PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 987 PRINTER'S NO. 1521
No. 869 Session of 1975
INTRODUCED BY MESSRS. LaMARCA, RENWICK, WESTERBERG, BUTERA,
RYAN, RITTER, JOHNSON, DOMBROWSKI, BELLOMINI, D. S. HAYES,
CUMBERLAND, SPENCER, MYERS AND HOPKINS, MARCH 19, 1975
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, MAY 28, 1975
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of April 29, 1959 (P.L.58, No.32), entitled "An
2 act consolidating and revising the Vehicle Code, the Tractor
3 Code, the Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Act and
4 other acts relating to the ownership, possession and use of
5 vehicles and tractors," creating additional classes of
6 commercial motor vehicles and truck tractors, prescribing
7 registration fees therefor, prescribing maximum gross weights
8 of combinations of which such additional classes are a part,
9 and changing penalties.
10 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
11 hereby enacts as follows:
12 Section 1. Section 704, act of April 29, 1959 (P.L.58,
13 No.32), known as "The Vehicle Code," amended December 30, 1974
14 (No.332), is amended to read:
15 Section 704. Commercial Motor Vehicles, School Buses and
16 Truck Tractors.--
17 (a) The fee for annual registration of a commercial motor
18 vehicle (except a school bus) or truck tractor with pneumatic
19 tires shall be determined by its registered gross weight,
20 according to the following table:
1 Registered Gross
2 Class. Weight in Pounds. Fee.
3 1 5,000 $ 26.00
4 2 7,000 36.00
5 3 9,000 52.00
6 4 11,000 64.00
7 5 14,000 80.00
8 6 17,000 100.00
9 7 21,000 136.00
10 8 26,000 168.00
11 9 30,000 200.00
12 10 33,000 230.00
13 11 36,000 260.00
14 12 40,000 290.00
15 13 44,000 315.00
16 14 48,000 345.00
17 15 52,000 380.00
18 16 56,000 410.00
19 17 60,000 440.00
20 18 64,000 470.00
21 19 68,000 500.00
22 20 73,280 535.00
23 21 76,000 555.00 <--
24 608.00
25 22 78,000 570.00 <--
26 624.00
27 23 78,500 575.00 <--
28 628.00
29 24 79,000 580.00 <--
30 632.00
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1 25 80,000 585.00 <--
2 640.00
3 * * *
4 Section 2. Subsections (a) and (f.1) of section 903, amended
5 March 3, 1970 (P.L.88, No.39), are amended to read:
6 Section 903. Maximum Allowed Gross, Axle and Wheel Weights
7 of Vehicles and Tractors.--
8 (a) No motor vehicle, and no combination of which a motor
9 vehicle is a part, shall, when operated upon a highway, have a
10 gross weight exceeding [seventy-three thousand two hundred
11 eighty (73,280)] eighty thousand (80,000) pounds.
12 * * *
13 (f.1) Whenever [two (2) vehicles are used or operated as] a
14 combination of a type described in the following table is
15 operated on any highway, the gross weight of the combination
16 shall not exceed the sum of the [maximum] registered gross
17 weights[, allowed for] of the respective vehicles comprising the
18 combination and, in addition, the gross weight of the
19 combination shall not exceed the gross weight specified as
20 follows:
21 Maximum
22 Gross Weight
23 Combination. In Pounds.
24 Two-axle truck tractor and single-axle semi-trailer.... 50000
25 Two-axle truck tractor and two-axle semi-trailer....... 60000
26 Two-axle commercial motor vehicle and two-axle trailer 62000
27 [Whenever necessary for the protection of any highway or for
28 the safety of traffic thereon, the Secretary of Highways shall
29 have power to limit the maximum gross weight of combinations of
30 vehicles operated thereon, which limitation shall be designated
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1 on official signs placed on such highway at its intersections
2 with highways on which heavier maximum gross weights are
3 permitted.]
4 * * *
5 Section 3. Section 903 of the act is amended by adding
6 subsections to read:
7 Section 903. Maximum Allowed Gross, Axle and Wheel Weights
8 of Vehicles and Tractors.--
9 * * *
10 (f.2) Whenever a combination having a registered gross
11 weight in excess of seventy-three thousand two hundred eighty
12 (73,280) pounds is operated upon a highway, the maximum gross
13 weight allowed shall be whichever is the lesser of (1) its
14 registered gross weight or (2) the maximum gross weight for
15 which it qualifies, according to the number of its axles and the
16 distance between centers of its foremost and rearmost axles, as
17 specified in the following table:
18 Minimum Number of Axles and Maximum
19 Minimum Distance Between Gross Weight
20 Axle Centers In Pounds
21 5 axles and 45 feet, or
22 6 axles and 37 feet 76,000
23 5 axles and 48 feet, or
24 6 axles and 40 feet 78,000
25 5 axles and 49 feet, or
26 6 axles and 41 feet 78,500
27 5 axles and 50 feet, or
28 6 axles and 42 feet 79,000
29 5 axles and 51 feet, or
30 6 axles and 43 feet 80,000
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1 If a combination having a registered gross weight in excess
2 of seventy-three thousand two hundred eighty (73,280) pounds is
3 operated upon a highway with a distance between centers of its
4 foremost and rearmost axles of less than forty-five (45) feet in
5 the case of a five (5) axle combination or less than thirty-
6 seven (37) feet in the case of a six (6) axle combination, the
7 maximum gross weight allowed for the purpose of determining the
8 penalty shall be seventy-three thousand two hundred eighty
9 (73,280) pounds.
10 (f.3) Whenever necessary for the protection of any highway
11 or for the safety of traffic thereon, the Secretary of
12 Transportation shall have power to limit the maximum gross
13 weight of combinations of vehicles operated thereon, which
14 limitation shall be designated on official signs placed on such
15 highway at its intersections with highways on which heavier
16 maximum gross weights are permitted.
17 * * *
18 Section 4. The first and second paragraphs of the penalty
19 clause of section 903 of the act, amended March 3, 1970 (P.L.88,
20 No.39), are amended to read:
21 Section 903. Maximum Allowed Gross, Axle and Wheel Weights
22 of Vehicles and Tractors.--
23 * * *
24 Penalty.--Any person operating upon any highway any vehicle
25 or combination, [upon any highway, with a gross weight exceeding
26 the maximum gross weight allowed therefor by] in violation of
27 subsection (a); or any combination with a registered gross
28 weight in excess of seventy-three thousand two hundred eighty
29 (73,280) pounds, in violation of subsection (f.2); or any other
30 vehicle or combination, with a gross weight exceeding by more
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1 than three (3) percent the maximum gross weight allowed therefor
2 by subsection (b), (c), (d) or (f.1); or any vehicle or
3 combination, with an axle or wheel weight exceeding by more than
4 three (3) percent the maximum axle or wheel weight allowed
5 therefor by subsection (g) or (h); shall, upon summary
6 conviction before a magistrate, be sentenced to pay the costs of
7 prosecution and a fine for all excess above the maximum weight
8 allowed according to the following table:
9 The fine
10 If the excess is shall be
11 Not over 3,000 pounds, $ 60.00
12 Over 3,000 pounds, but not over 3,500 pounds, 120.00
13 Over 3,500 pounds, but not over 4,000 pounds, 140.00
14 Over 4,000 pounds, but not over 4,500 pounds, 240.00
15 Over 4,500 pounds, but not over 5,000 pounds, 270.00
16 Over 5,000 pounds, but not over 5,500 pounds, 400.00
17 Over 5,500 pounds, but not over 6,000 pounds, 440.00
18 Over 6,000 pounds, but not over 6,500 pounds, 600.00
19 If the excess is over six thousand five hundred (6,500)
20 pounds, the fine shall be six hundred dollars ($600.00) plus
21 fifty dollars ($50.00) for each additional five hundred (500)
22 pounds, or part thereof, over such six thousand five hundred
23 (6,500) pounds: Provided, That [in any case in which the gross
24 weight of a combination] if the violation is of subsection (a)
25 or (f.2), or if the violation is of subsection (b), (c), (d) or
26 (f.1) and the gross weight exceeds seventy-three thousand two
27 hundred eighty (73,280) pounds, the fine shall be double the
28 amount determined as hereinabove prescribed for other weight
29 violations: And provided further, That in any case, in which
30 there shall be concurrent violations of more than one (1) of the
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1 subsections of this section prescribing maximum weights, the
2 penalty imposed shall be for violation of that subsection which
3 produces the greatest fine, but no penalty shall be imposed for
4 violation of any other such subsection.
5 * * *
6 Section 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
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