HOUSE BILL No. 4464


     April 13, 1999, Introduced by Reps. Green, Rick Johnson, Sheltrown, Howell, Jelinek, Koetje, Tabor, Vear, Bradstreet, Julian, Hager, Kowall, Gilbert, DeRossett, Pumford, Patterson, Van Woerkom, Bisbee, Caul, Kukuk, Mead, DeVuyst, Mortimer, Kuipers and Ehardt and referred to the Committee on Agriculture and Resource Management.


        A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled

   "Michigan vehicle code,"

   by amending section 717 (MCL 257.717), as amended by 1992

   PA 257.

               THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 1         Sec. 717.  (1) The total outside width of a vehicle or the

 2    load on a vehicle shall not exceed 96 inches, except as otherwise

 3    provided in this section.

 4         (2) A person may operate or move an implement of husbandry

 5    of any width on a highway as required, DESIGNED, AND INTENDED for

 6     normal  farming operations, INCLUDING THE MOVEMENT OF IMPLEMENTS

 7    OF HUSBANDRY BEING DRIVEN OR TOWED AND NOT HAULED ON A TRAILER,

 8    without obtaining a special permit for an excessively wide

 9    vehicle or load under section 725.  The operation or movement of

10    the implement of husbandry shall be in a manner so as to minimize


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 1    the interruption of traffic flow.  A person shall not operate or

 2    move an implement of husbandry to the left of the center of the

 3    roadway from a half hour after sunset to a half hour before sun-

 4    rise, under the conditions specified in section 639, or at any

 5    time visibility is substantially diminished due to weather

 6    conditions.  A person operating or moving an implement of hus-

 7    bandry shall follow all traffic regulations.

 8         (3) The total outside width of the load of a vehicle hauling

 9    concrete pipe, agricultural products, or unprocessed logs, pulp-

10    wood, or wood bolts shall not exceed 108 inches.

11         (4) Except as provided in subsection (2), if a vehicle which

12    is equipped with pneumatic tires is operated on a highway, the

13    maximum width from the outside of 1 wheel and tire to the outside

14    of the opposite wheel and tire shall not exceed 102 inches, and

15    the outside width of the body of the vehicle or the load on the

16    vehicle shall not exceed 96 inches.

17         (5) The total outside width of a bus or a motor home shall

18    not exceed 102 inches.

19         (6) A vehicle shall not extend beyond the center line of a

20    state trunk line highway except when authorized by law.  Except

21    as provided in subsection (2), if the width of the vehicle makes

22    it impossible to stay away from the center line, a permit shall

23    be obtained under section 725.

24         (7) The director of the state transportation department, a

25    county road commission, or a local authority may designate a

26    highway under the agency's jurisdiction as a highway on which a

27    person may operate a vehicle or vehicle combination  which  THAT



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 1    is not more than 102 inches in width, including load, the

 2    operation of which would otherwise be prohibited by this

 3    section.  The agency making the designation may require that the

 4    owner or lessee of the vehicle or of each vehicle in the vehicle

 5    combination secure a permit before operating the vehicle or vehi-

 6    cle combination.  This subsection does not restrict the issuance

 7    of a special permit under section 725 for the operation of a

 8    vehicle or vehicle combination.  This subsection does not permit

 9    the operation of a vehicle or vehicle combination described in

10    section 722a carrying a load described in that section if the

11    operation would otherwise result in a violation of that section.

12         (8) A person who violates this section is responsible for a

13    civil infraction.  The owner of the vehicle may be charged with a

14    violation of this section.





























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