Senate Bill No. 502
(By Senator Love)
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[Introduced February 19, 1996; referred to the Committee on
Transportation.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section fourteen, article seventeen,
chapter seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
revoking the driving privileges of nonresident owners of
trucks who have been fined in this state for operation of an
overweight truck and have failed to pay the fine; and
creating a penalty for driving while privileges are revoked.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section fourteen, article seventeen, chapter
seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 17. SIZE, WEIGHT AND LOAD.
§17C-17-14. Penalties for violation of weight laws; impounding
vehicles.
(a) Any owner, lessee or borrower of a vehicle or combination of vehicles who operates or permits to be operated on
any highway such vehicle or combination of vehicles with any axle
load in excess of that permitted by sections eight and eight-a of
this article, or with a total gross weight with load imposed upon
the highway by any one group of two or more consecutive axles in
excess of that permitted by section nine or eleven-a of this
article, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be punished by a fine scheduled in proportion to
the amount of pounds in excess of the registered weight, or in
excess of allowable weights for single axle, or in excess of
allowable weights for groups of two or more consecutive axles, in
accordance with the schedule in words and figures as follows:
Pounds in excess of registered weight, or in excess of
allowable weights for single axle, or in excess of allowable
weights for groups of two or more consecutive axles.
Amount
of
Fine
1 to $4,000.............................
.......$ 20.00
4,001 to 5,000.................................$ 25.00
5,001 to 6,000.................................$ 60.00
6,001 to 7,000.................................$ 70.00
7,001 to 8,000.................................$ 80.00
8,001 to 9,000.................................$ 90.00
9,001 to 10,000................................$ 100.00
11,001 to 12,000...............................$ 180.00
10,001 to 11,000...............................$ 165.00
12,001 to 13,000...............................$ 195.00
13,001 to 14,000...............................$ 210.00
14,001 to 15,000...............................$ 225.00
15,001 to 16,000...............................$ 320.00
16,001 to 17,000...............................$ 340.00
17,001 to 18,000...............................$ 360.00
18,001 to 19,000...............................$ 380.00
19,001 to 20,000...............................$ 400.00
20,001 to 21,000...............................$ 525.00
21,001 to 22,000...............................$ 550.00
22,001 to 23,000...............................$ 575.00
23,001 to 24,000...............................$ 600.00
24,001 to 25,000...............................$ 625.00
25,001 to 26,000...............................$ 780.00
26,001 to 27,000...............................$ 810.00
27,001 to 28,000...............................$ 840.00
28,001 to 29,000...............................$ 870.00
29,001 to 30,000...............................$ 900.00
30,001 to 40,000..............................$1,200.00
40,001 to 50,000..............................$1,400.00
50,001 and over...............................$1,600.00
In the event any owner, lessee or borrower of a vehicle is
charged with violating this section, the vehicle which is charged to be overloaded shall be impounded by the arresting officer and
shall not be released to such owner, lessee or borrower unless
and until such owner, lessee or borrower either shall have been
found guilty and paid any fine assessed against such owner,
lessee or borrower, or shall have furnished cash or surety bond
in at least double the amount of the fine which may be assessed
against such owner, lessee or borrower for such violation of this
section and conditioned upon the payment of any such fine and
costs assessed for such violation, or shall have been acquitted
of such charge. Such owner, lessee or borrower shall be liable
for any reasonable storage costs incurred in storing such
vehicles: Provided, That if the owner of such vehicle is a
resident of or has a principal place of business located in this
state, and said vehicle has been duly licensed in the state, then
said vehicle shall not be impounded but the arresting officer
shall deliver to the driver a written notice stating such
violation; the place, date and time; the license number of said
vehicle; the title number and name and address of the owner; the
driver's name, address, and the number of his operator's or
chauffeur's card or permit; and the court, place, date and time
for hearing, which shall be within five days of such violation
(Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, excluded). A copy of such
notice shall within forty-eight hours be mailed to the owner of
said vehicle. Upon the failure by such owner or his or its agent
to appear at the designated place and time, or upon failure to pay the fine and costs assessed for such violation, unless such
owner shall have been acquitted of such charge, the court shall
order a bond or the impounding of said vehicle as provided in
this section.
(b) Any nonresident owner, lessee or borrower of a vehicle
or combination of vehicles who is fined under subsection (a) of
this section and fails to pay the fine within thirty days of the
date that the fine was imposed shall not be permitted to operate
any vehicle within this state. Any person who violates this
subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined an additional three times the amount he
or she was originally fined under subsection (a) of this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to revoke the driving
privileges of nonresident owners who have been fined for
operation of an overweight truck and have failed to pay the fine;
and create a penalty for the operation of the truck while the
owner's privileges are revoked.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.