HB1757

SECTION 1. Section 291-35, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§291-35 Gross weight[~~, axle,~~] and wheel loads. No motor vehicle or other power vehicle or combination of such vehicles equipped wholly with pneumatic tires, which has a total gross weight, including vehicle and load, [~~an axle load,~~] or a wheel load in excess of the limits set forth in this section shall be operated or moved upon any public road, street, or highway within the State; provided that the maximum gross weight[~~, axle loads,~~] and wheel loads allowed under this section shall be inapplicable when its application would adversely affect the receipt of federal funds for highway purposes; and provided further that no vehicle or combination of vehicles shall be operated on or moved over any bridge or other highway structure if the total gross weight, including vehicle and load, exceeds the posted maximum gross load limitation for the bridge or other highway structure.

[~~(1)~~ The total gross weight, in pounds, imposed on any public road, street, or highway within the State by any group of two or more consecutive axles, on a vehicle or combination of vehicles shall not exceed the following when the distance between the first and last axles of the group under consideration is:

~~(A)~~ ~~Forty inches or less, the weight imposed shall not exceed twenty-two thousand five hundred pounds.~~

~~(B)~~ ~~More than forty inches but not more than eight feet, the weight imposed shall not exceed thirty-four thousand pounds. This grouping of two consecutive axles shall be known as tandem axle.~~

~~(2)~~] (1) The total gross weight, in pounds, imposed on interstate highways within the State by any group of two or more consecutive axles, on a vehicle or combination of vehicles shall not exceed that resulting from application of the formula:

W = 500 (LN/(N-1) + 12N + 36)

when the distance between the first and last axles of the group under consideration is over eight feet and where W = maximum weight in pounds carried on any group of two or more axles computed to the nearest [~~500~~] five hundred pounds,

L = Distance in feet between the extremes of any group of two or more consecutive axles, to the nearest foot, and

N = Number of axles in group under consideration;

provided that two consecutive sets of tandem axles may carry a gross load of [~~34,000~~] thirty-four thousand pounds each providing the overall distance between the first and last axles of such consecutive sets of tandem axles is thirty-six feet or more and provided also that the overall gross weight does not exceed [~~80,000~~] eighty thousand pounds.

[~~(3)~~] (2) The total gross weight, in pounds, imposed on any public road, street, or highway, other than interstate highways, within the State by a vehicle or combination of vehicles shall not exceed that determined by the formula:

W = 900(L + 40)

L = Distance in feet between the extremes of any group of two or more consecutive axles, to the nearest foot;

provided also that the overall gross weight does not exceed [~~88,000~~] eighty-eight thousand pounds.

[~~(4)~~] (3) No vehicle or combination of vehicles shall be used or operated on any public road, street, or highway within the State:

(A) [~~with~~] With a load upon any single or tandem axle or combination of axles which exceeds the carrying capacity of the axles specified by the manufacturer[,]; or

(B) [~~with~~] With a total weight in excess of its designed capacity as indicated by its designed gross vehicle weights or gross combination weights.

[~~(5)~~ The total gross weight imposed upon the public road, street, or highway by any single axle shall not exceed twenty-two thousand five hundred pounds. For the purpose of this section, axles placed in the same transverse plane and are spaced forty inches or less apart, shall be considered as one axle.

~~(6)~~] (4) The total gross weight imposed upon the public road, street, or highway by any one wheel, either single or dual mounting, shall not exceed eleven thousand two hundred and fifty pounds.

[~~(7)~~] (5) The director of transportation, in the case of state highways, or the county engineer, in the case of county roads and streets, may place and maintain signs to limit the gross weight of a vehicle or combination of vehicles traveling over a bridge or other highway structure in the interest of public safety when it is determined through engineering investigation and analysis that the theoretical load carrying capacity of the bridge or structure is less than the maximum gross vehicular weight allowed by this chapter. In determining the weight limits and in posting the weight limit signs, the director or the county engineer need not comply with rulemaking provisions of chapter 91; provided that if any person objects to the weight limits, the person may object to the rule as provided in chapter 91."

SECTION 2. Section 291-37, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) Any person guilty of omitting any of the required acts, or committing any of the prohibited acts of sections 291-2 to 291-33, or the rules adopted shall be guilty of a violation of this chapter and shall be fined not less than $25 nor more than $1,800.

Any person guilty of omitting any of the required acts, or committing any of the prohibited acts of 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: first violation shall be:

100 to 1,500 pounds $125

1,501 to 2,000 pounds 130

2,001 to 2,500 pounds 140

2,501 to 3,000 pounds 160

3,001 to 3,500 pounds 180

3,501 to 4,000 pounds 200

4,001 to 4,500 pounds 225

4,501 to 5,000 pounds 250

5,001 to 5,500 pounds 275

5,501 to 6,000 pounds 300

6,001 to 6,500 pounds 330

6,501 to 7,000 pounds 360

7,001 to 7,500 pounds 390

7,501 to 8,000 pounds 420

8,001 to 8,500 pounds 455

8,501 to 9,000 pounds 490

9,001 to 9,500 pounds 525

9,501 to 10,000 pounds 560

10,001 pounds and over 580

If the excess dimension is: The fine shall be:

Up to 5 feet $ 25

Over 5 feet and up to 10 feet 50

Over 10 feet and up to 15 feet 75

Over 15 feet 100

For the purpose of the imposition of a fine or penalty herein, evidence of prior offenses shall be admissible.

[For a second violation within one year of the first, the fine for excess weight shall be not less than twice the fine listed in the excess weight table above and not more than $1,200. For a third or subsequent violation for excess weight previously cited under this section within one year, the fine shall not be less than triple the fine listed in the excess weight table above and not more than $1,800.]

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~~] 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 [~~is authorized to~~] 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."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1757
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII