GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1995 SESSION

CHAPTER 332
SENATE BILL 331

AN ACT TO PROVIDE A LIMITED TOLERANCE FOR EXISTING TRUCK WEIGHTS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 20-118(h) reads as rewritten:
"(h)	Tolerance. – A vehicle may exceed maximum and the inner axle-group weight limitations set forth in subdivision (b)(3) of this section by a tolerance of ten percent (10%).  This exception does not authorize a vehicle to exceed either the single-axle or tandem-axle weight limitations set forth in subdivisions (b)(1) and (b)(2) of this section, or the maximum gross weight limit of 80,000 pounds.  This exception does not apply to bridges posted under G.S. 136-72 or to vehicles operating on interstate highways.  The tolerance allowed under this subsection does not authorize the weight of a vehicle to exceed the weight for which that vehicle is licensed under G.S. 20-88.  No tolerance on the single-axle weight or the tandem-axle weight provided for in subdivisions (b)(1) and (b)(2) of this section shall be granted administratively or otherwise.  The Department of Transportation shall report back to the Transportation Oversight Committee and to the General Assembly on the effects of the tolerance granted under this section, any abuses of this tolerance, and any suggested revisions to this section by that Department on or before May 1, 1998."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 20-118(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	Penalties. – 
(1)	Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, for each violation of the single-axle or tandem-axle weight limits set in subdivision (b)(1), (b)(2), or (b)(4) of this section, the Department of Transportation shall assess a civil penalty against the owner or registrant of the vehicle in accordance with the following schedule: for the first 1,000 pounds or any part thereof, four cents (4¢) per pound; for the next 1,000 pounds or any part thereof, six cents (6¢) per pound; and for each additional pound, ten cents (10¢) per pound. These penalties apply separately to each weight limit violated. In all cases of violation of the weight limitation, the penalty shall be computed and assessed on each pound of weight in excess of the maximum permitted.
(2)	The penalty for a violation of the single-axle or tandem-axle weight limits by a vehicle that is transporting an item listed in subdivision (c)(5) of this section is one-half of the amount it would otherwise be under subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(3)	
	If an axle-group weight of a vehicle exceeds the weight limit set in subdivision (b)(3) of this section plus any tolerance allowed in subsection (h) of this section, the Department of Transportation shall assess a civil penalty against the owner or registrant of the motor vehicle.  The penalty shall be assessed on the number of pounds by which the axle-group weight exceeds the limit set in subdivision (b)(3), as follows:  for the first 2,000 pounds or any part thereof, two cents (2¢) per pound; for the next 3,000 pounds or any part thereof, four cents (4¢) per pound; for each pound in excess of 5,000 pounds, ten cents (10¢) per pound.  Tolerance pounds in excess of the limit set in subdivision (b)(3) are subject to the penalty if the vehicle exceeds the tolerance allowed in subsection (h) of this section.  These penalties apply separately to each axle-group weight limit violated.
(4)	The penalty for a violation of an axle-group weight limit by a vehicle that is transporting an item listed in subdivision (c)(5) of this section is one-half of the amount it would otherwise be under subdivision (3) of this subsection.
(5)	A violation of a weight limit in this section is not punishable under G.S. 20-176."
Sec. 3.  The heading to the table of maximum weights included in G.S. 20-118(b)(3) reads as rewritten:
"Maximum Weight in Pounds for any Group of Two or More Consecutive Axles ".
Sec. 4.  Section 3 of Chapter 109 of the 1995 Session Laws is repealed.
Sec. 5.  This act is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 27th day of June, 1995.

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Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate

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Harold J. Brubaker
Speaker of the House of Representatives