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(A) (1) When one vehicle is towing another vehicle, the drawbar or other connection shall be of sufficient strength to pull all the weight towed thereby, and the drawbar or other connection shall not exceed 15 feet from one vehicle to the other, except the connection between any two vehicles transporting poles, pipe, machinery, or other objects of structural nature which cannot readily be dismembered.
(2) When one vehicle is towing another and the connection consists only of a chain, rope, or cable, there shall be displayed upon such connection a white flag or cloth not less than 12 inches square.
(3) In addition to such drawbar or other connection, each trailer and each semitrailer which is not connected to a commercial tractor by means of a fifth wheel shall be coupled with stay chains or cables to the vehicle by which it is being drawn. These chains or cables shall be of sufficient size and strength to prevent the towed vehicle's parting from the drawing vehicle in case the drawbar or other connection should break or become disengaged. In case of a loaded pole trailer, the connecting pole to the drawing vehicle shall be coupled to the drawing vehicle with stay chains or cables of sufficient size and strength to prevent the towed vehicle's parting from the drawing vehicle.
(4) Every trailer or semitrailer, except pole and cable trailers and pole and cable dollies operated by a public utility as defined in R.C. § 5727.01, shall be equipped with a coupling device which shall be so designed and constructed that the trailer will follow substantially in the path of the vehicle drawing it, without whipping or swerving from side to side. Vehicles used to transport agricultural produce or agricultural production materials between a local place of storage and supply and the farm, when drawn or towed on a street or highway at a speed of 25 miles per hour or less, and vehicles designed and used exclusively to transport a boat between a place of storage and a marina, or in and around a marina, when drawn or towed on a street or highway for a distance of no more than ten miles and at a speed of 25 miles per hour or less, shall have a drawbar or other connection, including the hitch mounted on the towing vehicle, which shall be of sufficient strength to pull all the weight towed thereby. Only one such vehicle used to transport agricultural produce or agricultural production materials as provided in this section may be towed or drawn at one time except as follows:
(a) An agricultural tractor may tow or draw more than one such vehicle;
(b) A pickup truck or straight truck designed by the manufacturer to carry a load of not less than one-half ton and not more than two tons may tow or draw not more than two such vehicles that are being used to transport agricultural produce from the farm to a local place of storage. No vehicle being so towed by such a pickup truck or straight truck shall be considered to be a motor vehicle.
(R.C. § 4513.32) ('73 Code, § 72.23)
(B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.
(R.C. § 4513.99)
(C) Exception to size and weight restrictions.
(1) The size and weight provisions of this chapter and R.C. Chapter 5577 do not apply to a any of the following:
(a) A person who is engaged in the initial towing or removal of a wrecked or disabled motor vehicle from the site of an emergency on a public highway where the vehicle became wrecked or disabled to the nearest site where the vehicle can be brought into conformance with the requirements of this chapter and R.C. Chapter 5577, to the nearest storage facility, or to the nearest qualified repair facility;
(b) A person who is en route to the site of an emergency on a public highway to remove a wrecked or disabled motor vehicle;
(c) A person who is returning from delivering a wrecked or disabled motor vehicle to a site, storage facility, or repair facility as specified in division (C)(1)(a) of this section.
(2) Any subsequent towing of a wrecked or disabled vehicle shall comply with the size and weight provisions of this chapter and R.C. Chapter 5577.
(3) No court shall impose any penalty prescribed in R.C. § 5577.99 or the civil liability established in R.C. § 5577.12 upon a person who is operating a vehicle in the manner described in division (C)(1) of this section.
(R.C. § 5577.15)
Weight of load; width of tire. No person, firm or corporation shall transport over the improved public streets, alleys, intercounty highways, state highways, bridges or culverts in this municipality, in any vehicle propelled by muscular, motor or other power, any burden, including weight of vehicle and load, greater than the following:
(A) (1) In vehicles having metal tires three inches or less in width, a load of 500 pounds for each inch of the total width of the tire on all wheels;
(2) When the tires on such vehicles exceed three inches in width, an additional load of 800 pounds shall be permitted for each inch by which the total width of the tires on all wheels exceeds 12 inches.
(B) In vehicles having tires of rubber or other similar substance, for each inch of the total width of tires on all wheels, as follows:
Tire Width Load Limit
(in inches) (in pounds)
3 450
3½ 450
4 500
5 600
6 and over 650
(C) The total width of tires on all wheels shall be, in the case of solid tires of rubber or other similar substance, the actual width in inches of all such tires between the flanges at the base of the tires, but in no event shall that portion of tire coming in contact with the road surface be less than two-thirds the width so measured between the flanges.
(D) In the case of pneumatic tires, of rubber or other similar substance, the total width of tires on all wheels shall be the actual width of all such tires, measured at the widest portion thereof when inflated and not bearing a load.
(E) In no event shall the load, including the proportionate weight of vehicle that can be concentrated on any wheel, exceed 650 pounds to each inch in width of the tread as defined in this section for solid tires, for each inch in the actual diameter of pneumatic tires measured when inflated and not bearing a load.
(R.C. § 5577.03) ('73 Code, § 71.39)
(A) All trucks passing through the city, not making pick-ups, deliveries or service calls on side streets, shall use only Harrison Avenue, North Bend Road, Glenmore Avenue south of Harrison Avenue, Bridgetown Road and Westwood Northern Boulevard for purposes of entering and leaving the city. The side streets shall not be used except for pick-up, delivery and service call purposes, or when special permit is authorized and given by the Safety-Service Director.
(B) It shall be unlawful to operate any commercial four axle truck or other commercial vehicle or vehicle train having four or more axles on the following streets in the city: Harrison Avenue, North Bend Road, Glenmore Avenue south of Harrison, Bridgetown Road and Westwood Northern Boulevard for the purpose of passing through the city, not making pick-ups, deliveries or service calls within the city.
(C) Any street or thoroughfare not specifically listed in division (B) of this section shall not be traversed by commercial trucks or commercial vehicles in excess of 20,000 pounds gross vehicle weight. (Gross vehicle weight includes total weight of both vehicle and load.)
(D) Divisions (A), (B) and (C) of this section shall not preclude pick-ups, deliveries and service calls including multiple pick-ups, deliveries and service calls within the city. Nor shall this section preclude pick-ups, deliveries and service calls including multiple pick-ups, deliveries and service calls within the immediate proximity of the city, providing that the vehicle used in performing said service shall be operated over the most direct and reasonable route.
(E) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this section, it shall be unlawful to operate any vehicle of any type on Bruestle Avenue and Meyerfeld from Wardall to the Post Office in excess of five tons except when special permit is given by the Safety-Service Director.
(F) This section shall not apply to commercial buses and school buses traveling on a fixed or regular route and shall not apply to municipal and utility vehicles.
(G) As utilized in this section, SERVICE CALL shall mean the performance of work at a site, and the movement to or from that site by vehicles normally used in the performance of the work, or in transporting materials, equipment, tools, and personnel to and from the site, and shall include the dispatch from and the return of such a vehicle to the location at which is it stored, serviced or awaits assignment.
(H) The Safety-Service Director is hereby directed to place signs adequately indicating the restrictions contained in this section.
(I) This section shall apply to both the owner and operator of any commercial vehicle. Any owner or operator of any vehicle violating this section shall be fined upon conviction of not more than $100 plus court costs for a first offense. For any subsequent offense, the owner or operator of any vehicle which violates this section shall be fined upon conviction of not more than $1,000 plus court costs.
(J) Whenever a driver has been arrested or cited for a violation of any provision of this section, the officer making such arrest shall immediately notify, in writing, the person, firm, association, or corporation in whose name the vehicle is registered of the fact of such arrest or citation. Such notification shall describe the vehicle involved, the name of the driver or operator thereof, and the time, place, and nature of the offense committed. The police department shall keep a separate file with respect to all citations and warning citations issued under this section.
(Ord. 1502, passed 3-5-91) Penalty, see § 70.99
(A) Any police officer having reason to believe that the weight of a vehicle and load is unlawful is authorized to require the driver to stop and submit to a weighing of the same either by means of portable or stationary scales, and may require that the vehicle be driven to the nearest public scales.
(B) Whenever the officer upon weighing a vehicle and load, as above provided, determines that the weight is unlawful, the officer 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 such limit as permitted under the traffic code.
('73 Code, § 71.41)
(A) The maximum wheel load of any one wheel of any vehicle, load, object or structure operated or moved upon improved public highways, streets, bridges or culverts shall not exceed 650 pounds per inch width of pneumatic tire, measured as prescribed by R.C. § 5577.03.
(B) The weight of vehicle and load imposed upon the said surface by vehicles with pneumatic tires shall not exceed any of the following wright limitations:
(1) On any one axle, 20,000;
(2) On any tandem axle, 34,000;
(3) On any two or more consecutive axles, the maximum weight as determined by application of the formula provided in division (D) of this section.
(C) The maximum overall gross weight of vehicle and load imposed upon the road surface shall not exceed 80,000 pounds.
(D) For purposes of division (B)(3) of this section, the maximum gross weight of any two or more consecutive axles shall be determined by application of the following formula:
W = 500(LN/N-1) + 12N + 36)
In this formula, W equals the overall gross weight on any group of two or more consecutive axles to the nearest 500, L equals the distance in feet between the extreme of any group of two or more consecutive axles, and N equals the number of axles in the group under consideration. However, two consecutive sets of tandem axles may carry a gross load of 34,000 pounds each, provided the overall distance between the first and last axles of such consecutive sets of tandem axles is 36 feet or more.
(E) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, when a vehicle is towing another vehicle, such drawbar or other connection shall be of a length such as will limit the spacing between nearest axles of the respective vehicles to a distance not in excess of 12 feet and six inches.
(F) As used in this section, TANDEM AXLE means two consecutive axles whose centers may be included between parallel transverse vertical planes spaced more than 40 inches but not more than 96 inches apart, extending across the full width of the vehicle.
(G) Whoever violates the weight provisions of the above divisions shall be fined $100 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 $150, and in addition thereto one dollar per 100 pounds of overload; for over loads in excess of 5,000 pounds, but not in excess of 10,000 pounds, such person shall be fined $200 and in addition thereto two dollars per 100 pounds of overload, or imprisoned not more than 30 days, or both. For all overloads in excess of 10,000 pounds such person shall be fined $250, and in addition thereto three dollars per 100 pounds of overload, or imprisoned not more than 30 days, or both. Whoever violates the weight provisions of vehicle and load relating to gross load limits shall be fined not less than $200. No penalty prescribed in this division shall be imposed on any vehicle combination if the overload does not exceed 1,000 pounds, and if the immediately preceding or following axle, excepting the front axle of the vehicle combination, is under loaded by the same or a greater amount. For purposes of this division, two axles on one vehicle less than eight feet apart, shall be considered as one axle.
(Ord. 1605, passed 12-21-93) Penalty, see § 70.99
The maximum weight of a motor vehicle including load shall not exceed the maximum gross vehicle weight as rated by the manufacturer. The manufacturers gross vehicle weight listed on the vehicle identification plate shall be acceptable as the manufacturers statement as to the vehicles gross vehicle weight rating.
(Ord. 1605, passed 12-21-93) Penalty, see § 70.99