truck without an airbrake
endorsement”. Both of these statements are incorrect. Airbrakes do not make a truck CDL worthy and there is no such thing as an airbrake endorsement.
If a driver desires a Class-B CDL, he will need to test in a
representative straight truck. If he wants to obtain his Class-A, then he will need to test in a
representative combination of vehicles. But he is NOT required to test in vehicles with airbrakes. However, if the testing vehicles are representative of the class of CDL desired, but neither vehicle has airbrakes, the
Secretary of State will put an “L”
restriction on the license.
Here’s an example: picture a large 2-axle dump truck commonly used by landscapers that only requires a Class-C non-CDL license…like an
International 4700 series. Sometimes these trucks pull larger tag trailers that now put the combination in the Class-A CDL category…yet neither vehicle has airbrakes. A potential CDL driver can use this combination of vehicles to test for his Class-A CDL. If he is successful, he will obtain his Class-A with the “L” restriction. However, he cannot use his new found CDL to drive other CDL vehicles that have airbrakes simply because he has a CDL. If he would like to lift the “L” restriction and lawfully operate a CDL worthy truck with airbrakes, he must go back to the SOS and pass a battery of tests in a representative vehicle to prove his operational knowledge.
The “L” restriction for airbrakes only applies when the CDL holder is operating a vehicle requiring a CDL. There are trucks manufactured with airbrakes that do not require a CDL at all. In these cases, a CDL holder with an “L” restriction may operate this vehicle because the restriction does not apply.
Why is this an issue deserving discussion? In the event a driver is operating a CDL vehicle without a being classified or endorsed properly, the Illinois Vehicle Code prescribes a misdemeanor charge (
625 ILCS 5/6-507-A-3). Many local police departments require officers to make a custodial arrest of the driver for misdemeanor traffic offenses. This may include towing and impounding the truck, fingerprinting, mug shots, and assignment of criminal State and Federal ID numbers. That is big deal. However, if a CDL driver is indeed violating an airbrake restriction, it is only a petty offense (
625 ILCS 5/6-113).
A minor traffic offense can easily become an unlawful arrest situation due to a lack of understanding. There’s no need to complicate things."
