Sec. 14-267a. Weight restrictions for vehicles, trailers or other objects. Highway weighing procedure. Penalties for overweight violations. Fines for failure to comply. Regulations. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 14-267a. Weight restrictions for vehicles, trailers or other objects. Highway weighing procedure. Penalties for overweight violations. Fines for failure to comply. Regulations. (a) A vehicle or combination of vehicle and trailer or semitrailer or any other object may be operated upon any highway or bridge, subject to the provisions of section 13a-151, provided such vehicle or combination of vehicle and trailer or semitrailer or other object meets all the applicable requirements of this section or has been granted a permit under section 14-270.

      (b) The axle weight on any axle and the gross weight of any vehicle or combination of vehicle and trailer or vehicle and semitrailer or any other object, including its load, may not exceed the manufacturer's axle weight rating, the gross vehicle weight rating or the following gross weight limits: (1) A two-axle vehicle equipped with pneumatic tires, a gross weight of thirty-two thousand pounds; (2) a two-axle vehicle equipped with solid or pneumatic tires, the weight on any single axle not to exceed eighteen thousand pounds, a gross weight of thirty-six thousand pounds; (3) a three-axle vehicle equipped with pneumatic tires, the weight on any single axle not to exceed twenty-two thousand four hundred pounds or, in the case of axles spaced less than six feet apart, eighteen thousand pounds, gross vehicle weight of fifty-three thousand eight hundred pounds; (4) a three-axle combination of vehicle and trailer or vehicle and semitrailer, the weight on any single axle not to exceed twenty-two thousand four hundred pounds or, in the case of axles spaced less than six feet apart, eighteen thousand pounds, a gross vehicle weight of fifty-eight thousand four hundred pounds; (5) a four-or-more-axle vehicle or combination of vehicle and trailer or vehicle and semitrailer equipped with pneumatic tires, the weight on any single axle not to exceed twenty-two thousand four hundred pounds or, in the case of axles spaced less than six feet apart, eighteen thousand pounds, a gross vehicle weight of sixty-seven thousand four hundred pounds; (6) a four-or-more-axle vehicle or combination of vehicle and trailer or vehicle and semitrailer where the distance between the first and last axle is not less than twenty-eight feet, the weight on any single axle not to exceed twenty-two thousand four hundred pounds or, in the case of axles spaced less than six feet apart, eighteen thousand pounds, a gross vehicle weight of seventy-three thousand pounds, provided in no event shall the gross vehicle weight exceed seventy-three thousand pounds; (7) the gross vehicle weight of a bulk milk pickup tanker shall not exceed ninety-nine thousand pounds, provided the weight of the bulk milk pickup tanker is permitted under the federal-aid highway amendments of 1974, 88 Stat. 2281, 23 USC 101 et seq., as amended from time to time, and (8) notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection and subsection (e) of this section, a vehicle or combination of vehicle and semitrailer equipped with pneumatic tires may be operated on any highway or bridge without a written permit, provided the weight on any single axle does not exceed twenty-two thousand four hundred pounds or, in the case of axles spaced less than six feet apart, eighteen thousand pounds, and provided such vehicle or combination is in compliance with the federal-aid highway amendments of 1974, 88 Stat. 2281, 23 USC 101 et seq., as amended from time to time, including the gross vehicle weight limit of eighty thousand pounds and the following weight distribution formula:

Where W = overall gross weight on any group of two or more consecutive axles to the nearest five hundred pounds, L = distance in feet between the extreme of any group of two or more consecutive axles, and N = number of axles in group under consideration, except that two consecutive sets of tandem axles may carry a gross load of sixty-eight thousand pounds, provided the overall distance between the first and last axles of such consecutive sets of tandem axles is thirty-six feet or more.

      (c) The weight per inch width of tire on any single vehicle or combination of vehicles equipped with pneumatic tires, when loaded, shall be not more than six hundred pounds. The sum of the widths of all the tires on a wheel or combination of wheels shall be taken in determining tire width. For the purposes of this section, the width of pneumatic tires shall be determined in conformity with the manufacturer's designated width on the tire. A vehicle or combination of vehicles equipped with any solid rubber tires shall not have weights more than eighty per cent of those permitted in this section for pneumatic tires. The width of solid rubber tires shall be ascertained by measuring the width of the tire base channel or between the flanges of the metal rim. No vehicle equipped with solid tires which have at any point less than one inch of rubber above the top or beyond the flange or rim shall be operated upon a public highway.

      (d) The owner of any vehicle or other object operated or moved over any highway or bridge in violation of any provision of this section shall be liable for all damages to such highway or bridge resulting from such violation and such damages may be recovered in an action at law by the authority in charge of the maintenance of such highway or bridge.

      (e) No person shall operate any commercial motor vehicle, nor shall the owner or lessee of any commercial motor vehicle allow such motor vehicle to be operated, on any public highway or bridge, when the combined weight of vehicle and load exceeds the gross weight, as registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles, the tire capacity or the axle load, except that the gross vehicle weight shall not exceed eighty thousand pounds, or as provided by statute, or, in the case of a vehicle registered in any other state or country, as so registered or provided in such state or country or as designated as legal for a like motor vehicle of Connecticut registration, whichever is the lesser, without a written permit from the Commissioner of Transportation, which shall prescribe the condition under which such vehicle shall be operated.

      (f) (1) The penalties provided for in this subsection shall be assessed against the owner of a commercial motor vehicle when the owner, the owner's agent or employee is the operator, or against the lessee of such vehicle when the lessee, the lessee's agent or employee is the operator of a leased or rented commercial motor vehicle.

      (2) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be subject to the following penalties: (A) For an overweight violation of not more than five per cent of the gross weight or axle weight limits in subsection (b) of this section, a fine of three dollars per hundred pounds or fraction thereof of such excess weight; (B) for an overweight violation of more than five per cent and not more than ten per cent of either such weight limit, a fine of five dollars per hundred pounds or fraction thereof of such excess weight or a minimum fine of fifty dollars; (C) for an overweight violation of more than ten per cent but not more than fifteen per cent of either such weight limit, a fine of six dollars per hundred pounds or fraction thereof of such excess weight or a minimum fine of one hundred dollars; (D) for an overweight violation of more than fifteen per cent but not more than twenty per cent of either such weight limit, a fine of seven dollars per hundred pounds or fraction thereof of such excess weight or a minimum fine of two hundred dollars; (E) for an overweight violation of more than twenty per cent but not more than twenty-five per cent of either such weight limit, a fine of ten dollars per hundred pounds or fraction thereof of such excess weight or a minimum fine of three hundred dollars; (F) for an overweight violation of more than twenty-five per cent but not more than thirty per cent of either such overweight limit, a fine of twelve dollars per hundred pounds or fraction thereof of such excess weight or a minimum fine of five hundred dollars; and (G) for an overweight violation of more than thirty per cent of either such overweight limit, a fine of fifteen dollars per one hundred pounds or fraction thereof of such excess weight or a minimum fine of one thousand dollars.

      (3) The court shall note on the record any conviction for an overweight violation in excess of fifteen per cent of the gross weight limits in subsection (b) of this section with respect to any vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of eighteen thousand pounds or more and shall cause such information to be transmitted to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. Upon receipt of such information with respect to a third or subsequent conviction for such overweight violation in a calendar year, the commissioner may schedule a hearing, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to review the record of the motor vehicle registrant and shall notify the registrant of the hearing. In such cases, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles may review information and evidence presented at the hearing including, but not limited to, frequency of the registrant's commercial vehicle operations, the size of the registrant's fleet and the culpability, if any, of the shipper. After the hearing, the commissioner may impose a civil penalty on the owner or lessee of such motor vehicle in the amount of two thousand dollars or revoke the registration, for a period of thirty days, of any commercial motor vehicle so operated and may refuse to issue a registration for such motor vehicle during such further time as the commissioner deems reasonable.

      (4) An owner or lessee who is assessed penalties pursuant to this subsection for an overweight violation in excess of fifteen per cent of the gross weight limits in subsection (b) of this section five times during any calendar year shall be assessed by the court an additional five thousand dollars for the fifth violation and an additional five thousand dollars for each subsequent overweight violation in excess of fifteen per cent of such limits in such calendar year.

      (5) No more than twenty-five per cent of any fine imposed pursuant to this subsection may be remitted unless the court determines that there are mitigating circumstances and specifically states such circumstances for the record.

      (g) For the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this section, any state police officer, Department of Public Safety employee designated by the Commissioner of Public Safety, local police officer, Department of Motor Vehicles inspector, or Department of Transportation employee designated by the Commissioner of Transportation, may require the driver to stop and submit to a weighing by means of either portable or stationary scales and may require that such vehicle be driven to a scale or safety inspection site.

      (h) Whenever signs are displayed on a public highway, indicating that a scale is in operation and directing the driver of a commercial vehicle to stop at the weighing area, the driver shall stop and, in accordance with the directions of any state police officer, Department of Public Safety employee designated by the Commissioner of Public Safety, local police officer, Department of Motor Vehicles inspector, or Department of Transportation employee designated by the Commissioner of Transportation, allow the vehicle to be weighed or inspected.

      (i) The driver of a vehicle which is weighed may remove from such vehicle any material, including, but not limited to, sand, debris, ice or snow, which may have accumulated on the outside of such vehicle, before any such official determines that the weight of such vehicle is unlawful.

      (j) Whenever such an official, upon weighing a vehicle and load, determines that the weight is unlawful, such official may require the driver to remove from the vehicle that portion of the load that may be necessary to reduce the gross or axle weight of such vehicle to the limit permitted under this chapter, provided if the vehicle is in violation of an axle weight limit in subsection (b) of this section but not a gross weight limit under said subsection, such official shall allow the driver to manually shift the load in order to comply with such axle weight limit without penalty.

      (k) (1) Any driver of a vehicle who fails or refuses when directed by such official, upon a weighing of the vehicle, to comply with such official's directions shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars or more than two hundred dollars for the first offense and not less than two hundred dollars or more than five hundred dollars for each subsequent offense. (2) Any driver of a vehicle who (A) exits a limited access highway on which a scale or safety inspection site is in operation with intent to circumvent the provisions of subsection (h) of this section, without a bona fide business purpose, or (B) fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (h) of this section shall be fined not less than two hundred fifty dollars or more than five hundred dollars for the first offense and not less than five hundred dollars or more than one thousand dollars for each subsequent offense.

      (l) The Commissioner of Transportation may adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 necessary to implement the purposes of this section. The Commissioner of Transportation, after consultation with the Commissioner of Public Safety and the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, shall adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 defining safety standards and inspection procedures to assure compliance with the safety requirements of 10 CFR 71 and 49 CFR 100 through 199 and the fines for noncompliance. The Department of Transportation shall coordinate development of state policy and regulations concerning the trucking industry.

      (P.A. 79-188, S. 1, 10; P.A. 80-71, S. 22, 30; P.A. 81-472, S. 23, 159; Oct. Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-1, S. 1, 4; P.A. 84-516, S. 2-4, 7; P.A. 85-198; 85-533, S. 1; P.A. 86-403, S. 30, 132; P.A. 88-320, S. 1; P.A. 94-188, S. 11; P.A. 02-70, S. 58, 59, 64; P.A. 03-190, S. 1; P.A. 07-217, S. 52.)

      History: P.A. 80-71 amended Subsec. (b) to include provisions re weight distribution formula, raised maximum weight in Subsec. (e) from 73,000 to 80,000 pounds, completely changed fine provisions of Subsec. (f), made technical corrections in Subsecs. (g) and (h) and expanded regulation powers in Subsec. (k); P.A. 81-472 made technical changes; Oct. Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-1 entirely replaced Subsec. (f) provisions re penalties with new provisions; P.A. 84-516 deleted Subsec. (b)(9), which required use of the federal bridge formula in computing gross weight for all commercial vehicles on and after January 1, 1990, completely changed the fines in Subsec. (f)(2), limited the applicability of Subsec. (f)(3) and (5) to violations of gross weight limits and added the provision in Subsec. (i) re shifting of loads; P.A. 85-198 inserted a new Subsec. (i) which allows drivers to remove material which may have accumulated on the outside of a vehicle before such vehicle is weighed and relettered former Subsecs. (i) to (k) accordingly; P.A. 85-533 amended Subsec. (f)(3) by requiring a bond of an out-of-state owner or lessee of a motor vehicle and requiring a fine of $2,000 of an in-state owner or lessee upon a second conviction; P.A. 86-403 replaced numeric Subpara. indicators with alphabetic Subpara. indicators in Subsec. (f)(3); P.A. 88-320 added Subsec. (k)(2) to require a penalty for any driver of a vehicle who attempts to avoid a scale or safety inspection site or fails to comply with the provisions of Subsec. (h); P.A. 94-188 amended Subsec. (b) by eliminating the 2% tolerance in the weight calculation formula, providing that axle weight and gross weight, including load weight, may not "exceed the manufacturer's axle weight rating, the gross vehicle weight rating or the following gross weight limits", amended Subdiv. (1) by deleting language concerning a 26,000 pound weight limit for a two-axle vehicle equipped with solid tires, and making what was formerly Subdiv. (2) the new Subdiv. (1), renumbering the remaining Subdivs., eliminating language concerning "all enforcement tolerances", and increasing the gross load that two consecutive sets of tandem axles may carry from 34,000 pounds each to 68,000 pounds. Further, the act amended Subsec. (e) by eliminating the 2% tolerance in the weight calculation formula and revising Subsec. (j) to provide that the driver be allowed to shift the load manually; (Revisor's note: In 1997 references in Subsecs. (g) and (h) to "Motor Vehicles Department" and "Transportation Department" were changed editorially by the Revisors to "Department of Motor Vehicles" and "Department of Transportation" for consistency with customary statutory usage); P.A. 02-70 amended Subsec. (f) by making technical changes for purposes of gender neutrality in Subdiv. (1), by rewriting Subdiv. (3) to delete requirement that court note on the record any forfeiture of bond for failure to appear for an overweight violation, to require court to transmit to Commissioner of Motor Vehicles information re convictions for overweight violations in excess of 15% of the gross weight limits, to allow commissioner to schedule a hearing review record of the registrant upon receipt of information re a third or subsequent conviction for overweight violation in a calendar year, to allow commissioner to review information and evidence presented at the hearing including, but not limited to, frequency of registrant's operations, size of fleet and culpability of shipper, to allow commissioner, after hearing, to impose a civil penalty in amount of $2,000, to delete former Subparas. (A) and (B) re out-of-state owners or lessees to provide a bond in the sum of $2,000 and re commissioner to fine an in-state owner or lessee $2,000 upon a second conviction, and to delete provisions re revocation of registration and bond requirements, by deleting former Subdiv. (4) re revocation of registration upon third conviction or forfeiture of a bond for failure to appear for overweight violations re vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of less than 18,000 pounds, by redesignating existing Subdivs. (5) and (6) as Subdivs. (4) and (5) and by amending redesignated Subdiv. (4) to delete reference to "forfeits a bond for failure to appear" and to reduce the assessment by the court from $10,000 to $5,000 for a fifth, instead of a fourth, overweight violation in a calendar year, and amended Subsecs. (g) and (h) to make technical changes, effective July 1, 2002; P.A. 03-190 added new Subsec. (b)(7) increasing permissible weight of bulk milk pickup tankers to 99,000 pounds, subject to applicable federal law, redesignating existing Subdiv. (7) as Subdiv. (8); P.A. 07-217 made technical changes in Subsec. (k), effective July 12, 2007.

      Cited. 25 CA 217. Trial under this section was not a "criminal prosecution" as term is used in sixth amendment to federal constitution. Defendant is therefore not entitled to a jury trial under the federal constitution. 41 CA 454.