Bill 3622

                    Current Status

Bill Number:               3622
Ratification Number:       619
Act Number                 500
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                   Limitations on lengths of vehicles

(A500, R619, H3622)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 56-5-4070 AND 56-5-4140, AS AMENDED, AND SECTION 56-5-4160, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO LENGTH OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND COMBINATIONS THEREOF AND THE WEIGHING OF VEHICLES AND LOADS THEREON, SO AS TO PROVIDE LOAD AND WEIGHT EXEMPTIONS; TO PROVIDE THAT MOTOR VEHICLES SHALL NOT EXCEED SIXTY FEET IN LENGTH; TO PROVIDE MAXIMUM LENGTHS FOR TRAILERS AND TO INCREASE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Limitations on lengths of vehicles

Section 1. Section 56-5-4070 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 411 of 1978, is further amended to read:

"Section 56-5-4070. No motor vehicle shall exceed a length of forty feet extreme overall dimension, inclusive of front and rear bumpers and load carried thereon, and any motor vehicle in excess of thirty-five feet shall have not less than three axles, except buses with two axles approved by the Department. No combination of vehicles coupled together shall consist of more than two units, except that a combination of vehicles coupled together or especially constructed to transport motor vehicles in a truckaway or driveaway service may tow up to three saddle mounts. No such combination of vehicles shall exceed a length of sixty feet, inclusive of front and rear bumpers and load carried thereon unless specially permitted. Any combination of vehicles and load greater than sixty feet in length shall only be moved on highways during daylight hours.

Trailers or semitrailers used within such combinations shall not exceed a length of forty-five feet except that trailers used to transport high volume, low mass loads of no more than twelve tons shall not exceed a length of forty-eight feet and auto transporters shall be excluded from trailer limitations. Any truck-trailer equipment manufactured on or before the effective date of this act and operating legally on South Carolina highways may continue to operate within the fifty-five foot length. Compressors and fuel saving equipment on the front or loading devices on the rear of trailers or semitrailers shall not be considered when determining their length for purposes of this section if the overall length limitations of combinations of vehicles is not exceeded. Any trailer which exceeds the limits of this section which is licensed in South Carolina and lawfully in use on the effective date of this act may be used for the life of the equipment if ownership is not changed and the overall length limitations of combinations of vehicles is not exceeded."

Exceptions

Section 2. Section 56-5-4140 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 569 of 1976, is further amended by adding at the end:

"(3) Except on the interstate highway system, dump trucks, dump trailers, concrete mixing trucks, fuel oil trucks, line trucks and trucks designated and constructed for special type work or use shall not be made to conform to the axle spacing requirements of this section but such vehicle shall be limited to a weight of twenty thousand pounds per axle plus scale tolerances and that the maximum gross weight of such vehicles shall not exceed the maximum weight allowed by this section for the appropriate number of axles, irrespective of the distance between axles, plus allowable scale tolerances.

Except on the interstate highway system, concrete mixing trucks which operate within fifteen miles of their home base shall not be required to conform to the requirements of this section but such vehicles shall be limited to a maximum load of the rated capacity of the concrete mixer, the true gross load not to exceed sixty-six thousand pounds. All such vehicles shall have at least three axles, each with brake-equipped wheels."

Weighing vehicles and loads--penalties

Section 3. Section 56-5-4160 of the 1976 Code is amended to read: "Section 56-5-4160. (a) Any officer or agent of the Department having reason to believe that the weight of a vehicle and load is unlawful may require the driver to stop and submit to a weighing of the vehicle and load either by means of portable or stationary scales and may require that the vehicle be driven to the nearest public scales. Whenever an officer upon weighing a vehicle and load determines that the weight is unlawful, he may require the driver to stop the vehicle in a suitable place and remain standing until such portion of the load is removed as may be necessary to reduce the gross weight of the vehicle to the limits permitted under this chapter. All material so unloaded shall be cared for by the owner or operator of the vehicle at his own risk.

Any person who operates a vehicle on a public highway whose weight is in excess of the limits imposed by Sections 56-5-4130 or 56-5-4140 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than thirty days. In determining whether or not the limits established by Section 56-5-4130 or 56-5-4140 have been exceeded, all scaled weights of the gross weight of vehicles and combinations of vehicles shall be deemed to be not closer than ten percent to the true gross weight, except as otherwise provided in Section 56-5-4140.

(b) The owner of any vehicle found to exceed the limits imposed by Section 56-5-4130 or 56-5-4140 shall pay to the Department for deposit in the state highway fund for each pound in excess of the gross weight limitation an assessment based on the following scale:

(1) One cent per pound for the first seven thousand five hundred pounds or any part thereof.

(2) Two cents per pound for the next three thousand pounds or any part thereof.

(3) Three cents per pound for the next four thousand five hundred pounds or any part thereof.

(4) Five cents per pound for each pound in excess of fifteen thousand pounds.

The assessment may be deposited with the arresting officer or anyone else the Department may designate. The assessment shall be deposited in full or other arrangements satisfactory to the Department for payment shall be made before the operator shall be allowed to move the vehicle. In the event that there is no conviction the assessment shall be returned to the owner promptly.

The term 'conviction' as used in this section shall also include the entry of any plea of guilty or nolo contendere and the forfeiture of any bail or collateral deposited to secure a defendant's presence in court."

Time effective

Section 4. This act shall take effect upon approval by the Governor.