Any police officer having reason to believe that the weight of a vehicle and its load is unlawful may require the driver of the vehicle to stop and submit to a weighing of it by means of a compact, self- contained, portable sealed scale specially adapted to determining the wheel loads of vehicles on highways; a sealed scale permanently installed in a fixed location, having a load-receiving element specially adapted to determining the wheel loads of highway vehicles; a sealed scale, permanently installed in a fixed location, having a load-receiving element specially adapted to determining the combined load of all wheels on a single axle or on successive axles of a highway vehicle or a sealed scale adapted to weighing highway vehicles, loaded or unloaded.
The driver of such vehicle shall, if necessary, be directed to proceed to the nearest available of such sealed scales to accomplish the weighing, provided such scales are within three miles of the point where such vehicle is stopped. Any vehicle stopped in accordance with this section may be held by the police officer for a reasonable time only to accomplish the weighing as prescribed by this section. All scales used in determining the lawful weight of a vehicle and its load shall be annually compared by a municipal, county or State sealer with the State standards or standards approved by the State, and such scales shall not be sealed if they do not conform to the State standards or standards approved by the State.
At each end by a permanently installed scale, there shall be a straight approach in the same plane as the platform, of sufficient length and width to insure the level positioning of vehicles during weight determinations. During determination of weight by compact, self-contained, portable sealed scales, they shall be used on terrain of sufficient length and width to accommodate the entire vehicle being weighed.
Whenever such 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 is necessary to reduce the weight of such vehicle to the limit permitted under Ohio R.C. 5577.01 to 5577.14, inclusive, and this chapter.
(ORC 4513.33)