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The following opinion is presented on-line for informational use only and does not replace the official version. (Mich Dept of Attorney General Web Site - www.ag.state.mi.us) STATE OF MICHIGAN FRANK J. KELLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL Opinion No. 5847 January 23, 1981 LICENSES: Chauffeur's licenses MOTOR VEHICLES: Service or repair vehicles--licensing of driver Service or repair persons who operate motor vehicles to carry their tools and transport parts or appliances only incidentally in connection with that employment need not be licensed as chauffeurs. The Honorable Michael J. O'Brien State Senator The Capitol Lansing, Michigan You have requested my opinion on the following question: Must service or repair persons who drive vehicles in conjunction with their employment, but are principally employed in servicing and repairing appliances, etc., at their destination, be licensed as chauffeurs? The Michigan Vehicle Code, 1949 PA 300; MCLA 257.1 et seq; MSA 9.1801 et seq, Sec. 6 (the Michigan Vehicle Code hereafter), defines the term 'chauffeur' for purposes of the Code: "Chauffeur' means every person who is employed for the principal purpose of operating a motor vehicle and every person who drives a motor vehicle while in use as a public or common carrier of persons or property. A person shall be deemed to be employed for the principal purpose of operating a motor vehicle when such employment customarily involves the necessary use of a motor vehicle for hire or transporting passengers for hire, or transporting for gain or hire any merchandise for display, sale or delivery: Provided, That a farmer or an employee of such farmer operating a vehicle exclusively in connection with the farming operations of such farmer shall not be deemed a chauffeur.' [Emphasis added.] The requirements for licensing as a chauffeur are more stringent than those for licensing as an operator. Michigan Vehicle Code, supra, Sec. 303, provides that persons 14 years of age or older may be issued restricted operator's licenses, and that persons 16 years of age may be issued operator's licenses upon completion of a driver education course. Michigan Vehicle Code, supra, Sec. 303(b), prohibits the issuance of a chauffeur's license to a person who is 17 years of age or less. In the Michigan Vehicle Code, supra, Sec. 309, the legislature has provided for the examination of applicants for operator or chauffeur licensing. Both applicant's must pass the same eye test. Both are required to be road tested when applying for original licenses. While both applicants must pass written tests, the tests differ. Presently, the chauffeur licensing test incorporates the basic operator licensing test plus additional questions specifically relating to the operation of trucks, carrying of loads and flammable liquids, permissible height of vehicles and safety questions peculiar to larger vehicles. It is also to be noted that it is the nature of the particular vehicle operator's activities which is determinative of the necessity for his being licensed as a chauffeur, and not the type of the vehicle driven by the operator. At issue is which persons are required by statute to obtain a chauffeur's license. While Michigan Vehicle Code, Sec. 6, supra, states in its first sentence that the person required to have a chauffeur's license must be 'employed for the principal purpose of operating a motor vehicle,' this sentence is defined and modified by the subsequent sentence: '. . . A person shall be deemed to be employed for the principal purpose of operating a motor vehicle when such employment customarily involves the necessary use of a motor vehicle for hire or transporting passengers for hire, or transporting for gain or hire any merchandise for display, sale or delivery.' Michigan Vehicle Code, Sec. 6, supra. [Emphasis added]. The licensing of chauffeurs has been discussed in a number of opinions of this office which were reviewed in OAG, 1961-1962, No 4108, pp 601, 603 (December 10, 1962). When addressing the second sentence of Michigan Vehicle Code, Sec. 6, supra, OAG, 1961-1962, No 4108, supra, p 601, 603, concluded: 'However, by a later opinion it was held that the second sentence added by the 1939 amendment to the original definition of the term 'chauffeur' was not intended to restrict the generally accepted meaning of that term, but was for the purpose of providing statutory illustrations. The opinion concluded that a private chauffeur employed for the principal purpose of operating a motor vehicle was required to be licensed as such. That construction of the definition is, in my opinion, consistent with the legislative intent. . . .' [Emphasis added.] In accord with OAG, 1961-1962, No 4108, supra, pp 601, 603, service or repair persons operating vehicles in order to perform their duties as service or repair personnel are not 'employed for the principal purpose of operating a motor vehicle . . .' Such driving, while being done in conjunction with their employment, is incidental to and not the principal purpose of the employment. There is not a transport for gain of any merchandise for sale or delivery as is required by the second sentence of Michigan Vehicle Code, Sec. 6, supra. The incidental carriage of parts or appliances for service or repair to be done does not constitute the customary transportation of merchandise for sale or delivery by the service or repair operator of the motor vehicle requiring licensure as a chauffeur. It is my opinion, therefore, that service or repair persons who transport appliances or parts only incidentally in conjunction with that employment need not be licensed as chauffeurs. Frank J. Kelley Attorney General
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