(a) Except as specified in subdivision (b), the owner of the following commercial vehicles shall maintain proof of financial responsibility in the amount required by the director:

(1) A vehicle used to carry passengers for hire, except taxicabs as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 27908.

(2) A vehicle having an unladen weight of over 7,000 pounds which is used in the transportation of property in the conduct of a business.

(b) Subdivision (a) does not apply to the following vehicles:

(1) A schoolbus.

(2) A motor vehicle used by a farmer exclusively in the transportation of his or her livestock, implements of husbandry, and agricultural commodities or in the transportation of supplies to his or her farm.

(3) A motor vehicle used by a resident farmer of this state to occasionally transport from the place of production to a warehouse, regular market, place of storage, or place of shipment the farm products of neighboring farmers in exchange for like services, farm products, or other compensation.

(4) A vehicle used in for-hire transportation which is subject to regulation by the Public Utilities Commission.

(5) A rented vehicle used for noncommercial transportation of property.

(c) The director shall establish the amounts which are determined adequate to cover damages resulting from the ownership or operation of a commercial vehicle or vehicles subject to this section arising by reason of personal injury to, or death of, any person or damage to property, or both. The director shall establish the amounts at levels equal to those prescribed by the Public Utilities Commission for owners and operators of for-hire vehicles subject to its jurisdiction and control.

(d) Proof of financial responsibility may be maintained by any of the following:

(1) Being insured under one or more motor vehicle liability policies against that liability.

(2) Obtaining a bond of the same kind, and containing the same provisions, as those bonds specified in Section 16434.

(3) By depositing with the department five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), which amount shall be deposited in a special deposit account with the Controller for the purpose of this section.

(4) Qualifying as a self-insurer under Section 16053.

(e) The department shall return the deposit made pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) to the person entitled thereto when the owner is no longer required to maintain proof of financial responsibility as required by this section or upon the owner’s death.

(f) An insurer, agent, or broker who has been incorrectly informed by an owner of a vehicle or his or her representative that the vehicle is 7,000 pounds or less unladen weight, or is incorrectly informed by the owner or his or her representative that the vehicle is exempt from the requirements of subdivisions (a) and (c) pursuant to the exemptions set forth in subdivision (b), may issue a policy of motor vehicle liability insurance in any amount less than that required by the director but not less than the amounts required under Section 16451. The policy of motor vehicle liability insurance when issued shall not be deemed to provide liability coverage amounts greater than that specifically set forth in the policy notwithstanding that the vehicle weighs in excess of 7,000 pounds unladen weight or is subsequently used in a manner which would have required the vehicle to be insured in the amounts established by the director pursuant to subdivision (c).

(Amended by Stats. 1989, Ch. 1157, Sec. 24.)