(a) State Routes and Miller Road.
(1) No person shall operate or move a vehicle or combination of vehicles of a size or weight of vehicle or load exceeding the maximum specified in Ohio R.C. Chapter 5577, or otherwise not in conformity with Ohio R.C. Chapter 4513, upon any State route within the Municipality or on Miller Road, except pursuant to a special written permit issued by the Ohio Director of Transportation, in the case of State routes, or the Director of Public Safety, in the case of Miller Road. Every such permit shall be carried in the vehicle or combination of vehicles to which it refers and shall be open to inspection by any police officer.
(2) No holder of a permit issued by the Ohio Director of Transportation shall be required to obtain any local permit or license or pay any local fee or charge for movement on any State route within the Municipality.
However, no person shall operate any such vehicle or combination of vehicles upon any roadway within the Municipality which is not a State route, except as may be otherwise provided in any local ordinance or regulation or elsewhere in this Traffic Code.
(b) Local Streets. No person shall operate a vehicle exceeding a size as specified in Section 440.02 or exceeding a gross weight of five tons, upon any street in the Municipality other than State routes and Miller Road, except those local streets designated as a truck route and marked as such by appropriate traffic signs, and except when such operation is necessary to load or unload property, to go to or from the usual place of storage of such vehicle or to perform any other legitimate business or act other than passage through the Municipality. Operators of vehicles so deviating from either a State route or a designated truck route within the Municipality shall confine such deviation to that required in order to accomplish the purpose of the departure.
(c) Local Permit and Conditions.
(1) Upon application and for good cause, the Director of Public Safety may issue a local permit authorizing an applicant to move an oversize or overweight vehicle or combination of vehicles upon local streets and highways.
(2) No permittee shall be required to obtain a special permit from the Ohio Director of Transportation for the movement of the vehicle or combination of vehicles on streets or highways under local jurisdiction. However, the approval of the Ohio Director of Transportation shall be required for movement upon State routes as provided in division (a) of this section.
(3) The Director of Public Safety may grant a permit for a single or round trip, or for such period of tame, not to exceed one year, as the Director in has or her discretion deems advisable, or for the duration of any construction project. The Director may limit or prescribe terms or conditions of operation for such vehicle or combination of vehicles by designating the route, hours, speed or such other restrictions as may be necessary for the preservation of the public peace, property, health and safety. The Director may require the posting of bond or other security necessary to compensate for any damage to a roadway or road structure.
(4) For each such permit, the Director shall charge ten dollars ($10.00), and for each hour of time or any part thereof spent by the Police Division in supervising the movement of such vehicle, the applicant shall pay the sum of fifteen dollars ($15.00).
(5) Except as provided in divisions (a) and (b) of this section, streets and highways shall be posted with signs indicating "no thru trucks - gross weight 5 tons" or words of similar import to apprise drivers of the limitations imposed by this section. No driver shall disobey the instructions indicated on any such sign.
(6) Violation of any of the limitations, terms or conditions of the permit granted by the Director shall be cause for immediate revocation or suspension of such permit and denial of request for any future permit. Such violation shall also subject the violator to the penalties prescribed by Sections 408.01 and 408.02.
(Adopting Ordinance)
(d) Penalty. Whoever violates the weight provisions of this section shall be fined eighty dollars ($80.00) for the first 2,000 pounds or fraction thereof of overload. For overloads in excess of 2,000 pounds, but not in excess of 5,000 pounds, such person shall be fined one hundred dollars ($100.00), and, in addition thereto, one dollar ($1.00) per 100 pounds of overload. For overloads in excess of 5,000 pounds, but not in excess of 10,000 pounds, such person shall be fined one hundred and thirty dollars ($130.00), and, in addition thereto, two dollars ($2.00) per 100 pounds of overload, or imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both. For all overloads in excess of 10,000 pounds, such person shall be fined one hundred sixty dollars ($160.00), and, in addition thereto, three dollars ($3.00) per 100 pounds of overload, or imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both. Whoever violates the weight provisions of vehicle and load relating to gross load limits shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00). No penalty prescribed under this section shall be imposed on any vehicle combination if the overload on any axle does not exceed 1,000 pounds, and if the immediately preceding or following axle, except the front axle of the vehicle combination, is underloaded by the same or a greater amount. For purposes of this section, two axles on one vehicle less than eight feet apart shall be considered as one axle.
(Ord. 4-91. Passed 1-28-91.)
Statutory reference:
State law concerning permits to exceed load limits, see Ohio R.C. 4513.34