SB-0940, As Passed House, December 11, 2014

SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE BILL NO. 940

A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled

"Michigan vehicle code,"

by amending section 717 (MCL 257.717), as amended by 2008 PA 539.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

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

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

provided in this section.

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

any width on a highway as required, designed, and intended for

farming operations, including the movement of implements of

husbandry being driven or towed and not hauled on a trailer,

without obtaining a special permit for an excessively wide vehicle

or load under section 725. The operation or movement of the

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

interruption of traffic flow. A person shall not operate or move an

implement of husbandry to the left of the center of the roadway

from a half hour after sunset to a half hour before sunrise, under

the conditions specified in section 639, or at any time visibility

is substantially diminished due to weather conditions. A person

operating or moving an implement of husbandry shall follow all

traffic regulations.

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

concrete pipe, ferrous pipe, agricultural products, or unprocessed

logs, pulpwood, or wood bolts shall not exceed 108 inches.

(4) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (5) and this

subsection, if a vehicle that is equipped with pneumatic tires is

operated on a highway, the maximum width from the outside of 1

wheel and tire to the outside of the opposite wheel and tire shall

not exceed 102 inches, and the outside width of the body of the

vehicle or the load on the vehicle shall not exceed 96 inches.

However, a truck and trailer or a tractor and semitrailer

combination hauling pulpwood or unprocessed logs may be operated

with a maximum width of not to exceed 108 inches in accordance with

a special permit issued under section 725.

(5) The total outside body width of a bus, a trailer coach, a

trailer, a semitrailer, a truck camper, or a motor home shall not

exceed 102 inches. However, an appurtenance of a trailer coach, a

truck camper, or a motor home that extends not more than 6 inches

beyond the total outside body width is not a violation of this

section.

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

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

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

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

obtained under section 725.

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

county road commission, or a local authority may designate a

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

person may operate a vehicle or vehicle combination that is not

more than 102 inches in width, including load, the operation of

which would otherwise be prohibited by this section. The agency

making the designation may require that the owner or lessee of the

vehicle or of each vehicle in the vehicle combination secure a

permit before operating the vehicle or vehicle combination. This

subsection does not restrict the issuance of a special permit under

section 725 for the operation of a vehicle or vehicle combination.

This subsection does not permit the operation of a vehicle or

vehicle combination described in section 722a carrying a load

described in that section if the operation would otherwise result

in a violation of that section.

(8) The director of the state transportation department, a

county road commission, or a local authority may issue a special

permit under section 725 to a person operating a vehicle or vehicle

combination if all of the following are met:

(a) The vehicle or vehicle combination, including load, is not

more than 106 inches in width.

(b) The vehicle or vehicle combination is used solely to move

new motor vehicles or parts or components of new motor vehicles

between facilities that meet all of the following:

(i) New motor vehicles or parts or components of new motor

vehicles are manufactured or assembled in the facilities.

(ii) The facilities are located within 10 miles of each other.

(iii) The facilities are located within the city limits of the

same city and the city is located in a county that has a population

of more than 400,000 and less than 500,000 according to the most

recent federal decennial census.

term of 1 year or less.

(9) A person may move or operate a boat lift of any width or

an oversized hydraulic boat trailer owned and operated by a marina

or watercraft dealer in a commercial boat storage operation on a

highway under a multiple trip permit issued on an annual basis as

specified under section 725. The operation or movement of the boat

lift or trailer shall minimize the interruption of traffic flow. It

shall be used exclusively to transport a boat between a place of

storage and a marina or in and around a marina. A boat lift or

oversized hydraulic boat trailer may be operated, drawn, or towed

on a street or highway only when transporting a vessel between a

body of water and a place of storage or when traveling empty to or

from transporting a vessel. A boat lift shall not be operated on

limited access highways. A person moving or operating a boat lift

or oversized hydraulic boat trailer shall follow all traffic

regulations and shall ensure the route selected has adequate power

and utility wire height clearance.