HB204INTRODUCED
Page 0
HB204
XNKBEE7-1
By Representatives Givens, Mooney, Moore (P), Almond, Collins,
Gidley, Travis, Hammett, Hulsey, Woods, Colvin, Brinyark,
Robertson, Shirey, Butler, Rehm, Lands, Fidler, Holk-Jones,
Easterbrook
RFD: Transportation, Utilities and Infrastructure
First Read: 06-Feb-25
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8 XNKBEE7-1 01/30/2025 ZAK (L)ZAK 2025-437
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First Read: 06-Feb-25
SYNOPSIS:
Under existing law, certain special trucks are
provided exceptions to certain weight and length limits
for highways in this state.
This bill would add certain trucks to those that
are excepted from these weight limits.
Also under existing law, portable scales may be
used to enforce these weight limits pursuant to certain
specified procedures.
This bill would further provide for an operator
of a vehicle to verify the accuracy of portable scales.
This bill would remove the authority of certain
individuals to require vehicle operators to drive to
stationary weigh scales to enforce these weight limits.
This bill would also make nonsubstantive,
technical revisions to update the existing code
language to current style.
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
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Relating to trucks; to amend Section 32-9-20, as last
amended by Act 2024-248, 2024 Regular Session, and Section
32-9-31, Code of Alabama 1975, to add certain trucks to those
excepted from weight limits on highways; to revise and further
provide procedures for using portable scales to enforce these
weight limits; to revise the authority of individuals
authorized to enforce these weight limits; and to make
nonsubstantive, technical revisions to update the existing
code language to current style.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Section 32-9-20, as last amended by Act
2024-248, 2024 Regular Session, and Section 32-9-31, Code of
Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:
"§32-9-20
(a) It shall be unlawful for any individual to drive or
move on any highway in this state any vehicle or vehicles of a
size or weight except in accordance with the following:
(1) HEIGHT. No vehicle, semitrailer, or trailer shall
exceed in height 13 1/2 feet, including load.
(2) LENGTH. No vehicle shall exceed in length 40 feet;
except, that the length of a truck-semitrailer combination,
semitrailers, including load, used in a truck
tractor-semitrailer combination, shall not exceed 57 feet;
semitrailers and trailers, including load, used in a truck
tractor-semitrailer-trailer combination, shall not exceed 28
1/2 feet each; and motor vehicles designed, used, or
maintained primarily as a mobile dwelling, office, or
commercial space, commonly called motor homes, shall not
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commercial space, commonly called motor homes, shall not
exceed 45 feet. Semitrailers exceeding 53 1/2 feet shall only
be operated on highways designated pursuant to Section 32-9-1
and shall only be operated when the distance between the
kingpin of a semitrailer and the rearmost axle or a point
midway between the two rear axles, if the two rear axles are
tandem axles, does not exceed 41 feet and if the semitrailer
is equipped with a rear underride guard of a substantial
construction consisting of a continuous lateral beam extending
to within four inches of the lateral extremities of the
semitrailer and located not more than 22 inches from the
surface as measured with the semitrailer empty and on a level
surface. For purposes of enforcement of this subdivision,
lengths of semitrailers and trailers refer to the cargo
carrying portion of the unit. Truck tractor units used
exclusively in combinations transporting motor vehicles may
directly carry a portion of the cargo, provided that the
combinations are restricted to truck tractor-semitrailer
combinations only and provided further that the overall length
of these particular combinations shall not exceed 65 feet;
except that the overall length of stinger-steered type units
shall not exceed 80 feet. No truck tractor-semitrailer
combination used exclusively for transporting motor vehicles
shall carry any load extending more than four feet beyond the
front or six feet beyond the rear of the combination. No other
vehicle operated on a highway shall carry any load extending
more than a total of five feet beyond both the front and rear,
inclusive, of the vehicle.
(3) WEIGHT.
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(3) WEIGHT.
a.1. Axle Weight. The gross weight imposed on the
highway by the wheels of any one axle of a vehicle shall not
exceed 20,000 pounds, or other weight, if any, as may be
permitted by federal law to keep the state from losing federal
funds; provided, that inadequate bridges shall be posted to
define load limits.
2. For the purpose of this subdivision, an "axle load"
shall be defined as the total load transmitted to the road by
all wheels whose centers are included between two parallel
transverse vertical planes 40 inches apart, extending across
the full width of the vehicle.
3. Vehicles and combinations of vehicles shall not
operate on the Interstate Highway System of Alabama that have
a weight greater than 20,000 pounds carried on any one axle,
including the allowable load tolerance, or with a tandem axle
weight in excess of 34,000 pounds, including the allowable
load tolerance, or overall gross weight on a group of two or
more consecutive axles produced by application of the
following formula:
W=500 (LN/(N-1) + 12N + 36)
where W = overall gross weight on any group of two or
more consecutive axles to the nearest 500 pounds, L = distance
in feet between the extreme of any group of two or more
consecutive axles, and N = number of axles in the group under
consideration; except, that two consecutive sets of tandem
axles may carry a gross load of 34,000 pounds each, provided
the overall distance between the first and last axles of the
consecutive sets of tandem axles is 36 feet or more and the
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consecutive sets of tandem axles is 36 feet or more and the
overall gross weight may not exceed 80,000 pounds, including
the allowable load tolerance.
b. Gross Weight. Subject to the limit upon the weight
imposed upon the highway through any one axle as set forth
herein, the total weight with load imposed upon the highway by
all the axles of a vehicle or combination of vehicles shall
not exceed the gross weight given for the respective distances
between the first and last axle of the vehicle or combination
of vehicles, measured longitudinally to the nearest foot as
set forth in the following table:
COMPUTED GROSS WEIGHT TABLE
For various spacings of axle groupings
Distance in feet between first and
last axles of vehicle or combination
of vehicles
Maximum load in
pounds on all the
axles
2 axles3 axles4 axles5 axles6 axles
8 or less 36,000 42,000 42,000
9 38,000 42,500 42,500
10 40,000 43,500 43,500
11 44,000 44,000
12 45,000 50,000 50,000
13 45,500 50,500 50,500
14 46,500 51,500 51,500
15 47,000 52,000 52,000
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15 47,000 52,000 52,000
16 48,000 52,500 58,000 58,000
17 48,500 53,500 58,500 58,500
18 49,500 54,000 59,000 59,000
19 50,000 54,500 60,000 60,000
20 51,000 55,500 60,500 66,000
21 51,500 56,000 61,000 66,500
22 52,500 56,500 61,500 67,000
23 53,000 57,500 62,500 68,000
24 54,000 58,000 63,000 68,500
25 54,500 58,500 63,500 69,000
26 56,000 59,500 64,000 69,500
27 57,000 60,000 65,000 70,000
28 59,000 60,500 65,500 71,000
29 60,000 61,500 66,000 71,500
30 62,000 66,500 72,000
31 63,500 67,000 72,500
32 64,500 68,000 73,500
33 65,000 69,000 74,000
34 65,500 70,000 74,500
35 66,500 71,000 75,000
36 67,000 72,000 76,000
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36 67,000 72,000 76,000
37 68,000 73,000 77,000
38 69,000 74,000 78,000
39 70,000 75,000 79,000
40 71,000 76,000 80,000
41 72,000 77,000 81,000
42 73,000 78,000 82,000
43 74,000 79,000 83,000
44 and over 75,000 80,000 84,000
c. Special Permits. Except as provided by special
permits, no vehicle or combination of vehicles exceeding the
gross weights specified in paragraph a. or b. shall be
permitted to travel on the public highways within the State of
Alabama.
d.1. Allowable Load Tolerance. For purposes of
enforcing this subdivision, all weights less than or equal to
the sum of the weight otherwise prescribed by this
subdivision, plus the allowable load tolerance, shall be
deemed to be in compliance with the requirements of this
section and shall not constitute violations thereof. No
evidence shall be admitted into evidence or considered by the
trier of fact in any civil action unless the evidence
proffered would tend to prove that the weight of the vehicle
exceeded the amount provided in this subsection. Nothing in
this paragraph shall restrict or affect the right of any
defendant to place in evidence such evidence tending to prove
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defendant to place in evidence such evidence tending to prove
the defendant was in compliance with this section.
2. For the purposes of this subdivision, the allowable
load tolerance is calculated by multiplying the weight
prescribed by this subdivision by one-tenth (.10).
e. Special Trucks.
1. Dump trucks, dump trailers, concrete mixing trucks,
fuel oil, gasoline trucks, and trucks designated and
constructed for special type work or use shall not be made to
conform to the axle spacing requirements of paragraph b. ;,
provided, that the vehicle shall be limited to a weight of
20,000 pounds per axle plus the allowable load tolerance; and,
provided further, that the maximum gross weight of the
vehicles vehicle shall not exceed the maximum weight allowed
by this section for the appropriate number of axles,
irrespective of the distance between axles, plus the allowable
load tolerance. All axles shall be brake equipped.
2. Trucks delivering asphalt plant mix which that do
not exceed the maximum allowable gross weight and operate
within 50 miles of their home base shall not be required to
conform to the requirements of paragraph a.
3. Concrete mixing trucks that operate within 50 miles
of their home base and do not exceed the maximum allowable
gross weight shall not be required to conform to the
requirements of paragraph a.
4. Log trucks that do not exceed the maximum allowable
gross weight shall not be required to conform to the
requirements of paragraph a., subject to meeting the following
requirements:
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requirements:
(i) The weight of each axle is limited to 22,000 pounds
plus the allowable load tolerance.
(ii) If the vehicle has two consecutive sets of tandem
axles:
A. The weight of each consecutive set of axles is
limited to 44,000 pounds plus the allowable load tolerance.
B. The overall distance between the first axle and last
axle of the consecutive sets of tandem axles is 36 feet or
more.
C. The overall gross weight of the vehicle does not
exceed 80,000 pounds plus the allowable load tolerance.
5. It shall be is a violation if the vehicles a vehicle
named under this subdivision travel paragraph travels upon
bridges designated and posted by the Transportation Director
of Transportation as incapable of carrying the load.
f. Driver Compliance. If the driver of any vehicle can
comply with the weight requirements of this section by
shifting or equalizing the load on all wheels or axles and
does so when requested by the proper authority, the driver
shall not be held to be operating in violation of this
section.
g. Portable Scales.
1. When portable Portable scales are may be used in
enforcing to enforce this section, the. To determine the
weight of each axle, the axles of any vehicle described or
commonly referred to as tandem or triaxle rigs or units, that
is, vehicles having two or more axles in addition to a
steering axle, the group of tandem or triaxles shall be
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steering axle, the group of tandem or triaxles shall be
weighed simultaneously, and the total weight so derived shall
be divided by the number of axles weighed in the group to
arrive at the per axle weight, except that if any one axle in
the group exceeds 20,000 pounds in weight, it shall not exceed
the weight of any other axle in the group by more than 50
percent.
2. When portable scales are used to enforce this
sectiondetermine and either the axle weight or the gross
weight of a vehicle pursuant to is determined to be in
violation of this section, if the operator of the vehicle
believes that the determination of a violation is based on
inaccuracies of the portable scales, the operator may do
either of the following:
(i)will be permitted to move Request that an
enforcement officer accompany the operator and vehicle to the
nearest platform scales certified by the Department of
Agriculture and Industries and operated by a bonded operator
within a distance of 10 highway miles , accompanied by an
enforcement officer to verify the accuracy of the portable
scales used in determining the axle weight or gross weight of
the vehicle. If an enforcement officer does not accompany the
operator and vehicle to platform scales within 30 minutes of
the request to do so, or the axle weights or gross weight of
the vehicle is shown by the platform scales to be within the
legal limits of this section, including the allowable load
tolerance, the operator of the vehicle shall not be held to be
in violation of this section and any citation, if issued,
shall be void.
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shall be void.
(ii) Proceed with the vehicle to the nearest platform
scales certified by the Department of Agriculture and
Industries and operated by a bonded operator within a distance
of 100 highway miles to verify the accuracy of the portable
scales used in determining the axle weight or gross weight of
the vehicle without being accompanied by an enforcement
officer. If the axle weights or gross weight of the vehicle is
shown by the platform scales to be within the legal limits of
this section, including the allowable load tolerance, the
operator of the vehicle shall not be held to be in violation
of this section and any citation, if issued, shall be void
upon providing a copy of the platform scale weight ticket and
an affidavit, to be established and provided online by the
entity employing the enforcing officer, to the entity
employing the enforcing officer within 48 hours of being
weighed by the portable scales.
3. When using portable scales to enforce this section,
not more than three vehicles may be detained at any one time,
including a vehicle being weighed
h. County Highways. The governing body of a county, by
appropriate resolution, may authorize limitations less than
those prescribed in this section for vehicles operated upon
the county highways of the county.
i. Posted Roads and Bridges. The Department of
Transportation may post or limit any road or bridge to weights
less than those prescribed by this section. It is the
legislative intent and purpose that this section be rigidly
enforced by the Department of Transportation, the Alabama
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enforced by the Department of Transportation, the Alabama
State Law Enforcement Agency, any other authorized law
enforcement officer of this state, and any county, city, and
incorporated town.
j. Agricultural Commodities. Two and three axle
vehicles being used exclusively for the purpose of
transporting agricultural commodities or products to and from
a farm and for agricultural purposes relating to the operation
and maintenance of a farm by any farmer, custom harvester, or
husbandman may not be made to conform to the axle requirements
of paragraph a. or the gross weight requirements of paragraph
b.
(4) WIDTH. Vehicles and combinations of vehicles
operating on highways shall not exceed a total outside width,
including any load thereon, of 102 inches, exclusive of
mirrors or other safety devices approved by the Department of
Transportation. No passenger vehicle shall carry any load
extending beyond the line of the fenders. No vehicle hauling
forest products or culvert pipe on any highway shall have a
load exceeding 102 inches in width.
(b)(1) Any vehicle utilizing an auxiliary power or idle
reduction technology unit in order to promote reduction of
fuel use and emissions because of engine idling shall be
allowed an additional 400 pounds total to the gross, axle,
tandem, or bridge formula weight limits defined in this
section.
(2) To be eligible for the exception provided in this
subsection, the operator of the vehicle must provide written
proof or certification of the weight of the auxiliary power
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proof or certification of the weight of the auxiliary power
unit (APU) and demonstrate or certify the idle reduction
technology is fully functional at all times.
(3) Written proof or certification of the weight of the
APU must be available to law enforcement officers if the
vehicle is found in violation of applicable weight laws. The
weight allowed may not exceed 400 pounds or the actual weight
proven or certified, whichever is less.
(4) It is the intent of this subsection to apply at the
state highway level the weight limit increase for vehicles
using a functioning auxiliary power or idle reduction
technology as provided in the Federal Energy Policy Act of
2005.
(c)(1) Any motor vehicle, if operated by an engine
fueled primarily by natural gas, may exceed any vehicle weight
limit, up to a maximum gross vehicle weight of 82,000 pounds,
under this section by an amount that is equal to the
difference between:
a. The weight of the vehicle attributable to the
natural gas tank and fueling system carried by that vehicle;
and
b. The weight of a comparable diesel tank and fueling
system.
(2) This subsection applies on federal interstate
highways to the weight limit increases for vehicles using an
EPA certified natural gas engine or an EPA approved conversion
unit installed on the vehicle that allows the vehicle to
operate primarily on compressed natural gas or liquefied
natural gas.
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natural gas.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed as
effectuating either of the following:
(1) Permitting size or weight limits on the National
System of Interstate and Defense Highways in this state in
excess of those permitted under 23 U.S.C. § 127. If the
federal government prescribes or adopts vehicle size or weight
limits greater than or less than those now prescribed by 23
U.S.C. § 127 for the National System of Interstate and Defense
Highways, the increased or decreased limits shall become
effective on the National System of Interstate and Defense
Highways in this state.
(2) Denying the operation of any vehicle or combination
of vehicles that could be lawfully operated upon the highways
and roads of this state on January 4, 1975."
"§32-9-31
Any officer enumerated in Section 32-9-3 having reason
to believe that the height, length, width, or weight of any
truck, semitrailer truck, or trailer is in excess of the
maximum limits prescribed by Section 32-9-20 , or permitted by
any permit issued under authority of Section 32-9-29 , is
authorized to measure or weigh the same, vehicle using either
by means of portable or stationary scales , and may require
such vehicle to be driven to the nearest stationary scales, in
the event such scales are within a distance of five miles . All
scales used for the weighing of vehicles as provided in this
section shall be approved by the weights and measures division
of the Department of Agriculture and Industries. The officer
shall may require the operator of the truck, semitrailer
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shall may require the operator of the truck, semitrailer
truck, or trailer to unload such a portion of a load as may be
necessary to decrease the gross weight of such the vehicle to
the maximum gross weight permitted by this title or by the
terms of any permit in the possession of such the operator and
issued under the provisions of Section 32-9-29 (, which excess
load, when unloaded, shall be at the sole risk of the owner ),
or, at the election of the operator, the officer shall permit
the operator to move such the vehicle and its load to the
nearest incorporated town or the nearest court having
jurisdiction, at which place the excess load shall be
unloaded. The refusal of any such operator to permit his or
her truck, semitrailer truck, or trailer to be measured or
weighed, or to proceed to a stationary scales or to unload the
excess load shall constitute , is a violation of this chapter."
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2025.
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