Are Kilimanjaro Safari drivers required to have a CDL?

[xcrunxc]

I recently saw a job posting from an amusement park near where I live. They were looking for drivers for their safari ride, and specified that the drivers had to have their commercial driver's license. This parks safari ride is very similar to Kilimanjaro Safari at Animal Kindgom, which made me wonder if the CMs at Animal Kingdom who drive the safari trucks are also required to have their CDL.

I tried searching for an answer to this question and came up blank. The best I can tell, a CDL is required for any vehicle that transports 16 or more passengers, and the Kilimanjaro Safari trucks hold 32. Perhaps this is different because the AK trucks never leave private property (then again, neither should the ones at my local park)? I am pretty sure I recall CP folks being give the role of a safari driver, and I can't imagine many of them having a CDL.

So, I turn to you for an answer to satiate my curiosity. Do Kilimanjaro Safari drivers need a CDL?

 

[Rob562]

I am 99.9% sure that the KS drivers do not have to have a CDL. They go through a lot of training, but not a CDL. I'm sure there's some kind of regulation loophole that's being used to cover it. It's also possible that your local park doesn't technically need CDLs either for their safari, but they decided to require it themselves.

-Rob

 

[jakeman]

I was a driver way back in 1999 as a seasonal (my college didn't do the College Program at that time). We did not have CDLs. I remember someone asking the same question and the reason given was because they did indeed not leave private property.

 

[Mark In KY]

CDLs are not mandated by any government agency for driving any type of vehicle on private property. However, I'm sure that now we've given them another "good" idea! LOL!!

 

[I_heart_Tigger]

I'm sure two cranes from 1998 would have preferred a more skilled driver.

 

[xcrunxc]

Thanks for the info all! I figured they didn't need their CDL.

Thinking about it more, since my park is seasonal I suppose it makes sense to hire only folks with a CDL so they don't have to train them up for a ~6 month season and the park knows they can basically put them right behind the wheel.

With KS being open year round, I would imagine training new drivers would be easier, rather than having to train entire new batches of employees every season. It's probably also cheaper for Disney to pay non-CDL drivers than to hire drivers with more training/experience.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I wouldn't think that they would need one, not because it's private property, but because it doesn't ever go on a publicly used highway and technically it's a theme park ride, not a mode of public transportation.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

I wouldn't think that they would need one, not because it's private property, but because it doesn't ever go on a publicly used highway and technically it's a theme park ride, not a mode of public transportation.

Exactly. Heck, I don't think they even need a regular driver's license for that matter.

 

[jakeman]

I'm sure two cranes from 1998 would have preferred a more skilled driver.

I think the drivers would have also preferred smarter cranes...