February 6, 2008, Introduced by Reps. Mayes, Casperson, Lahti, Lindberg and Sheltrown and referred to the Committee on Transportation.
A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled
"Michigan vehicle code,"
by amending section 720 (MCL 257.720), as amended by 2003 PA 142.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 720. (1) A person shall not drive or move a vehicle on a
highway unless the vehicle is so constructed or loaded as to
prevent its contents from dropping, sifting, leaking, blowing off,
or otherwise escaping from the vehicle. This requirement does not
apply to a vehicle transporting agricultural or horticultural
products when hay, straw, silage, or residue from a product, but
not including the product itself, or when materials such as water
used to preserve and handle agricultural or horticultural products
while in transportation, escape from the vehicle in an amount that
does not interfere with other traffic on the highway. The tailgate,
faucets, and taps on a vehicle shall be securely closed to prevent
spillage during transportation whether the vehicle is loaded or
empty, and the vehicle shall not have any holes or cracks through
which material can escape. Any highway maintenance vehicle engaged
in either ice or snow removal shall be exempt from this section.
(2) Actual spillage of material on the highway or proof of
that spillage is not necessary to prove a violation of this
section.
(3) A vehicle carrying a load, other than logs or tubular
products, which is not completely enclosed shall meet either of the
following requirements:
(a) Have the load covered with firmly secured canvas or a
similar type of covering. A device used to comply with the
requirement of this subdivision shall not exceed a width of 108
inches nor by design or use have the capability to carry cargo by
itself.
(b) Have the load securely fastened to the body or the frame
of the vehicle with binders of adequate number and of adequate
breaking strength to prevent the dropping off or shifting of the
load.
(4) A company or individual who loads or unloads a vehicle or
causes it to be loaded or unloaded, with knowledge that it is to be
driven on a public highway, in a manner so as to cause a violation
of subsection (1) shall be prima facie liable for a violation of
this section.
(5) A person shall not operate a motor vehicle carrying logs
or tubular products on a highway unless the following conditions
are met:
(a) If the logs or tubular products are loaded crosswise or at
right angles to the side of the vehicle, the load of logs or
tubular products shall be securely fastened to the body or frame of
the vehicle with not less than 2 binders which are secured to the
frame at each end of the load and pass over the load so that the
frame and binders completely encircle the load.
(b) If the vehicle is a truck or trailer carrying logs which
has a loading surface more than 33 feet in length and the logs are
loaded crosswise or at right angles to the side of the vehicle, the
vehicle shall be equipped with a center partition located
approximately 1/2 the distance from the front to the rear of the
loading surface of the truck or trailer. The center partition shall
be either a center mounted hydraulic loader or a center set of
stakes and shall be pinned, bolted, or otherwise securely fastened
to the frame. The load shall be secured as required by subdivision
(a) and, in addition, the 2 lengthwise tie downs shall be attached
or threaded through the center partition at a level not less than 1
foot below the load height.
(c) If the logs or tubular products are loaded lengthwise of
the vehicle, obliquely or parallel to the sides, with metal stakes
and pockets, the load of logs or tubular products shall be secured
as follows:
(i) With 2 tie downs from frame to frame for every tier.
(ii) So that not more than 1/2 the diameter of the top log or
tubular product extends higher than the stake tops.
(iii) With 2 cross chains per tier if the load extends more than
5 feet above the loading surface.
(iv) So that every 10 linear feet has not less than 1 tie down
from frame to frame.
(d) If the logs or tubular products are loaded lengthwise of
the vehicle, obliquely or parallel to the sides, with permanent
metal gusseted bunks, the load of logs or tubular products shall be
secured as follows:
(i) With 2 tie downs from frame to frame for every tier.
(ii) So that not more than 1/2 the diameter of the top log
extends higher than the stake tops.
(iii) So that every 10 linear feet has not less than 1 tie down
from frame to frame.
(e)
Subject to subsection (11), if If
the vehicle is a crib
vehicle and the logs are loaded lengthwise of the vehicle, the logs
shall be loaded and secured as follows:
(i) The vehicle must have sides, sideboards, or stakes; a front
headboard, bulkhead, or frontgate; and a rear headboard, bulkhead,
or endgate, each of which are strong enough and high enough to
assure that the load will not shift upon or fall from the vehicle.
(ii) The sides, sideboards, headboard, bulkhead, or front- or
rear-end gate that is in direct contact with the ends of the logs
shall not have an aperture large enough to permit logs to pass
through it.
(iii) There shall be a minimum of 2 stakes on each side of the
vehicle per tier of logs.
(iv) Vehicles with permanent steel gusseted bunks do not
require cross chains.
(v) Vehicles with steel stakes and pockets require cross
chains for each tier if the load extends more than 5 feet above the
loading surface.
(vi) Three additional lights are required on the upper rear of
the vehicle.
(vii) Vehicles over 102 inches wide shall have lights placed at
each stake along the longitudinal length of the vehicle.
(viii) Not more than 1/2 the diameter of the top logs shall
extend higher than the stake tops when loaded.
(ix) Tie downs are not required if the following loading
procedures are used:
(A) The distance between a tier of logs and a headboard,
bulkhead, front- or rear-end gate, or another tier of logs does not
allow a log to lose contact with a side stake if a log were to
shift forward or backward.
(B) Each tier of logs shall be loaded to the same height from
the stake tops to prevent movement.
(x) One tie down assembly that meets the requirements of this
act and federal regulations is required for each tier of logs under
the following conditions:
(A) There is a distance large enough between a tier of logs
and a headboard, bulkhead, front- or rear-end gate, or another tier
of logs to allow a log to lose contact with a side stake if a log
were to shift forward or backward.
(B) Each tier of logs is not loaded to the same height from
the stake tops to prevent movement.
(f) The tie downs, cross chains, stakes, and other materials
used to secure loads of logs or tubular products as required under
subdivisions (a) to (d) shall meet the following minimum
requirements:
(i) Chain shall be of steel and shall be of a strength not less
than 5/16 inch in diameter "transport", which is embossed with a
grade stamp representative of grade 70, or not less than 3/8 inch
in diameter "high test", which is embossed with a grade stamp
representative of grade 40. Chain shall not be repaired by welding,
wire, or cold shuts.
(ii) Wire rope shall be of improved plow steel and not less
than 3/8 inch in diameter.
(iii) Webbing strap shall be not less than 3 inches in width and
shall have a minimum breaking strength of 14,000 pounds.
(iv) Metal stakes shall be of sufficient strength to hold and
contain the load.
(v) Connecting links and hooks shall be at least as strong as
the tie down material used.
(6) Subsection (3) does not apply to a person operating a
vehicle to transport agricultural commodities or to a person
operating a farm truck or implement of husbandry transporting sand,
gravel, and dirt necessary in the normal operation of a farm.
However, a person operating a vehicle to transport agricultural
commodities or sand, gravel, and dirt in the normal operation of
the farm who violates subsection (1) or (4) is guilty of a
misdemeanor and is subject to the penalties prescribed in
subsection (10).
(7) Subsection (3)(a) does not apply to a motor vehicle
transporting items of a load which because of their weight will not
fall off the moving vehicle and which have their centers of gravity
located at least 6 inches below the top of the enclosure nor to a
motor vehicle carrying metal which because of its weight and
density is so loaded as to prevent it from dropping or falling off
the moving vehicle.
(8) Subsection (3)(a) does not apply to motor vehicles and
other equipment engaged in work upon the surface of a highway or
street in a designated work area.
(9) A person shall not drive or move on a highway a vehicle
equipped with a front end loading device with a tine protruding
parallel to the highway beyond the front bumper of the vehicle
unless the tine is carrying a load designed to be carried by the
front end loading device. This subsection does not apply to a
vehicle designed to be used or being used to transport agricultural
commodities, to a vehicle en route to a repair facility, or to a
vehicle engaged in construction activity. As used in this
subsection, "agricultural commodities" means that term as defined
in section 722.
(10) A person who violates this section is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $500.00 or
imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both.
(11)
Subsection (5)(e) does not apply unless section 127(d) of
title
23 of the United States Code, 23 U.S.C. 127, is amended to
allow
crib vehicles carrying logs to be loaded as described in this
section
and a waiver of the tiedown requirements under 49 C.F.R.
393.116
is authorized by the United
States department of
transportation,
federal motor carrier safety administration.
(11) (12)
As used in this section:
(a) "Cross chain" means a chain which extends through the load
of logs or tubular products and is connected at each end to a side
stake.
(b) "Logs" means sawlogs, pulpwood, or tree length poles.
(c) "Tie down" means a high strength material which is used to
secure the load of logs or tubular products to the frame or the bed
of the vehicle.
(d) "Tier" means a vertical pile or stack of logs or tubular
products.