Bill Text: AZ HB2251 | 2016 | Fifty-second Legislature 2nd Regular | Chaptered
Bill Title: Commercial motor vehicles
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2016-03-18 - Chapter 52 [HB2251 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2016-HB2251-Chaptered.html
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Senate Engrossed House Bill |
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State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-second Legislature Second Regular Session 2016
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CHAPTER 52
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HOUSE BILL 2251 |
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AN ACT
amending title 28, chapter 3, article 17, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 28‑985; amending sections 28‑1095, 28-1099, 28-1100, 28-2239, 28-2267 and 28-3312, arizona revised statutes; relating to commercial motor vehicles.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 28, chapter 3, article 17, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 28-985, to read:
28-985. Interstate movement of household goods inspection; rules
The department of public safety is authorized to regulate interstate movement of household goods as outlined in 49 united states code section 14710. The department of public safety is authorized to adopt and implement rules in order to implement a regulatory program.
Sec. 2. Section 28-1095, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
28-1095. Vehicle length; exceptions; permits; rules; definitions
A. A vehicle, including any load on the vehicle, shall not exceed a length of forty feet extreme overall dimension, including front and rear bumpers. This subsection does not apply to any of the following:
1. A semitrailer when used in combination with a truck or a truck tractor.
2. A truck that is equipped with a conveyor bed, that is used solely as a fiber and forage module mover and that does not exceed forty‑eight feet in length.
3. An articulated bus or articulated trolley coach that does not exceed a length of sixty feet.
4. A bus that is not articulated and that does not exceed a length of forty‑five feet.
5. A recreational vehicle, a power unit, a farm vehicle, a horse trailer or wheeled equipment as defined in section 28‑2153 if used in combination with two units and if the combination does not exceed sixty‑five feet in length.
6. A recreational vehicle as defined in section 41‑2142, paragraph 30, subdivision (b) that does not exceed a length of forty‑five feet.
B. A vehicle transporter may draw only one semitrailer. A combination of vehicles, excluding a vehicle transporter and the semitrailer it draws, that is coupled together shall not consist of more than two units, except that a truck or a truck tractor and semitrailer may draw either one trailer or a forklift.
C. The following restrictions apply:
1. The length of a semitrailer operating in a truck tractor‑semitrailer combination or a truck tractor‑semitrailer‑forklift combination shall not exceed fifty‑seven feet six inches.
2. The length of a semitrailer or trailer operating in a truck tractor‑semitrailer‑trailer combination shall not exceed twenty‑eight feet six inches.
3. The length of a trailer operating in a truck‑trailer combination shall not exceed twenty‑eight feet six inches.
4. If the length of a semitrailer is more than fifty‑three feet, the overall length of a truck tractor‑semitrailer combination shall not exceed sixty‑five feet on all highways, except for the national intercity truck route network designated by the United States secretary of transportation as required by the surface transportation assistance act of 1982 or on a system of highways that is designated by a local authority. In designating the streets, the local authority shall consider any reasonable restriction including such safety restrictions as structural hazards and street width and any other safety factors identified by the local authority as a hazard to the motoring public.
5. A vehicle transporter and the semitrailer it
draws shall not exceed a length of seventy‑five eighty feet WITH
A FRONT OVERHANG OF NOT MORE THAN FOUR FEET AND A REAR OVERHANG OF NOT MORE
THAN SIX FEET.
6. A truck‑semitrailer combination shall not exceed an overall length of sixty‑five feet.
D. Subsection B and subsection C, paragraphs 1 through 6 of this section do not apply to damaged, disabled or abandoned vehicles or combinations of vehicles while being towed by a tow truck in compliance with section 41‑1830.51.
E. Notwithstanding subsections B and C of this section, extensions of not more than three feet beyond the foremost part and six feet beyond the rear bed or body of a vehicle or combination of vehicles used to transport manufactured vehicles or fiber and forage shall not be included in measuring the length of the vehicle or combination of vehicles when loaded.
F. Pursuant to a permit issued pursuant to section 28‑1103, a truck or a truck tractor‑semitrailer may draw not more than two additional trailers or semitrailers. The department shall adopt rules governing the movement and safety of a combination of vehicles under this subsection and authorizing the issuance in advance of prepaid permits. The rules shall include the adoption of minimum speeds on grades, lighting, signing, identification and braking requirements and any other rules the department deems necessary. The permit issued pursuant to this subsection is limited to the following highways:
1. An interstate highway that connects with two states if both states allow such combinations of trailers or semitrailers and if the interstate highway does not exceed forty miles between the connecting states.
2. A state route or highway that is located within four miles of and extends to the border of this state and an adjacent state that allows such combinations of trailers or semitrailers.
3. A state route or highway that extends at least ten miles through an Indian reservation, that does not cross the Colorado river and that is located within twenty miles of and extends to the border of this state and an adjacent state that allows such combinations of trailers or semitrailers.
G. Notwithstanding subsections B and C of this section:
1. A motor vehicle may draw one single axle tow dolly on which a motor vehicle may be transported. A person shall secure the raised end of any motor vehicle being transported pursuant to this paragraph to the tow dolly by two separate chains, cables or equivalent devices adequate to prevent shifting or separation of the drawn vehicle and the tow dolly. For the purposes of this paragraph, "single axle tow dolly" means a vehicle drawn by a motor vehicle and designed and used exclusively to transport another motor vehicle by which the front or rear wheels of the drawn motor vehicle are mounted on the tow dolly while the other wheels of the drawn motor vehicle remain in contact with the ground.
2. A truck or a truck tractor may draw a trailer or semitrailer that does not exceed a length of fifty‑seven feet only on an interstate highway or on a highway that is within ten miles of an interstate highway if the trailer or semitrailer is manufactured in this state and is traveling with or without a load from its place of manufacture to be delivered for use outside this state.
3. A recreational vehicle may pull two units if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) The middle unit is equipped with a fifth wheel and brakes. The middle unit may be a farm vehicle or a horse trailer and shall have a weight equal to or greater than the rear unit.
(b) If the rear unit has a gross weight of three thousand pounds or more, it is equipped with brakes.
(c) The total combined gross weight of the towed units does not exceed the manufacturer's stated gross vehicle weight of the towing unit.
4. A VEHICLE TRANSPORTER MAY TRANSPORT CARGO OR GENERAL FREIGHT ON A BACKHAUL IN COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 28-1100.
H. For the purposes of this section:
1. "BACKHAUL" MEANS THE RETURN TRIP OF A VEHICLE TRANSPORTER CARRYING CARGO OR GENERAL FREIGHT OVER ALL OR PART OF THE SAME ROUTE.
1. 2. "Farm
vehicle" has the same meaning prescribed in section 28‑2514.
2. 3. "Recreational
vehicle" means a motor vehicle that is designed and customarily used for
private pleasure, including vehicles commonly called motor homes, pickup trucks
with campers and pickup trucks with a fifth wheel trailing device.
Sec. 3. Section 28-1099, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
28-1099. Single axle load limit; exceptions
A. The gross weight imposed on the highway by the wheels of any one axle of a vehicle shall not exceed twenty thousand pounds, except that:
1. The director may issue a special permit pursuant to section 28‑1103 for the purpose of moving road machinery that exceeds the maximum weight specified in this section from job to job within this state and from job to place of servicing and return within this state.
2. Any over-the-road bus may exceed the maximum single axle weight limit but shall not exceed twenty-four thousand pounds. For the purposes of this paragraph, "Over-the-road bus" means a bus characterized by an elevated passenger deck located over a baggage compartment.
B. This section shall does not be construed to limit in any manner the power of the director and a local authority to issue a special permit pursuant to section 28‑1103.
C. For the purposes of this article, the gross weight imposed on the highway by the wheels of any one axle equals the total load transmitted to the road by all wheels whose centers are included between two parallel transverse vertical planes forty inches apart, extending across the full width of the vehicle.
Sec. 4. Section 28-1100, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
28-1100. Vehicles and loads; gross weight restrictions; exceptions
A. Except as provided in subsection H of this section or section 28‑1099, a person may operate a vehicle on all highways, including a toll facility as defined in section 28‑7751, subject to the following maximum gross weights:
1. Twenty thousand pounds, including enforcement tolerances, on any one axle.
2. Thirty‑four thousand pounds, including enforcement tolerances, on a tandem axle.
3. Eighty thousand pounds on a vehicle combination of five axles or more.
4. On a group of two or more consecutive axles, including any steering or castering axles, an overall gross weight, including enforcement tolerances, produced by application of the following formula in which W equals overall gross weight on any group of two or more consecutive axles to the nearest five hundred pounds, L equals distance in feet between the extreme of any group of two or more consecutive axles to the nearest foot and N equals number of axles in any group under consideration, except that two consecutive sets of tandem axles may carry a gross load of thirty‑four thousand pounds each if the overall distance between the first and last axles of the consecutive sets of tandem axles is thirty‑six feet or more if the overall gross weight does not exceed eighty thousand pounds, including all enforcement tolerances:
W = 500 (LN/(N‑1) + 12N + 36)
B. For the purposes of subsection A of this section, "tandem axles" means two or more consecutive axles that are more than forty inches but not more than ninety‑six inches apart.
C. This section does not apply to a vehicle and load that cannot be easily dismantled or divided and that have been issued a special permit pursuant to section 28‑1103.
D. It is not a defense in a prosecution for a violation of this section that a vehicle or vehicle combination is registered for a declared gross weight as defined in section 28‑5431 in excess of the amount allowed under this section. The department shall not make an allowance or refund for fees paid for the weight in excess of the amount allowed under this section.
E. A single vehicle or a single vehicle of a combination of vehicles shall not be equipped with more than three axles, including the front steering axle, unless the additional axles are steering axles or castering axles. The limitation on the number of axles provided in this subsection does not apply to a vehicle operated with a permit issued pursuant to section 28‑1103.
F. A vehicle or combination of vehicles equipped with one or more variable load axles shall have the pressure control preset and located outside of the cab so that the operator of the vehicle cannot vary the weight carried on the variable load axle or axles during transport of a load. The actuating control that raises or lowers the axle or axles may be located inside the cab for safety purposes. This actuating control must completely raise or completely lower the axle or axles when activated.
G. This section does not apply to a truck that meets all of the following requirements and for which a special permit has been issued pursuant to section 28‑1103:
1. Is equipped with a conveyor bed.
2. Is used solely as a fiber and forage module mover.
3. Does not exceed forty‑eight feet in length.
4. Is only operated each year from August 1 through January 30, unless the director extends the period of use.
H. The gross weight of a heavy-duty vehicle that is equipped with idle reduction technology and the gross weight imposed on the highway by the wheels of any one axle or axle group of the vehicle may exceed the weight limitation specified in subsection A of this section by not more than four hundred pounds or the weight of the idle reduction technology, whichever is less. This subsection only applies if the heavy-duty vehicle operator, on request, proves by written certification the weight of the idle reduction technology and, by demonstration or certification, that the idle reduction technology is fully functional at all times. For the purposes of this subsection, "heavy-duty vehicle" and "idle reduction technology" have the same meanings prescribed in 42 United States Code section 16104a.
I. THE GROSS WEIGHT OF A VEHICLE OPERATED BY AN ENGINE FUELED PRIMARILY BY NATURAL GAS AND THE GROSS WEIGHT IMPOSED ON THE HIGHWAY BY THE WHEELS OF ANY ONE AXLE OR AXLE GROUP OF THE VEHICLE MAY EXCEED THE WEIGHT LIMITATION SPECIFIED IN SUBSECTION A OF THIS SECTION, BUT MAY NOT EXCEED eighty-two thousand POUNDS OR AN AMOUNT THAT IS EQUAL TO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE WEIGHT OF THE VEHICLE ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE NATURAL GAS TANK AND FUELING SYSTEM AND THE WEIGHT OF A COMPARABLE DIESEL TANK AND FUELING SYSTEM, WHICHEVER IS LESS.
Sec. 5. Section 28-2239, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
28-2239. Temporary proportional registrations; fee
A. The department may sell temporary proportional registrations to motor carriers that are registering under this article. Motor carriers may use temporary proportional registrations for vehicles that are added to an existing fleet or in lieu of lost registrations pending receipt of permanent or replacement registrations.
B. The cost of a temporary proportional registration is one dollar, and the registration is valid for ninety sixty days.
Sec. 6. Section 28-2267, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
28-2267. Temporary registrations; fee
A. The department may sell temporary registrations to motor carriers with existing fleets that are registered under this article. Temporary registrations may be used for vehicles that are added to an existing fleet or in lieu of lost registrations pending the receipt of permanent or replacement registrations.
B. The temporary registration fee is one dollar. The temporary registration is valid for ninety sixty days.
Sec. 7. Section 28-3312, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
28-3312. Mandatory disqualification of commercial driver licenses; definition
A. The department shall disqualify a person who is required to have a commercial driver license, or who is a commercial driver license holder or who is a commercial instruction permit holder from driving a commercial motor vehicle as follows:
1. Except as provided in subsection E of this section and except as otherwise provided in this subsection, for at least one year if a person:
(a) Refuses a test in violation of section 28‑1321.
(b) Is convicted of a first violation of any of the following:
(i) Driving a commercial motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a controlled substance or while having an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more.
(ii) Leaving the scene of an accident involving a motor vehicle driven by the person.
(iii) Using a motor vehicle in the commission of a felony.
(iv) A violation of chapter 4, article 3 of this title while operating a noncommercial motor vehicle.
(v) Driving a commercial motor vehicle while, as a result of prior violations of this title committed while operating a commercial motor vehicle, the person's commercial driver license is revoked, suspended or canceled or the person is disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle.
(vi) Causing a fatality through the negligent operation of a commercial motor vehicle, including a conviction of manslaughter, homicide or negligent homicide resulting from operation of a motor vehicle.
2. For at least three years, if the person is convicted of any of the violations prescribed in paragraph 1 of this subsection and the violation occurred while the person was transporting a hazardous material in the quantity and under the circumstances that require placarding of the transport vehicle under the department's safety rules pursuant to chapter 14 of this title.
3. For the life of the person, if the person is convicted of two or more violations of any of the offenses prescribed in paragraph 1 of this subsection or of any combination of those offenses arising from two or more separate incidents. The department shall consider only offenses committed from and after December 31, 1989 in applying this paragraph.
4. Permanently if the person is convicted of using any motor vehicle in the commission of a felony involving the manufacture, distribution or dispensing of a controlled substance or possession with intent to manufacture, distribute or dispense a controlled substance.
5. For at least sixty consecutive days, if the person is convicted of two serious traffic violations committed in a motor vehicle arising from separate incidents occurring within a three year period from the date of the violation.
6. For at least one hundred twenty days served in addition to any other disqualification, if the person is convicted of a third or subsequent serious traffic violation committed in a motor vehicle arising from separate incidents occurring within a three year period from the date of the violation.
7. For at least sixty consecutive days, if the department determines that the person falsified information or documentation as part of the licensing process.
8. For at least one year, if the person is convicted of fraud related to the issuance of a commercial instruction permit or commercial driver license.
B. Except as provided in subsection C of this section, a person required to have a commercial driver license or a commercial driver license holder who is found responsible for violating an out‑of‑service order pursuant to section 28‑5241 is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle as follows:
1. For a period of one hundred eighty days if the person is found responsible for a first violation of an out‑of‑service order.
2. For a period of two years if the person is found responsible for a second violation of any out‑of‑service order during any ten year period arising from separate incidents.
3. For a period of three years if the person is found responsible for a third or subsequent violation of any out‑of‑service order during any ten year period arising from separate incidents.
C. A person required to have a commercial driver license or a commercial driver license holder who is found responsible for violating an out‑of‑service order pursuant to section 28‑5241 while transporting hazardous materials or while operating a commercial motor vehicle designed or used to transport sixteen or more passengers, including the driver, is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle as follows:
1. For a period of one hundred eighty days if the person is found responsible for a first violation of an out‑of‑service order.
2. For a period of three years if the person is found responsible for a second or subsequent violation of any out‑of‑service order during any ten year period arising from separate incidents.
D. A person required to have a commercial driver license or a commercial driver license holder who is convicted of or found responsible for violating any federal, state or local railroad grade crossing law, ordinance or regulation is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle as follows:
1. For a period of sixty days if a person is convicted of or found responsible for a first violation.
2. For a period of one hundred twenty days if a person is convicted of or found responsible for a second violation during any three year period.
3. For a period of one year if a person is convicted of or found responsible for a third or subsequent violation during any three year period.
E. If a federal agency determines that a commercial motor vehicle licensee is driving in a manner that constitutes an imminent hazard, the department, on receipt of notification by the federal government, shall disqualify the driver for a period not to exceed one year. The disqualification shall run concurrently with any other disqualification imposed on the driver. For the purposes of this subsection, "imminent hazard" means the existence of a condition that presents a substantial likelihood that death, serious illness, severe personal injury or a substantial endangerment to health, property or the environment may occur before the reasonably foreseeable completion date of a formal proceeding to decrease the risk of death, illness, injury or endangerment.
F. The department shall keep records of findings of responsibility for a civil traffic violation and of conviction of any moving criminal traffic violation for a commercial driver licensee for violations in any type of motor vehicle and for a person required to have a commercial driver license if the violations arise from the operation of a commercial motor vehicle. The department shall make the records available to other states, the United States secretary of transportation, the driver and any motor carrier or prospective motor carrier or the motor carrier's designated agent within ten days after receiving a report of a conviction or finding of responsibility in this state or receipt of a report of a conviction or finding of responsibility or disqualification received from another state.
G. Disqualification for a serious traffic violation committed by a commercial driver license holder while operating a noncommercial motor vehicle applies only if the conviction results in the revocation, cancellation or suspension of the person's commercial driver license or noncommercial driver license.
H. The department may adopt rules establishing guidelines and conditions under which the department may reduce a disqualification for life pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 3 of this section to a disqualification of at least ten years. If a person's disqualification is reduced pursuant to rules adopted pursuant to this subsection and the person is subsequently convicted of a violation described in subsection A, paragraph 1 of this section, the person is permanently disqualified from driving a commercial vehicle and is not eligible to apply for a reduction of the disqualification pursuant to rules adopted pursuant to this subsection.
I. Except as provided in subsection E of this section, the beginning date of the disqualification shall be ten days after the date the department receives the report of conviction or finding of responsibility.
J. For the purposes of this section, "serious traffic violation" means a conviction or finding of responsibility for any of the following:
1. Excessive speeding involving a single offense for a speed of fifteen miles per hour or more above the posted speed limit.
2. Reckless driving as provided by section 28‑693.
3. Aggressive driving as provided by section 28‑695.
4. Racing as defined in section 28‑708.
5. Improper or erratic traffic lane changes as provided by section 28‑729.
6. Following the vehicle ahead too closely as provided by section 28‑730.
7. A violation of this title that is connected with a fatal traffic accident.
8. Driving a commercial motor vehicle if the person has not been issued a valid commercial driver license pursuant to this chapter.
9. Driving a commercial motor vehicle without a commercial driver license in the person's possession.
10. Driving a commercial motor vehicle without having a valid endorsement for the type of commercial motor vehicle or motor vehicle combination being operated.
APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR MARCH 18, 2016.
FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE MARCH 18, 2016.
