Section
Vehicle Weight Restrictions
70.01 Gross weight limitations
70.02 Gross load limitations for trailers equipped with metal tires; exceptions
70.03 Fees and charges
70.04 Enforcement authority; weighing and measurement regulations
70.05 Penalty
Off-Road Vehicles
70.10 Operation of all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles on highway
VEHICLE WEIGHT RESTRICTIONS
(A) Vehicles and loads. No vehicle or combination of vehicles shall have a gross weight in pounds, including the load, in excess of that derived from the table below in which the distance in feet shall be measured horizontally between the center lines of the first and the last axles of the vehicles or combination of vehicles. Gross weight limitations shall be as follows:
Distance Between Axles (feet) | Gross Weight (pounds) |
Distance Between Axles (feet) | Gross Weight (pounds) |
4 | 40,000 |
5 | 40,000 |
6 | 40,000 |
7 | 40,000 |
8 | 40,000 |
9 | 41,650 |
10 | 42,500 |
11 | 43,350 |
12 | 44,200 |
13 | 45,050 |
14 | 45,900 |
15 | 47,000 |
16 | 48,500 |
17 | 50,000 |
18 | 51,500 |
19 | 53,000 |
20 | 54,500 |
21 | 55,500 |
22 | 56,500 |
23 | 57,500 |
24 | 58,700 |
25 | 59,650 |
26 | 60,600 |
27 | 61,550 |
28 | 62,500 |
29 | 63,450 |
30 | 64,400 |
31 | 65,350 |
32 | 66,300 |
33 | 67,250 |
34 | 68,200 |
35 | 69,150 |
36 | 70,100 |
37 | 71,050 |
38 | 72,000 |
39 | 72,950 |
40 | 73,280 |
(B) Motor vehicles and combinations of vehicles. The gross weight of any motor vehicle or combination of vehicles may not exceed the following weights:
(1) Vehicles or combinations with not more than 3 axles: 55,000 pounds;
(2) Vehicles or combinations with 4 axles: 65,000 pounds;
(3) Vehicles or combinations with 5 axles as provided for herein: 73,280 pounds.
(C) The Board authorizes the increase of the gross maximum weight of a vehicle using any part of Table Rock Road and Wilson Run Road in Garrett County that is owned and maintained by the county not to exceed 80,000 pounds but may include a tolerance not exceeding 10%.
(1986 Code, § 248-2) (Ord. —, passed 8-30-1971; Am. Ord. 2005-24, passed 11-22-2005
)
Trailers equipped with metal tires bearing a gross load in excess of 6,000 pounds shall not be allowed on county highways, provided that nothing contained in this subchapter makes unlawful the registration or operation upon the highways of this state of any commercial motor vehicle or passenger bus now lawfully registered in this county.
(1986 Code, § 248-3) (Ord. —, passed 8-30-1971) (Ann. Code (1951), §§ 278 and 279; 1943, Ch. 1007, § 257; 1951, Ch. 311, § 254; 1953, Ch. 166; 1955, Chs. 204 and 443; 1963, Ch. 895; 1964, Ch. 192; 1965, Ch. 410; 1966, Ch. 720, § 4; 1967, Ch. 680; 1969, Ch. 534; 1970, Ch. 534, § 1)
(A) Oversize vehicles. A fee is imposed on every oversize motor vehicle using the highways of the county. The County Roads Supervisor may issue a permit for oversize motor vehicles using the highways of the county, and the permit shall specify the route to be followed and the hour and date on which passage is to be effected and the maximum size. The fee to be charged for the permit shall be $10, unless otherwise provided in this section.
(B) Overweight vehicles. A charge is imposed on the weight of all vehicles in excess of that permitted by law, and every vehicle having overweight shall secure a permit from the State Highway Administration, the charge for which shall be $10 for a gross weight not exceeding 45 tons. If the gross weight is in excess of 45 tons, the charge for the permit will be $10 for the first 45 tons and $1 for each additional ton in excess of 45 tons.
(1986 Code, § 248-5) (Ord. —, passed 8-30-1971)
(A) Authority of police officers.
(1) Any police officer having reason to believe the size or weight of a commercial motor vehicle and load being operated on a highway is unlawful may require the driver to stop and submit to a measurement or weighing, or both, of the vehicle by means of either portable or stationary scales or measuring devices in accordance with methods of weighing established by rules and regulations compiled by experts in the field of weights and measures.
(2) As used in this section, POLICE OFFICER means any uniformed police officer.
(Anno. Code (1951), § 278; 1951, Ch. 311, § 254; 1953, Ch. 166; 1955, Chs. 204 and 443; 1963, Ch. 895; 1964, Ch. 192; 1965, Ch. 410; 1966, Ch. 720, § 4; 1967, Ch. 680; 1969, Ch. 534; 1970, Ch. 534, § 1)
(B) Weighing and measurement procedures.
(1) Measurement or weighing of commercial vehicles. The driver of every commercial motor vehicle directed to do so by any sign or by any police officer shall stop his vehicle and submit it to measurement or weighing, or both, by means of either portable or stationary scales or measuring devices. Operation of the vehicle upon any highway of this state shall signify the consent of the driver and of the owner of the vehicle to submit to the measurement and weighing. The signs may be displayed only by officers and civilian employees of the Department of Maryland State Police or Sheriff’s Office assigned to enforce this subchapter.
(2) Removal of excess weight; first offense leniency for carriers of indivisible or perishable loads; tolerances for milk carriers. Whenever, upon the measuring or weighing of a vehicle and load, the vehicle is found to be in violation of the law, a police officer may require the driver to remove the excess weight if the overweight does not exceed 5,000 pounds. If the overweight exceeds 5,000 pounds, the vehicle must be unloaded until the vehicle complies with the applicable law before the vehicle can be moved, and all material or cargo so unloaded shall be cared for by the owner or operator of the vehicle at the risk of the owner or operator; provided, however, that on the first offense by a person operating a vehicle which has an indivisible load, the vehicle may be allowed to proceed after obtaining a permit from the County Roads Supervisor, but on second or subsequent offenses, the vehicle carrying the indivisible load must return to the place of entry or origin in the state after obtaining a permit from the County Roads Supervisor to do so and provided, further, that a vehicle violating the law and carrying as its full load perishable products shall for the first offense only by the person operating the vehicle, be allowed to proceed to the destination, but for a second or subsequent offense within any 1 calendar year, the products must be unloaded before the vehicle can be moved. Vehicles bearing valid registration plates issued by this state and transporting liquid milk in bulk from the producer may receive a 5% tolerance on the applicable registration or statutory gross weight limit, but in no event shall the registration or statutory gross weight limit, including the 5% tolerance, exceed a total of 73,280 pounds.
(3) Failure to stop and submit to measurement or weighing. Any driver who fails to stop and submit to measurement or weighing, as required by this section, or who fails to obey an order to drive upon scales as directed by a police officer shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(1986 Code, § 248-6) (Ord. —, passed 8-30-1971)
(A) Whoever shall violate a provision of this title for which no specific penalty is provided shall be punished as set forth in § 10.99.
(B) Upon conviction of any person for a violation of any provisions of §§ 70.01 et seq., the following fines shall be imposed:
(1) A loading error or tolerance of 1,000 pounds is allowable, and only weight in excess of the 1,000 pounds of tolerance shall be a violation. For a weight violation over the registered weight or any statutory weight limit, every pound of excess weight up to 5,000 pounds shall be imposed. The minimum fine shall be $20.
(2) For a weight violation in excess of 5,000 pounds over the registered weight or any statutory weight limit, a fine of $0.06 for each additional pound of excess weight over 5,000 pounds shall be imposed.
(C) Upon conviction for any violation, no fine shall be suspended or reduced, but, in computing the fine, a credit of any excess weight caused by an accumulation of cinders, snow or ice shall be given. If the vehicle being operated at the time the offense is committed is registered outside of Maryland or if the person responsible for the violation or the person operating the vehicle is a nonresident of the state, further proceedings shall be had as to the person, or the vehicle shall be impounded until the fine is paid or acceptable collateral posted. The impounding of the vehicle does not include the cargo, and the cargo shall not be held. If, after 90 days from the date the vehicle was impounded, the fine has not been paid or acceptable collateral posted, the court shall satisfy the fine, accrued interest and costs.
(Anno. Code (1951), § 278; 1951, Ch. 311, § 254; 1953, Ch. 166; 1955, Chs. 204 and 443; 1963, Ch. 895; 1964, Ch. 192; 1965, Ch. 410; 1966, Ch. 720, § 4; 1967, Ch. 680; 1969, Ch. 534; 1970, Ch. 534, § 1)
(1986 Code, § 248-5) (Ord. —, passed 8-30-1971)
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