(a) No person shall operate a youth bus without having in possession a valid driver‘s license of the appropriate class, endorsed for passenger transportation and a certificate issued by the department to permit the operation of a youth bus.

(b) Applicants for a certificate to drive a youth bus shall present evidence that they have successfully completed a driver training course administered by or at the direction of their employer consisting of a minimum of 10 hours of classroom instruction covering applicable laws and regulations and defensive driving practices and a minimum of 10 hours of behind-the-wheel training in a vehicle to be used as a youth bus. Applicants seeking to renew a certificate to drive a youth bus shall present evidence that they have received two hours of refresher training during each 12 months of driver certificate validity.

Terms Used In California Vehicle Code 12523

  • bus: is a ny vehicle, including a trailer bus, designed, used, or maintained for carrying more than 15 persons including the driver. See California Vehicle Code 233
  • business: includes a proprietorship, partnership, corporation, and any other form of commercial enterprise. See California Vehicle Code 234
  • Department: means the Department of Motor Vehicles except, when used in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 2100) of Division 2 and in Divisions 11 (commencing with Section 21000), 12 (commencing with Section 24000), 13 (commencing with Section 29000), 14 (commencing with Section 31600), 14. See California Vehicle Code 290
  • driver: is a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See California Vehicle Code 305
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Highway: is a way or place of whatever nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See California Vehicle Code 360
  • instruction: includes classroom driver education, in-vehicle driver training, and correspondence study. See California Vehicle Code 310.6
  • Person: includes a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, limited liability company, or corporation. See California Vehicle Code 470
  • vehicle: is a device by which any person or property may be propelled, moved, or drawn upon a highway, excepting a device moved exclusively by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See California Vehicle Code 670
  • youth bus: is a ny bus, other than a schoolbus, designed for and when actually carrying not more than 16 persons and the driver, used to transport children at or below the 12th-grade level directly from a public or private school to an organized nonschool-related youth activity within 25 miles of the school or directly from a location which provides the organized nonschool-related youth activity to a public or private school within 25 miles of that location. See California Vehicle Code 680

(c) The driver certificate shall be issued only to applicants qualified by examinations prescribed by the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of the California Highway Patrol, and upon payment of a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25) for an original certificate and twelve dollars ($12) for the renewal of that certificate to the Department of the California Highway Patrol. The examinations shall be conducted by the Department of the California Highway Patrol. The Department of Motor Vehicles may deny, suspend, or revoke a certificate valid for driving a youth bus for the causes specified in this code or in regulations adopted pursuant to this code.

(d) An operator of a youth bus shall, at all times when operating a youth bus, do all of the following:

(1) Use seat belts.

(2) Refrain from smoking tobacco products.

(3) Report any accidents reportable under Section 16000 to the Department of the California Highway Patrol.

(e) A person holding a valid certificate to permit the operation of a youth bus, issued prior to January 1, 1991, shall not be required to reapply for a certificate to satisfy any additional requirements imposed by the act adding this subdivision until the certificate he or she holds expires or is canceled or revoked.

(f) For purposes of this section, “smoking” has the same meaning as in subdivision (c) of § 22950.5 of the Business and Professions Code.

(g) For purposes of this section, “tobacco product” means a product or device as defined in subdivision (d) of § 22950.5 of the Business and Professions Code.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, 2nd Ex. Sess., Ch. 7, Sec. 27. (SB 5 2x) Effective June 9, 2016.)

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