1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to traffic regulations; requiring wheel flaps 
  1.3             on truck tractors; allowing commercial vehicle 
  1.4             inspectors of the department of public safety to issue 
  1.5             citations for hauling firewood unsafely; regulating 
  1.6             weight restrictions on vehicle axles; requiring trucks 
  1.7             weighing more than 10,000 pounds to submit to weighing 
  1.8             during truck weight enforcement operation; making 
  1.9             technical changes; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, 
  1.10            sections 169.733, subdivision 1; 169.81, subdivision 
  1.11            5a; 169.825, subdivision 8; 169.85; and 299D.06. 
  1.12  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.13     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 169.733, 
  1.14  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.15     Subdivision 1.  [VEHICLES GENERALLY.] Every truck, truck 
  1.16  tractor, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, and rear-end dump 
  1.17  truck, excepting rear-end dump farm trucks and military vehicles 
  1.18  of the United States, shall be provided with wheel flaps or 
  1.19  other suitable protection above and behind the rearmost wheels 
  1.20  of the vehicle or combination of vehicles to prevent, as far as 
  1.21  practicable, such wheels from throwing dirt, water, or other 
  1.22  materials on the windshields of vehicles which follow.  Such 
  1.23  flaps or protectors shall be at least as wide as the tires they 
  1.24  are protecting and shall have a ground clearance of not more 
  1.25  than one-fifth of the horizontal distance from the center of the 
  1.26  rearmost axle to the flap under any conditions of loading or 
  1.27  operation of the motor vehicle.  
  1.28     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 169.81, 
  2.1   subdivision 5a, is amended to read: 
  2.2      Subd. 5a.  [FIREWOOD LOADS.] No vehicle that has a cargo 
  2.3   area without a rear wall may be driven or moved on a trunk 
  2.4   highway with a load of cut firewood of less than three feet in 
  2.5   length unless the rear of the cargo area is covered with a 
  2.6   material of sufficient strength to prevent any part of the load 
  2.7   from escaping from the rear.  No person shall transport firewood 
  2.8   in any vehicle in an unsafe manner.  Violation of this 
  2.9   subdivision is a petty misdemeanor except that subject to 
  2.10  citation by a commercial vehicle inspector authorized under 
  2.11  section 299D.06 or by a peace officer.  However, a peace officer 
  2.12  or commercial vehicle inspector may instead issue a citation 
  2.13  that amounts to a warning if (1) for the violation is a first 
  2.14  offense, and (2) if, in the judgment of the citing inspector or 
  2.15  peace officer at the site, the load of firewood is made safe for 
  2.16  transport.  
  2.17     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 169.825, 
  2.18  subdivision 8, is amended to read: 
  2.19     Subd. 8.  [PNEUMATIC-TIRED VEHICLES.] No vehicle or 
  2.20  combination of vehicles equipped with pneumatic tires shall be 
  2.21  operated upon the highways of this state:  
  2.22     (a) Where the gross weight on any wheel exceeds 9,000 
  2.23  pounds, except that on designated local routes and state trunk 
  2.24  highways the gross weight on any single wheel shall not exceed 
  2.25  10,000 pounds; 
  2.26     (b) Where the gross weight on any single axle exceeds 
  2.27  18,000 pounds, except that on designated local routes and state 
  2.28  trunk highways the gross weight on any single axle shall not 
  2.29  exceed 20,000 pounds; 
  2.30     (c) Where the maximum wheel load: 
  2.31     (1) on the foremost and rearmost steering axles, exceeds 
  2.32  600 pounds per inch of tire width or the manufacturer's 
  2.33  recommended load, whichever is less; or 
  2.34     (2) on other axles, exceeds 500 pounds per inch of tire 
  2.35  width or the manufacturer's recommended load, whichever is less; 
  2.36     Clause (2) applies to new vehicles manufactured after 
  3.1   August 1, 1991.  For vehicles manufactured before August 2, 
  3.2   1991, the maximum weight per inch of tire width is 600 pounds 
  3.3   per inch or the manufacturer's recommended load, whichever is 
  3.4   less, until August 1, 1996.  After July 31, 1996, clause (2) 
  3.5   applies to all vehicles regardless of date of manufacture. 
  3.6      (d) Where the gross weight on any axle of a tridem exceeds 
  3.7   15,000 pounds, except that for vehicles to which an additional 
  3.8   axle has been added prior to June 1, 1981, the maximum gross 
  3.9   weight on any axle of a tridem may be up to 16,000 pounds 
  3.10  provided the gross weight of the tridem combination does not 
  3.11  exceed 39,900 pounds where the first and third axles of the 
  3.12  tridem are spaced nine feet apart.  
  3.13     (e) Where the gross weight on any group of axles exceeds 
  3.14  the weights permitted under this section with any or all of the 
  3.15  interior axles disregarded, and with an exterior axle 
  3.16  disregarded if the exterior axle is a variable load axle that is 
  3.17  not carrying its intended weight, and their gross weights 
  3.18  subtracted from the gross weight of all axles of the group under 
  3.19  consideration. 
  3.20     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 169.85, is 
  3.21  amended to read: 
  3.22     169.85 [WEIGHING; PENALTY.] 
  3.23     The driver of a vehicle which has been lawfully stopped may 
  3.24  be required by a peace officer to submit the vehicle and load to 
  3.25  a weighing by means of portable or stationary scales, and the 
  3.26  peace officer may require that the vehicle be driven to the 
  3.27  nearest available scales if the distance to the scales is no 
  3.28  further than five miles, or if the distance from the point where 
  3.29  the vehicle is stopped to the vehicle's destination is not 
  3.30  increased by more than ten miles as a result of proceeding to 
  3.31  the nearest available scales.  Official traffic control devices 
  3.32  as authorized by section 169.06 may be used to direct the driver 
  3.33  to the nearest scale.  When a truck weight enforcement operation 
  3.34  is conducted by means of portable or stationary scales and signs 
  3.35  giving notice of the operation are posted within the highway 
  3.36  right-of-way and adjacent to the roadway within two miles of the 
  4.1   operation, the driver of a truck or combination of vehicles 
  4.2   registered for or weighing in excess of 12,000 10,000 pounds 
  4.3   shall proceed to the scale site and submit the vehicle to 
  4.4   weighing and inspection. 
  4.5      Upon weighing a vehicle and load, as provided in this 
  4.6   section, an officer may require the driver to stop the vehicle 
  4.7   in a suitable place and remain standing until a portion of the 
  4.8   load is removed that is sufficient to reduce the gross weight of 
  4.9   the vehicle to the limit permitted under section 169.825.  A 
  4.10  suitable place is a location where loading or tampering with the 
  4.11  load is not prohibited by federal, state, or local law, rule or 
  4.12  ordinance.  A driver may be required to unload a vehicle only if 
  4.13  the weighing officer determines that (a) on routes subject to 
  4.14  the provisions of section 169.825, the weight on an axle exceeds 
  4.15  the lawful gross weight prescribed by section 169.825, by 2,000 
  4.16  pounds or more, or the weight on a group of two or more 
  4.17  consecutive axles in cases where the distance between the 
  4.18  centers of the first and last axles of the group under 
  4.19  consideration is ten feet or less exceeds the lawful gross 
  4.20  weight prescribed by section 169.825, by 4,000 pounds or more; 
  4.21  or (b) on routes designated by the commissioner in section 
  4.22  169.832, subdivision 11, the overall weight of the vehicle or 
  4.23  the weight on an axle or group of consecutive axles exceeds the 
  4.24  maximum lawful gross weights prescribed by section 169.825; or 
  4.25  (c) the weight is unlawful on an axle or group of consecutive 
  4.26  axles on a road restricted in accordance with section 169.87.  
  4.27  Material unloaded must be cared for by the owner or driver of 
  4.28  the vehicle at the risk of the owner or driver. 
  4.29     A driver of a vehicle who fails or refuses to stop and 
  4.30  submit the vehicle and load to a weighing as required in this 
  4.31  section, or who fails or refuses, when directed by an officer 
  4.32  upon a weighing of the vehicle, to stop the vehicle and 
  4.33  otherwise comply with the provisions of this section, is guilty 
  4.34  of a misdemeanor. 
  4.35     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 299D.06, is 
  4.36  amended to read: 
  5.1      299D.06 [INSPECTIONS; WEIGHING.] 
  5.2      Personnel to enforce: 
  5.3      (1) the laws relating to motor vehicle equipment,; school 
  5.4   bus equipment, drivers license,; driver licensing; motor vehicle 
  5.5   registration,; motor vehicle size and, weight, and load; the 
  5.6   motor vehicle petroleum tax, to enforce public utilities 
  5.7   commission; and directing the movement of vehicles; and 
  5.8      (2) rules relating to motor carriers, to enforce pollution 
  5.9   control agency rules relating to and motor vehicle noise 
  5.10  abatement, and to enforce laws relating to directing the 
  5.11  movement of vehicles 
  5.12  shall be classified employees of the commissioner of public 
  5.13  safety assigned to the division of state patrol.  Employees 
  5.14  engaged in these duties, while actually on the job during their 
  5.15  working hours only, shall have power to issue citations in lieu 
  5.16  of arrest and continued detention and to prepare notices to 
  5.17  appear in court for violation of these laws and rules, in the 
  5.18  manner provided in section 169.91, subdivision 3.  They shall 
  5.19  not be armed and shall have none of the other powers and 
  5.20  privileges reserved to peace officers.