Bill Text: GA HB1174 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Public roads; regulate oversize and overweight loads; provisions
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 5-1)
Status: (Passed) 2010-07-01 - Effective Date [HB1174 Detail]
Download: Georgia-2009-HB1174-Comm_Sub.html
Bill Title: Public roads; regulate oversize and overweight loads; provisions
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 5-1)
Status: (Passed) 2010-07-01 - Effective Date [HB1174 Detail]
Download: Georgia-2009-HB1174-Comm_Sub.html
10 LC
34 2646S
The
House Committee on Transportation offers the following substitute to HB
1174:
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 6 of Title 32 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to regulation of maintenance and use of public roads, so as to provide for
regulation of oversize and overweight loads on streets or highways; to change
the designation of certain streets or highways; to provide for a certification
program for drivers of oversized vehicle escorts; to provide for insurance
coverage for certain permit holders; to amend Title 40 of the Official Code of
Georgia Annotated, relating to motor vehicles and traffic, so as to provide for
a definition; to provide for vehicles approaching an intersection with a
pedestrian hybrid beacon; to provide for evidence obtained by speed detection
devices in a variable speed zone is inadmissible; to provide for related
matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for
other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
6 of Title 32 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to regulation
of maintenance and use of public roads, is amended by revising Code Section
32-6-24, relating to length of vehicles and loads, as follows:
"32-6-24.
(a)
As used in this article, the term:
(1)
'Bimodal semitrailer' means a detachable load-carrying unit designed to be
attached to a coupling on the rear of a truck tractor by which it is partly
supported during movement over the highway and designed either with retractable
flanged wheels or to attach to a detachable flanged wheel assembly for movement
on the rails.
(2)
'Combination of vehicles' means a semitrailer pulled by a truck tractor or a
semitrailer and trailer pulled by a truck tractor operating in a truck
tractor-semitrailer-trailer combination.
(3)
'Extendable semitrailer' means a semitrailer that has been manufactured for the
purpose of extending the frame to increase the overall length for the purpose of
transporting single-piece loads.
(4)
'NHS' means
the National Highway System.
(5)
'Semitrailer' means a detachable load-carrying unit designed to be attached to a
coupling on the rear of a truck tractor by which it is partly
supported.
(5)
'STAA system' means the National Network and the Access Routes to the National
Network as allowed under the federal Surface Transportation Assistance Act
(STAA), as amended.
(6)
'Trailer' means a detachable load-carrying unit designed to be attached to a
coupling at the rear of a semitrailer and capable of support in operation
without the truck tractor.
(7)
'Truck tractor' means the noncargo-carrying power unit that operates in
combination with a semitrailer or trailer, except that a truck tractor and
semitrailer engaged in the transportation of automobiles may transport motor
vehicles on part of the power unit.
(b)
Unless exempted in Code Section 32-6-25 or so authorized by a permit issued
pursuant to Code Section 32-6-28, the following length limits shall
apply:
(1)
Trailer and semitrailer lengths:
(A)
Truck tractor-semitrailer-trailer combinations shall have trailers and
semitrailers that do not exceed 28 feet in length;
(B)
Truck tractor-semitrailer combinations shall have semitrailers that do not
exceed 53 feet in length, unless signs are posted that indicate semitrailer
length restrictions;
(C)
On interstate and
STAA
system
NHS
routes, single-piece loads may be transported on an extendable semitrailer that
exceeds 53 feet, provided that no pieces will be loaded end to end and the
semitrailer does not exceed 75 feet in length; on roads other than the
interstate and
STAA
system
NHS
routes, the foregoing provisions of this subparagraph shall also apply, except
that the overall length shall not exceed 100 feet. Empty extendable
semitrailers or extendable semitrailers transporting a single-piece load of 53
feet or less shall be required to maintain a semitrailer length of 53 feet or
less. When the semitrailer is extended as described in this subparagraph, the
rear extremity of each extendable semitrailer or load shall be marked with a
four-inch multidirectional amber strobe light and with
12
18
inch bright red or orange warning flags on the rearmost of the load or
semitrailer;
(D)
Maxi-cube combinations shall have a cargo box that does not exceed 34 feet,
provided that the pair of cargo boxes together does not exceed 60 feet and the
overall length, including the power unit, does not exceed 65 feet;
and
(E)
Trailer and semitrailer length requirements in this paragraph shall not apply to
automobile and boat transporters; however, no unit of the vehicle shall exceed
56 feet in length; and
(2)
Overall truck tractor-semitrailer or truck tractor-semitrailer-trailer
lengths:
(A)
Maxi-cube combinations shall have an overall length that does not exceed 65
feet;
(B)
Saddlemount and saddlemount with fullmount combinations shall have an overall
length that does not exceed
75
97
feet; and
(C)
All other combinations of truck tractor-semitrailer or truck
tractor-semitrailer-trailer operated on roads other than interstate or the
STAA system
of roads
NHS
shall have an overall length that does not exceed 100 feet, unless signs are
posted that indicate length restrictions. This maximum length shall include the
federal allowance for automobile and boat transporter loads to overhang up to
three feet over the front of the vehicle and overhang up to four feet over the
rear of the vehicle."
SECTION
2.
Said
chapter is further amended by revising subsections (a) and (b) of Code Section
32-6-27, relating to enforcement of load limitations on vehicles, as
follows:
"(a)
Any person who violates the load limitation provisions of Code Section 32-6-26
shall be conclusively presumed to have damaged the public roads, including
bridges, of this state by reason of such overloading and shall recompense the
state for such damage in accordance with the following schedule:
(1)
Five cents per pound for all excess weight over the allowed weight limitations,
including any applicable variances;
or
(2)
For the
following vehicles, damages for excess weight shall be assessed at 125 percent
times the rate imposed on offending vehicles operating without a
permit:
(A)
Where a vehicle is authorized to exceed the weight limitations of Code Section
32-6-26 by a permit issued pursuant to Code Section 32-6-28, the term 'excess
weight' means that weight which exceeds the weight allowed by such
permit;
and
(B)
Where a vehicle is authorized to exceed the weight limitations of Code Section
32-6-26 by a permit issued pursuant to Code Section 32-6-28 as a superload
permit or superload plus permit, the term 'excess weight' means:
(i)
Any single axle weight which exceeds any single axle weight allowed by such
permit; and
(ii)
All weight greater than 150,000 pounds when the gross weight of the vehicle and
load exceeds the gross weight allowed by such permit or when any axle spacing is
less than that specified by such permit; or
For
such vehicles, damages for excess weight shall be assessed according to the
following schedule: 125 percent times the rate imposed on offending vehicles
operating without a permit
(3)
Any vehicle that utilizes idle reduction technology shall have any penalty for
violating Code Section 32-6-26, except for subsections (f) and (h), calculated
by reducing from the actual gross weight, single axle weight, tandem axle
weight, or the allowed weight on any group of two or more axles the
manufacturer's certified weight of the idle reducing technology or 400 pounds,
whichever is less. The operator of the vehicle shall present written
certification from the manufacturer specifying the weight of the idle reducing
technology and demonstrate that the idle reducing technology is fully functional
at all times when so requested by any law enforcement officer or employee of the
Department of Public Safety.
(b)
The schedules listed in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of this Code
section shall apply separately to:
(1)
The excess weight of the gross load; and
(2)
The sum of the excess weight or weights of any axle or axles;
provided,
however, that where both gross load and axle weight limits are exceeded, the
owner or operator shall be required to recompense the state only for the largest
of the money damages imposed under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this
subsection."
SECTION
3.
Said
chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 32-6-28, relating to permits
for excess weights and dimensions, as follows:
"32-6-28.
(a)
Generally.
(1)(A)
The commissioner or an official of the department designated by the commissioner
may, in his or her discretion, upon application in writing and good cause being
shown therefor, issue a permit in writing authorizing the applicant to operate
or move upon the state's public roads a motor vehicle or combination of vehicles
and loads whose weight, width, length, or height, or combination thereof,
exceeds the maximum limit specified by law, provided that the load transported
by such vehicle or vehicles is of such nature that it is a unit which cannot be
readily dismantled or separated; and provided, further, that no permit shall be
issued to any vehicle whose operation upon the public roads of this state
threatens to unduly damage a road or any appurtenance thereto, except that the
dismantling limitation specified in this Code section shall not apply to loads
which consist of cotton, tobacco, concrete pipe, and plywood that do not exceed
a width of nine feet or of round bales of hay that do not exceed a width of 11
feet and which are not moved on part of The Dwight D. Eisenhower System of
Interstate and Defense Highways. However, vehicles transporting portable
buildings and vehicles not exceeding 65 feet in length transporting boats on
roads not a part of The Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense
Highways, regardless of whether the nature of such buildings or boats is such
that they can be readily dismantled or separated, may exceed the lengths and
widths established in this article, provided that a special permit for such
purposes has been issued as provided in this Code section, but no such special
permit shall be issued for a load exceeding 12 feet in width when such load may
be readily dismantled or separated. A truck tractor and low boy type trailer
may, after depositing its permitted load, return to its point of origin on the
authorization of its original permit.
(B)
Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the
commissioner or an official of the department designated by the commissioner
may, in his or her discretion, upon application in writing and good cause being
shown therefor, issue to a specific tow vehicle a permit in writing authorizing
the applicant to operate or move upon the state's public roads a motor vehicle
or combination of vehicles and loads for transporting not more than two modular
housing units or sectional housing units if the total weight, width, length, and
height of the vehicle or combination of vehicles, including the load, does not
exceed the limits specified in Code Section 32-6-22 and Code Section 32-6-26.
Permission to
transport two modular housing units is only authorized when the modular unit
transporter meets the minimum specifications contained in subparagraph (C) of
this paragraph. No permit shall be issued
to any vehicle or combination of vehicles whose operation upon the public roads
of this state threatens the safety of others or threatens to damage unduly a
road or any appurtenance thereto.
(C)
A modular unit transporter shall meet all requirements of the Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Administration and all state safety requirements, rules, and
regulations. The modular unit transporter shall be properly registered and have
a proper, current license plate. At a minimum, the modular unit transporter
shall:
(i)
Be constructed of 12 inch steel I beams doubled and welded
together;
(ii)
Have all axles equipped with brakes;
(iii)
Have every floor joist on each modular section securely attached to the beams
with lag bolts and washers, or lag bolts, washers, and cable winches;
and
(iv)
Have an overall length not to exceed 80 feet including the hitch.
(2)
Permits may be issued, on application to the department, to persons, firms, or
corporations without specifying license plate numbers in order that such permits
which are issued on an annual basis may be interchanged from vehicle to vehicle.
The department is authorized to promulgate reasonable rules and regulations
which are necessary or desirable to govern the issuance of such permits,
provided that such rules and regulations are not in conflict with this title or
other provisions of law.
(3)
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, state
trooper, or authorized agent of the department.
(4)
The application for any such permit shall specifically describe the type of
permit applied for, as said types of permits are described in subsection (c) of
this Code section. In addition, the application for a single-trip permit shall
describe the points of departure and destination.
(5)
The commissioner or an official of the department designated by the commissioner
is authorized to withhold such permit or, if such permit is issued, to establish
seasonal or other time limitations within which the vehicles described may be
operated on the public road indicated, or otherwise to limit or prescribe
conditions of operation of such vehicles when necessary to ensure against undue
damage to the road foundation, surfaces, or bridge structures, and to require
such undertaking or other security as may be deemed necessary to compensate the
state for any injury to any roadway or bridge structure.
(6)
For just cause, including, but not limited to, repeated and consistent past
violations, the commissioner or an official of the department designated by the
commissioner may refuse to issue or may cancel, suspend, or revoke the permit
and any permit privileges of an applicant or permittee. The specific period of
time of any suspension shall be determined by the department. In addition, any
time the restrictions or conditions within which a permitted vehicle must be
operated are violated, the permit may be immediately declared null and
void.
(7)
The department is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to
enforce the suspension of permits authorized in this Code section.
(8)
The department shall issue rules to establish a driver training and
certification program for drivers of vehicles escorting oversize/overweight
loads. Any driver operating a vehicle escorting an oversize/overweight load
shall meet the training requirements and obtain certification under the rules
issued by the department pursuant to this Code section. The rules may provide
for reciprocity with other states having a similar program for escort
certification. Certification credentials of the driver of an escort vehicle
shall be carried in the escort vehicle and be readily available for inspection
by law enforcement personnel or an authorized employee of the department. The
department shall implement the vehicle escort driver training and certification
program on or before July 1, 2010, and the requirements for training and
certification shall be enforced beginning on January 1, 2011.
(9)
Permit holders shall be required to meet the following minimum insurance
standards:
(A)
For loads where the gross vehicle weight is less than or equal to 10,000
pounds:
(i)
For bodily injury a limit of $50,000.00 per person for injury or death as a
result of any one occurrence; and
(ii)
For property damage a limit of $50,000.00 for damage to property of others in
any one occurrence; or
(B)
For commercial motor carriers where the gross vehicle weight is greater than
10,000 pounds:
(i)
For bodily injury a minimum of $300,000.00 for each person and $1 million for
multiple persons for injury or death as a result of any one occurrence;
and
(ii)
For property damage a minimum of $1 million for damage to property of others in
any one occurrence.
(b)
Duration and limits of
permits.
(1)
ANNUAL
PERMIT. The commissioner or an official
of the department designated by the commissioner may, pursuant to this Code
section, issue an annual permit which shall permit a vehicle to be operated on
the public roads of this state for 12 months from the date the permit is issued
even though the vehicle or its load exceeds the maximum limits specified in this
article. However, except as specified in paragraph (2) of this subsection, an
annual permit shall not authorize the operation of a vehicle:
(A)
Whose total gross weight exceeds 100,000 pounds;
(B)
Whose single axle weight exceeds 25,000 pounds;
(C)
Whose total load length exceeds 100 feet;
(D)
Whose total width exceeds 102 inches or whose load width exceeds 144 inches;
or
(E)
Whose height exceeds 14 feet and six inches.
Furthermore,
an annual permit to operate a vehicle which exceeds the height limitations set
forth in Code Section 32-6-22 shall be issued only on condition of payment of an
indemnity bond or proof of insurance protection for $300,000.00. Such bond or
insurance protection, conditioned for payment to the department, shall be held
in trust for the benefit of the owners of bridges and appurtenances thereto,
traffic signals, signs, or other highway structures damaged by a vehicle
operating under authority of such overheight permit. The liability under the
bond or insurance certificate shall be absolute and shall not depend on proof of
negligence or fault on the part of the permittee, his or her agents, or
operators.
(2)
STAA
ANNUAL
ANNUAL
PERMIT
PLUS.
Vehicles and loads that meet the requirements for an annual permit may apply for
a special annual permit to carry wider loads on the
STAA system
of roads
NHS.
The wider load limits shall be a maximum of 14 feet wide from the base of the
load to a point 10 feet above the pavement and 14 feet and eight inches for the
upper portion of the load.
(2.1)
SIX-MONTH
PERMIT. Six-month permits may be issued
for loads of tobacco or unginned cotton the widths of which do not exceed nine
feet, provided that such loads shall not be operated on The Dwight D. Eisenhower
System of Interstate and Defense Highways.
(3)
SINGLE
TRIP. Pursuant to this Code section, the
commissioner may issue a single-trip permit to any vehicle or load allowed by
federal law.
(c)
Fees.
The department may promulgate rules and regulations concerning the issuance of
permits and charge a fee for the issuance thereof as follows:
(1)
ANNUAL.
Charges for the issuance of annual permits shall be $150.00 per
permit.
(2)
STAA
ANNUAL
ANNUAL
PERMIT
PLUS.
Charges for the issuance of
STAA
annual permits
plus
shall be $500.00 per permit.
(3)
SIX
MONTHS. The charges for the issuance of
six-month permits for loads of tobacco or unginned cotton shall be $25.00 per
permit.
(4)
SINGLE
TRIP. Charges for the issuance of
single-trip permits shall be as follows:
(A)
Any load not greater than 16 feet wide, not greater than 16 feet high, and not
weighing more than 150,000 pounds or any load greater than 100 feet long which
does not exceed the maximum width, height, and weight limits specified by this
subparagraph
|
$
30.00
|
(B)
Superload
permit – Any load having a width,
height, or weight exceeding the maximum limit therefor specified in subparagraph
(A) of this paragraph and not weighing more than 180,000 pounds
|
125.00
|
(C)
Superload plus
permit – Any load having a weight
exceeding the maximum limit therefor specified in subparagraph (B) of this
paragraph
|
500.00
|
(d)
Notwithstanding any provision of Code Section 48-2-17 to the contrary, all fees
collected in accordance with this Code section shall be paid to the treasurer of
the department to help defray the expenses of enforcing the limitations set
forth in this article and may also be used for public road maintenance purposes
in addition to any sums appropriated therefor to the
department."
SECTION
4.
Title
40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to motor vehicles and
traffic, is amended by revising Code Section 40-1-1, relating to definitions
regarding motor vehicles and traffic, by adding a new paragraph to read as
follows:
"(42.1)
'Pedestrian hybrid beacon' means a special type of hybrid beacon used to warn
and control traffic at locations without a traffic-control signal to assist
pedestrians in crossing a street or highway at a marked
crosswalk."
SECTION
5.
Said
title is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-70,
relating to vehicles approaching or entering an intersection, as
follows:
"(a)
When two vehicles approach or enter an intersection from different highways at
approximately the same time, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield
the right of way to the vehicle on the right, provided that when a vehicle
approaches or enters an intersection with no stop signs or other traffic-control
devices from a highway that terminates at the intersection, the driver of that
vehicle shall yield the right of way to the other vehicle, whether the latter
vehicle be on such driver's right or left. When two vehicles approach or enter
an intersection with an inoperative traffic light, the driver of each vehicle
shall be required to stop in the same manner as if a stop sign were facing in
each direction at the intersection.
Drivers shall
not be required to stop if the traffic signal is properly signed as a pedestrian
hybrid beacon and operating in the unactivated dark
mode. When a flashing indication is
given, the driver shall stop for the flashing red signal and exhibit caution
while passing through a flashing yellow indication."
SECTION
6.
Said
title is further amended by revising Code Section 40-14-9, relating to when
evidence obtained using speed detection devices is inadmissible, as
follows:
"40-14-9.
Evidence
obtained by county or municipal law enforcement officers in using speed
detection devices within 300 feet of a reduction of a speed limit inside an
incorporated municipality or within 600 feet of a reduction of a speed limit
outside an incorporated municipality or consolidated city-county government
shall be inadmissible in the prosecution of a violation of any municipal
ordinance, county ordinance, or state law regulating speed; nor shall such
evidence be admissible in the prosecution of a violation as aforesaid when such
violation has occurred within 30 days following a reduction of the speed limit
in the area where the violation took place, except that this 30 day limitation
shall not apply to a speeding violation within a highway work zone, as defined
in Code Section
40-6-188, or
in an area with variable speed limits, as defined in Code Section
40-6-182. No speed detection device shall
be employed by county, municipal, or campus law enforcement officers on any
portion of any highway which has a grade in excess of 7
percent."
SECTION
7.
This
Act shall become effective on July 1, 2010.
SECTION
8.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.