Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:388 – Penalties; payments
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:388
- Axle: means the common axis of rotation of one or more wheels whether power-driven or freely rotating, and whether in one or more segments, and regardless of the number of wheels carried thereon. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Combination of vehicles: means every group of two or more vehicles howsoever joined together which are drawn or propelled by a single motor vehicle. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Commissioner: means the secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Department: means the Department of Transportation and Development. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Driver: means every person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Gross weight: means the weight of a vehicle and/or combination of vehicles without load on all axles including the steering axle plus the weight of any load thereon. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Highway: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way or place of whatever nature publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for the purpose of vehicular travel, including bridges, causeways, tunnels and ferries; synonymous with the word "street". See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Interstate highway: means a fully controlled access highway which is a part of the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Load: means a weight or quantity of anything resting upon something else regarded as its support. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Municipality: means an incorporated village, town, or city created under the authority of the constitution or laws of this state. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Operator: means every person, other than a chauffeur, who drives or is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle upon a highway or who is exercising control over or steering a vehicle being towed by a motor vehicle. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Owner: means a person who holds a legal title to a vehicle or in the event a vehicle is the subject of an agreement for the conditional sale, lease, or transfer of possession thereof with the right of purchase upon the performance of the conditions stated in the agreement, with the right of immediate possession in the vendee, lessee, possessor, or in the event such similar transaction is had by means of mortgage and the mortgagor of a vehicle is entitled to possession, then the conditional vendee, lessee, possessor, or mortgagor shall be deemed the owner for the purposes of this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Secretary: means the secretary of the Department of Transportation and Development or his delegated or authorized representative. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Special permit: means a written authorization to move or operate on a highway a vehicle or combination of vehicles with indivisible load of size and/or weight exceeding the limits prescribed for vehicles in regular operation. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Stop: means , when required, the complete cessation from movement. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Truck: means every motor propelled single vehicle for the conveyance of property or things for hauling purposes and having one front steering axle and one rear or load carrying axle. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Vehicle: means every device by which persons or things may be transported upon a public highway or bridge, except devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
A.(1) Whoever owns or drives any vehicle or combination of vehicles in violation of any rule, regulation, directive, or requirement of the secretary adopted pursuant to La. Rev. Stat. 32:380 through 385 or in violation of La. Rev. Stat. 32:380 through 385 shall be assessed a penalty of one hundred dollars for each violation.
(2) All commercial vehicles rated one ton or greater, except automobiles, private passenger pickup trucks, private passenger vans, recreational vehicles, buses, utility vehicles convoying to or from emergency service restoration due to a natural disaster, and tow trucks unless the tow truck has a gross vehicle weight rating in excess of twenty-six thousand pounds or is hauling or carrying a vehicle not exempt from the provisions of this Section, shall be required to stop at a stationary weight enforcement scale location.
(3) Each vehicle that is required to stop at a department stationary weight enforcement scale location and that fails to stop shall be assessed the following penalty:
(a) Vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than twenty-six thousand pounds shall be fined one hundred dollars for failure to stop at the department stationary weight scales. This fine shall be in addition to any other fine which may be assessed for other violations.
(b) Vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of twenty-six thousand pounds or more shall be fined five hundred dollars for failure to stop at the department stationary weight scales. This fine shall be in addition to any other fines which may be assessed for other violations.
(4) Any vehicle which inadvertently bypasses the department stationary weight scales and returns to the scales voluntarily without the assistance of law enforcement shall not be assessed any penalty for bypassing the scales.
B.(1)(a) Except as provided in Subparagraphs (b) and (c) of this Paragraph, whoever owns or operates any vehicle or combination of vehicles in violation of any rule, regulation, directive, or requirement of the secretary adopted under La. Rev. Stat. 32:386 or in violation of La. Rev. Stat. 32:386 shall be required to reduce the load to the maximum permissible gross weight and shall be assessed a penalty on such weight which exceeds the maximum permissible gross weight as defined by La. Rev. Stat. 32:386 or maximum allowable axle weights, whichever results in the higher fine, in accordance with the following schedule:
OVERWEIGHT PENALTY
POUNDS
1 to 999$10.00 minimum
1,000 to 1,9991¢ per pound in excess of legal limit
2,000 to 2,9992¢ per pound in excess of legal limit
3,000 to 3,9993¢ per pound in excess of legal limit
4,000 to 4,9994¢ per pound in excess of legal limit
5,000 to 5,9995¢ per pound in excess of legal limit
6,000 to 6,9996¢ per pound in excess of legal limit
7,000 to 7,9997¢ per pound in excess of legal limit
8,000 to 8,9998¢ per pound in excess of legal limit
9,000 to 9,9999¢ per pound in excess of legal limit
10,000 to 10,99910¢ per pound in excess of legal limit
11,000 and over11¢ per pound in excess of legal limit
(b)(i) Any truck hauling concrete or construction aggregates shall not be assessed a penalty for weight which exceeds the maximum allowable axle weights, if such truck does not also exceed the maximum permissible gross weight as provided in La. Rev. Stat. 32:386 and such truck is not operating on the interstate system.
(ii) Any truck hauling hot mix asphalt which is performing work pursuant to a contract with the state or the governing authority of a parish or municipality shall not be assessed a penalty for weight which exceeds the maximum allowable axle weights, if such truck does not also exceed the maximum permissible gross weight as provided in La. Rev. Stat. 32:386 and such truck is not operating on the interstate system.
(iii) Any truck fitted with a compactor body which is engaged in the collecting and hauling of solid waste including residential solid waste, agricultural waste, commercial solid waste, construction or demolition debris, garbage, industrial solid waste, trash, white goods, woodwaste, and yard trash, as defined in the rules and regulations of the Department of Environmental Quality, shall not be assessed a penalty for weight which exceeds the maximum allowable axle weights if such truck does not also exceed the maximum permissible gross weight as provided in La. Rev. Stat. 32:386 and 387 and such truck is not operating on the interstate system. Such truck shall not be assessed a penalty for exceeding its maximum permissible gross weight, as determined by law or pursuant to issuance of a special permit, if the waste is wet and the location from which the waste was collected had received measurable precipitation, as recorded by National Weather Service recognized observation stations, within twenty-four hours prior to collection provided the total excess weight is ten percent or less of the truck’s maximum permissible gross weight and such truck is not operating on the interstate system. If the total excess weight is greater than ten percent of the truck’s maximum permissible gross weight, as determined by law or pursuant to issuance of a special permit, the assessed penalty shall be calculated only on the excess weight which is above the ten percent allowance for water weight.
(iv) Effective from August 1, 2012 through July 31, 2020, no truck hauling ready-mixed concrete shall be assessed a penalty for exceeding its maximum permissible gross weight, as determined by law, provided the total excess weight is ten percent or less of such truck’s maximum permissible gross weight, such truck contains a certificate evidencing its most recent mixer chip-out of build-up occurred within the previous ninety days, such truck does not exceed the posted load while crossing a posted bridge, such truck is not operating on the interstate system, and no tire on such truck exceeds its tire weight rating. If such truck’s total excess weight is greater than ten percent of its maximum permissible gross weight, as determined by law, such truck shall be assessed a penalty calculated on the total amount by which the truck’s weight exceeds its maximum permissible gross weight, as determined by law. For the purposes of this Item, a “ready-mixed concrete truck” is defined as a vehicle designed exclusively to transport or manufacture ready-mixed concrete and includes a concrete pump truck engaged in hauling ready-mixed concrete. This Item shall not apply to any ready-mixed concrete truck as defined in La. Rev. Stat. 32:387.20 that has been issued a permit pursuant to La. Rev. Stat. 32:387.20.
(c) Prior to assessment of a penalty for weight which exceeds the maximum allowable axle weights, the owner or operator is authorized to shift the load to reduce or eliminate such excess axle weight penalties as long as no part of the shipment is removed.
(2) Whoever owns or drives any vehicle or combination of vehicles with a gross weight in excess of its licensed weight but less than or equal to its legal maximum gross weight may be assessed a penalty of one hundred dollars and shall be required to increase its license to the weight being carried not to exceed the legal maximum.
(3) The owner or driver of a vehicle or combination of vehicles in violation of the bridge formula axle spacing requirements of La. Rev. Stat. 32:386(H) shall be fined fifty dollars for each violation.
(4)(a) Whoever owns any business entity engaged in the sale or shipment of construction aggregates requiring a weigh master, not including asphalt, or transfer sales or shipment from rail, barge, or ship to wholesale stockpiles or inventories within a five-mile radius of the point where the shipment was transferred, who violates, or whose driver or contract driver violates any rule, regulation, directive, or requirement of the secretary adopted under La. Rev. Stat. 32:386 or violates La. Rev. Stat. 32:386 shall also be assessed a separate penalty for each violation in accordance with the schedule set forth in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection. However, notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter or any law to the contrary, any such business, or weigh master thereof, who releases a vehicle that is within the maximum permissible gross weight limitations for travel on a state highway shall not be assessed any penalty when said vehicle is found in violation of gross maximum weight limitations while traveling on any interstate highway. For purposes of enforcing this Subsection, any weights and standards or state policeman having reason to believe that such owner is in violation of La. Rev. Stat. 32:386 is authorized to enter and go upon, without formal warrant, any vehicle, stand, place, building, or premises, for the purpose of inspecting only the shipping ticket or tickets issued in connection with the particular load found in violation of La. Rev. Stat. 32:386 by any weights and standards police in order to determine whether such sales at the origin of shipment contain the amounts represented and are offered for sale or sold in a manner in accordance with law. The discovery of an overweight vehicle after proper weighing shall constitute “reason to believe” for purposes of this Subsection.
(b) When used in this Paragraph, “construction aggregates” means any of the following:
(i) Sand.
(ii) Gravel.
(iii) Crushed stone.
(iv) Reef shell.
(v) Clam shell.
(vi) Sand-clam shell mixture.
(vii) Sand-reef shell mixture.
(viii) Sand clay gravel.
(ix) Clam-reef shell mixture.
(x) Crushed concrete.
(xi) Expanded clay.
(xii) Calcium sulfate hemihydrate.
(xiii) Asphalt.
(xiv) Bulk soil.
(xv) Dirt.
C.(1) Whoever owns or drives any vehicle or combination of vehicles in violation of any rule, regulation, directive, or requirement of the secretary adopted pursuant to La. Rev. Stat. 32:387 or in violation of the terms and conditions of any special permit issued under La. Rev. Stat. 32:387 shall be assessed a penalty of one hundred dollars.
(2) Whoever owns or drives a vehicle or combination of vehicles in violation of an overweight special permit shall be assessed a penalty for each pound of gross weight in excess of the special permit weight in accordance with the following schedule and may increase the permissible gross weight authorized by the special permit if he shall satisfy any special conditions imposed by the secretary or otherwise shall reduce his load to the maximum weight allowed under his special permit:
Pounds Over Permit
Gross Weight Penalty
0 to 3,000 2¢ per pound
3,001 to 5,000 3¢ per pound
5,001 to 10,000 4¢ per pound
10,001 and over $100 plus 5¢ per pound
(3) Repealed by Acts 2021, No. 384, §5, eff. July 1, 2022.
D. Whoever owns or drives any vehicle or combination of vehicles in violation of La. Rev. Stat. 32:387(F) shall be assessed a penalty of twenty-five dollars.
E. Whoever owns or drives a vehicle or combination of vehicles without a proper escort when such escort is required by a special permit shall be assessed a penalty of one hundred dollars, and the vehicle or combination of vehicles shall be impounded until a proper escort is secured by the permittee.
F. Payments for penalties imposed by the Department of Transportation and Development and the Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall be remitted to the Transportation Trust Fund. However, any payments for citations for weight limit violations on parish roads in a parish shall be paid to the public works department of said parish.
G.(1) All penalties collected by the secretary and the commissioner shall be paid into the state treasury on or before the twenty-fifth day of each month following their collection and, in accordance with La. Const. Art. VII, § 9 , shall be credited to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund. However, after a sufficient amount of the penalties collected by the secretary and the commissioner is allocated from the fund to pay all obligations secured by the full faith and credit of the state within any fiscal year, the treasurer shall pay an amount equal to the fees paid into the Bond Security and Redemption Fund pursuant to this Paragraph into the Transportation Trust Fund created under La. Const. Art. VII, § 27 .
(2) The Department of Public Safety and Corrections, public safety services, and the Department of Transportation and Development shall keep a set of books showing from whom every dollar is paid and for what purpose. It also shall keep in its file vouchers or receipts for all monies paid out.
Acts 1992, No. 902, §1; Acts 1992, No. 984, §10; Acts 1993, No. 847, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1186, §1; Acts 1999, No. 685, §1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 2000, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 121, §1, eff. April 19, 2000; Acts 2001, No. 1201, §1; Acts 2003, No. 1219, §1, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2005, No. 426, §1, eff. July 1, 2005; Acts 2010, No. 320, §1, eff. July 1, 2010; Acts 2012, No. 723, §1; Acts 2014, No. 291, §1; Acts 2016, No. 371, §1; Acts 2018, No. 312, §1; Acts 2018, No. 441, §1; Acts 2020, No. 324, §1; Acts 2021, No. 384, §§1, 5, eff. July 1, 2022; Acts 2021, No. 442, §1.