Act No. 131
Public Acts of 2008
Approved by the Governor
May 21, 2008
Filed with the Secretary of State
May 21, 2008
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 21, 2008
STATE OF MICHIGAN
94TH LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION OF 2008
Introduced by Reps. Mayes, Casperson, Lahti, Lindberg and Sheltrown
ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 5695
AN ACT to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled "An act to provide for the registration, titling, sale, transfer, and regulation of certain vehicles operated upon the public highways of this state or any other place open to the general public or generally accessible to motor vehicles and distressed vehicles; to provide for the licensing of dealers; to provide for the examination, licensing, and control of operators and chauffeurs; to provide for the giving of proof of financial responsibility and security by owners and operators of vehicles; to provide for the imposition, levy, and collection of specific taxes on vehicles, and the levy and collection of sales and use taxes, license fees, and permit fees; to provide for the regulation and use of streets and highways; to create certain funds; to provide penalties and sanctions for a violation of this act; to provide for civil liability of owners and operators of vehicles and service of process on residents and nonresidents; to provide for the levy of certain assessments; to provide for the enforcement of this act; to provide for the creation of and to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state and local agencies; to impose liability upon the state or local agencies; to provide appropriations for certain purposes; to repeal all other acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this act or contrary to this act; and to repeal certain parts of this act on a specific date," 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) Except as provided in this section, 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) 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 (9).
(6) Subsection (3)(a) does not apply to a motor vehicle transporting items of a load that because of their weight will not fall off the moving vehicle and that have their centers of gravity located at least 6 inches below the top of the enclosure nor to a motor vehicle carrying metal that because of its weight and density is so loaded as to prevent it from dropping or falling off the moving vehicle.
(7) 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.
(8) 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.
(9) 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.
(10) As used in this section, "logs" means sawlogs, pulpwood, or tree length poles.
This act is ordered to take immediate effect.
Clerk of the House of Representatives
Secretary of the Senate
Approved
Governor