Section 12527 Of Article 1. Persons Required To Be Licensed, Exemptions, And Age Limits From California Vehicle Code >> Division 6. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 1.
12527
. In addition to satisfying all requirements specified in this
code and regulations adopted pursuant to this code, an applicant for
an ambulance driver certificate shall satisfy all of the following
requirements:
(a) Except as otherwise provided, every ambulance driver
responding to an emergency call or transporting patients shall be at
least 18 years of age, hold a driver's license valid in California,
possess a valid ambulance driver certificate, and be trained and
competent in ambulance operation and the use of safety and emergency
care equipment required by the California Code of Regulations
governing ambulances.
(b) Except as provided in subdivision (f), no person shall operate
an ambulance unless the person has in his or her immediate
possession a driver's license for the appropriate class of vehicle to
be driven, and a certificate issued by the department to permit the
operation of an ambulance.
(c) An ambulance driver certificate may be issued by the
department only upon the successful completion of an examination
conducted by the department and subject to all of the following
conditions:
(1) An applicant for an original or renewal driver certificate
shall submit a report of medical examination on a form approved by
the department, the Federal Highway Administration, or the Federal
Aviation Administration. The report shall be dated within the two
years preceding the application date.
(2) An applicant for an original driver certificate shall submit
an acceptable fingerprint card.
(3) The certificate to drive an ambulance shall be valid for a
period not exceeding five years and six months and shall expire on
the same date as the driver's license. The ambulance driver
certificate shall be valid only when both of the following conditions
exist:
(A) The certificate is accompanied by a medical examination
certificate that was issued within the preceding two years and
approved by the department, Federal Highway Administration, or
Federal Aviation Administration.
(B) A copy of the medical examination report from which the
certificate was issued is on file with the department.
(4) The ambulance driver certificate is renewable under conditions
prescribed by the department. Except as permitted under paragraphs
(2) and (3) of subdivision (d), applicants renewing an ambulance
driver certificate shall possess certificates or licenses evidencing
compliance with the emergency medical training and educational
standards for ambulance attendants established by the Emergency
Medical Service Authority.
(d) (1) Every ambulance driver shall have been trained to assist
the ambulance attendant in the care and handling of the ill and
injured.
Except as provided in paragraph (2), the driver of a
California-based ambulance shall, within one year of initial issuance
of the driver's ambulance driver certificate, possess a certificate
or license evidencing compliance with the emergency medical training
and educational standards established for ambulance attendants by the
Emergency Medical Service Authority. In those emergencies requiring
both the regularly assigned driver and attendant to be utilized in
providing patient care, the specialized emergency medical training
requirement shall not apply to persons temporarily detailed to drive
the ambulance.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to an ambulance driver who is a
volunteer driver for a volunteer ambulance service under the
circumstances specified in this paragraph, if the service is provided
in the unincorporated areas of a county with a population of less
than 125,000 persons, as determined by the most recent federal
decennial census. The operation of an ambulance under this paragraph
shall only apply if the name of the driver and the volunteer
ambulance service and facts substantiating the public health
necessity for an exemption are submitted to the department by the
county board of supervisors and by at least one of the following
entities in the county where the driver operates the ambulance:
(A) The county health officer.
(B) The county medical care committee.
(C) The local emergency medical services agency coordinator.
(3) The information required by paragraph (2) shall be submitted
to the department at the time of application for an ambulance driver
certificate. Upon receipt of that information, the department shall
restrict the certificate holder to driving an ambulance for the
volunteer ambulance service.
(4) The director may terminate any certificate issued pursuant to
paragraph (2) at any time the department determines that the
qualifying conditions specified therein no longer exist.
(5) The exemption granted pursuant to paragraph (2) shall expire
on the expiration date of the ambulance driver certificate.
(e) A person holding a valid certificate to permit the operation
of an ambulance, issued prior to January 1, 1991, shall not be
required to reapply for a certificate to satisfy the requirements of
this section until the certificate he or she holds expires or is
canceled or revoked.
(f) An ambulance certificate is not required for persons operating
ambulances in the line of duty as salaried, regular, full-time
police officers, deputy sheriffs, or members of a fire department of
a public agency. This exemption does not include volunteers and
part-time employees or members of a department whose duties are
primarily clerical or administrative.