Vehicles: farm vehicles.

Existing law exempts certain farm vehicles from registration if they have and display an identification plate, including a truck tractor or truck tractor and semitrailer combination, as specified, that is operated on highways only incidental to a farming operation and exclusively in the production or harvesting of melons, as specified. Existing law prohibits these vehicles from being operated in excess of 25 miles per hour on highways and authorizes the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol to prohibit the vehicles from operating on specific routes, as specified. This bill would provide a similar exemption for a truck tractor or truck tractor and semitrailer combination, as specified, that is operated on highways only incidental to a farming operation and exclusively in the hauling of onions, as specified. The bill would provide that the vehicle shall only be operated by a farmer, an employee of the farmer, or a contracted employee of the farmer between one part of a farm to another part of that farm, or from one farm to another farm, on a highway for a distance not to exceed 10 miles from the point of origin of the trip.