1998 Minnesota Statutes

     169.733 Wheel flaps on truck and trailer. 

    Subdivision 1.    Vehicles generally.  Every truck, 
 truck-tractor, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, and rear-end 
 dump truck, excepting rear-end dump farm trucks and military 
 vehicles of the United States, shall be provided with wheel 
 flaps or other suitable protection above and behind the rearmost 
 wheels of the vehicle or combination of vehicles to prevent, as 
 far as practicable, such wheels from throwing dirt, water, or 
 other materials on the windshields of vehicles which follow.  
 Such flaps or protectors shall be at least as wide as the tires 
 they are protecting and shall have a ground clearance of not 
 more than one-fifth of the horizontal distance from the center 
 of the rearmost axle to the flap under any conditions of loading 
 or operation of the motor vehicle.  

    Subd. 2.    Vehicle with conveyor belt.  For a dump 
 truck or truck with a rigid box fastened to its frame and having 
 a conveyor belt or chain in the bottom of the vehicle which 
 moves the cargo to the rear end of the vehicle, the flaps shall 
 be mounted as far to the rear of the vehicle as practicable and 
 shall have a ground clearance of not more than 18 inches when 
 the vehicle is loaded. 

    Subd. 3.    Bottom-dump vehicle.  A bottom-dump cargo 
 vehicle transporting sand, gravel, aggregate, dirt, lime rock, 
 silica, or similar material must be equipped with flaps that are 
 mounted to the rear of the axles, cover the entire width of the 
 vehicle, and have a ground clearance of six inches or less when 
 the vehicle is fully loaded.  

    Subd. 4.    Alternative requirements.  If the motor 
 vehicle is so designed and constructed that the above 
 requirements are accomplished by means of body construction or 
 other means of enclosure, then no such protectors or flaps shall 
 be required. 

    Subd. 5.    Extended flaps.  If the rear wheels are not 
 covered at the top by fenders, body or other parts of the 
 vehicle, the flap or other protective means shall be extended at 
 least to a point directly above the center of the rearmost axle. 

    Subd. 6.    Lamps or wiring.  Lamps or wiring shall not 
 be attached to fender flaps. 

    HIST: 1951 c 640 s 1; 1953 c 619 s 1; 1976 c 136 s 1; 1978 c 
 498 s 1; 1990 c 548 s 1; 1998 c 372 art 1 s 7