§291-37  Penalties.  (a)  Any person who omits to perform any of the acts required by, or who commits any of the acts prohibited by, sections 291-2 to 291-33, or any rules adopted to enforce those sections, shall be guilty of a violation and shall be fined not less than $25 nor more than $1,800, except as otherwise provided.

     Any person who omits to perform any of the acts required by, or who commits any of the acts prohibited by, section 291-34, 291-35, or 291-36 shall be fined in accordance with the following tables:

                         The fine for a

     If the excess weight is: violation shall be:

     100 to 1,500 pounds                     $250

     1,501 to 2,000 pounds                   260

     2,001 to 2,500 pounds                   280

     2,501 to 3,000 pounds                   320

     3,001 to 3,500 pounds                   360

     3,501 to 4,000 pounds                   400

     4,001 to 4,500 pounds                   450

     4,501 to 5,000 pounds                   500

     5,001 to 5,500 pounds                   550

     5,501 to 6,000 pounds                   600

     6,001 to 6,500 pounds                   660

     6,501 to 7,000 pounds                   720

     7,001 to 7,500 pounds                   780

     7,501 to 8,000 pounds                   840

     8,001 to 8,500 pounds                   910

     8,501 to 9,000 pounds                   980

     9,001 to 9,500 pounds                   1050

     9,501 to 10,000 pounds                  1120

     10,001 pounds and over                  1160

     If the excess dimension is:    The fine shall be:

     Up to 5 feet                            $ 50

     Over 5 feet and up to 10 feet           100

     Over 10 feet and up to 15 feet          150

     Over 15 feet                            200

     For the purposes of this section, "person" means the driver of the vehicle unless the driver is an employee in the scope and course of employment, in which case "person" means the employer of the driver.  In the case of the transportation of a sealed container or transportation by flatrack, "person" means:

     (1)  The individual or company the cargo is consigned to; or

     (2)  The individual or company located in the State shipping the cargo.

The consignee or the shipper shall not be cited if the power units' drive axle group is overweight, and the weight is not more than that allowed for a tandem axle with any applicable tolerances.

     All penalties imposed and collected for violations of sections 291-33 to 291-36 shall be paid into the state highway fund.

     The department of transportation shall institute a system where the fine, based on the tables in this subsection, may be mailed in when the citation or penalty is not to be contested.  This system shall include an ability for the owner of the vehicle or combination of vehicles to request the operator be held harmless and the citation be transferred to that owner of the vehicle or combination of vehicles.

     (b)  When a vehicle or combination of vehicles including load is found to be in violation of any provision contained in sections 291-33 to 291-36, and the operator of such vehicle or combination of vehicles is a subordinate or employee, the courts shall take judicial notice of this relative subordinate position and, conditions warranting, hold the operator harmless and impose the applicable penalties against the owner of the vehicle or combination of vehicles.  The owner of the vehicle or combination of vehicles shall mean persons or officers of firms or corporations, who owns the transporting vehicle or who operates the vehicle under a bona fide lease agreement. [L 1941, c 216, pt of §1; RL 1945, §11716; RL 1955, §311-22; HRS §291-37; am L 1977, c 184, §3; am L 1980, c 281, §3; am L 1989, c 57, §1; am L 1992, c 43, §1 and c 179, §1; am L 1994, c 30, §2; am L 2005, c 66, §1; am L 2007, c 209, §1]