H. B. 4014
(By Delegates Caputo, Kuhn, Perdue,
Staton, Hrutkay, Webster and Manchin)
[Introduced January 10, 2002; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
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; and to further amend said
article by adding thereto a new section, designated section
fourteen-a, all relating to enforcement of weight laws;
providing for shipper liability for overweight violation; good
faith exception; providing for record keeping and notification
of overweight shipment upon receipt; penalties for
noncompliance; and fines increased for overweight violation.
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; and that said article be further amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
fourteen-a, all 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, and
any shipper who ships or tenders goods for shipment in such vehicle
or combinations of vehicles in violation of section eight, eight-a,
nine or eleven-a of this article
shall be is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a
fine scheduled fined 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
1to4,000$ 20.00 100.00
4,001to5,000$ 25.00 200.00
5,001to6,000$ 60.00 300.00
6,001to7,000$ 70.00 400.00
7,001to8,000$ 80.00 500.00
8,001to9,000$ 90.00 600.00
9,001to10,000$ 100.00 700.00
10,001to11,000$ 165.00 800.00
11,001to12,000$ 180.00 900.00
12,001to13,000 $ 195.00 1,000.00
13,001to14,000$ 210.00 1,200.00
14,001to15,000$ 225.00 1,400.00
15,001to16,000$ 320.00 1,600.00
16,001to17,000$ 340.00 1,800.00
17,001to18,000$ 360.00 2,000.00
18,001to19,000$ 380.00 2,200.00
19,001to20,000$ 400.00 2,400.00
20,001to21,000$ 525.00 2,600.00
21,001to22,000$ 550.00 2,800.00
22,001to23,000$ 575.00 3,000.00
23,001to24,000$ 600.00 3,200.00
24,001to 25,000$ 625.00 3,400.00
25,001to26,000$ 780.00 3,600.00
26,001to27,000$ 810.00 3,800.00
27,001to28,000$ 840.00 4,000.00
28,001to29,000$ 870.00 4,200.00
29,001to30,000$ 900.00 4,400.00
30,001to40,000$1,200.00 4,600.00
40,001to50,000$1,400.00 5,000.00
50,001 and over. $1,600.00 7,500.00
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 has been
found guilty and paid any fine assessed against such owner, lessee or borrower, or shall have has 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 has been acquitted of
such charge. Such owner, lessee or borrower shall be is 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 the
vehicle has been duly licensed in the state, then said the vehicle
shall may 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 the vehicle; the title
number and name and address of the owner; the driver's name,
address and the number of his or her 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 the vehicle. Upon the
failure by such owner or his or her 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 the owner shall have
has been acquitted of such the charge, the court shall order a bond
or the impounding of said the vehicle as provided in this section.
(b) The penalty imposed by subsection (a) of this section may
not be imposed on a shipper who in good faith ships goods or
tenders goods for shipment in a vehicle or combination of vehicles
that does not exceed the maximum gross weight for which the vehicle
or combination of vehicles is permitted under the provisions of
this article. For purposes of this section, "good faith" means
that: (1) The operator of the vehicle or combination of vehicles
is not under the control of the shipper; (2) the operator has
requested that the vehicle or combination of vehicles be loaded to
the maximum gross weight for which the vehicle is permitted under
the provisions
of
section eight, eight-a, nine or eleven-a
of this
article; and (3) the road leading from the shipper's immediate
place of shipment may be legally used for the allowed gross weight
of the vehicle or combination of vehicles with its legally maximum
load.
17C-17-14a. Receipt of certain overweight loads.
(a) A person who weighs goods before or after unloading or a
person who loads or unloads goods on the basis of liquid volume measure shall keep a written record of the origin, weight and
composition of each shipment, the date of loading or receipt, the
name and address of the shipper, the total number of axles on the
vehicle or combination of vehicles, and the registration number of
the power unit or some other means of identification by which the
shipment was transported. A person receiving a shipment exceeding
the legal weight limit allowed for that vehicle or combination of
vehicles by the provisions of
section eight, eight-a, nine or
eleven-a of
this article shall forward a copy of the record to the
division of highways enforcement division within three days of
receipt of the shipment. A record of all shipments received shall
be retained for a minimum of thirty days and shall be open to
inspection and copying by a police officer or division of highways
enforcement officer upon demand. No search warrant is required to
inspect or copy the record. This subsection does not apply to a
person weighing goods who is not involved in the shipping,
receiving and transporting of those goods, or to a person weighing
raw and unfinished farm products transported in a single unit
vehicle with not more than three axles or by a trailer towed by a
farm tractor when the transportation is the first haul of the
product.
(b) Except for records relating to the loading and unloading
of the first haul of unprocessed or raw farm products and the
transportation of raw and unfinished forest products, a record kept
and maintained as provided in subsection (a) of this section that
shows that a vehicle has exceeded a gross weight limit imposed by
section eight, eight-a, nine or eleven-a
of this article is
relevant evidence of a violation of section fourteen of this
article. The foregoing provisions do not limit the introduction of
other competent evidence bearing upon the question of whether or
not there is a violation of the prescribed maximum weight
limitation permitted by this article.
(c) A person who fails to forward a copy of a record to the
division of highways enforcement division as required in subsection
(a) of this section, or fails to keep, maintain, or open for
inspection and copying, those documents as required in subsection
(a) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor. A person who does
not accurately record the information required to be contained in
those documents required in subsection (a) of this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to hold shippers liable for
overweight truck violations in addition to truck owners. Fines for overweight violations are also increased.
Receivers are required
to keep records of shipments and are required to notify the
Division of Highways Enforcement Division of overweight violations.
Penalties are provided for failing to comply with record and
notification requirements.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
Section fourteen-a is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.