[Adopted 10-26-1999 by Ord. No. 88 (Ch. 30, Art. III, of the
2007 Code of Ordinances)]
A.
Stopping vehicles for weighing.
(1)
A Township police officer, sheriff's deputy or weighmaster of
the Township, having reason to believe that the weight of a vehicle
and load is unlawful, may require the driver to stop and submit to
a weighing of the vehicle by means of either portable or stationary
scales approved and sealed by the State Department of Agriculture
as a legal weighing device and may require that the vehicle be driven
to the nearest weighing station of the Department of State Highways
and Transportation for the purpose of allowing an officer or agent
of the Department of State Highways and Transportation or County Road
Commission to determine whether the conveyance is loaded in conformity
with this article.
(2)
When the deputy, police officer or weighmaster, upon weighing a vehicle
and load, determines that the weight is unlawful, the deputy, officer
or weighmaster may detain the vehicle in a suitable place and remain
standing until that portion of the load is shifted or removed as necessary
to reduce the gross axle load weight of the vehicle to the limit permitted
under this article. All materials so unloaded shall be cared for by
the owner or operator of the vehicle at the risk of the owner or operator.
B.
Wheel and axle loads, restrictions, violations. The maximum axle
load shall not exceed the number of pounds designated in MCLA § 257.722.
A.
An owner of a vehicle or a lessee of a vehicle of an owner/operator
who causes or allows a vehicle to be loaded and driven or moved on
a highway when the weight of that vehicle violates the provisions
of MCLA § 257.722 is responsible for a civil infraction
and shall pay a civil fine in an amount equal to:
(1)
Three cents per pound for each pound of excess load over 1,000 pounds
when the excess is 2,000 pounds or less;
(2)
Six cents per pound of excess load when the excess is over 2,000
pounds but not over 3,000 pounds;
(3)
Nine cents per pound for each pound of excess load when the excess
is over 3,000 pounds but not over 4,000 pounds;
(4)
Twelve cents per pound for each pound of excess load when the excess
is over 4,000 pounds but not over 5,000 pounds;
(5)
Fifteen cents per pound for each pound of excess load when the excess
is over 5,000 pounds but not over 10,000 pounds; and
(6)
Twenty cents per pound for each pound of excess when the excess is
over 10,000 pounds.
B.
The court shall have discretionary power as to the amount of the
civil fine within the schedule provided by this article and may impose
the civil fine provided in MCLA § 257.907(3) for a civil
infraction where, at the time of the violation, either the motor vehicle,
motor vehicle and semitrailer, or trailer did not exceed the total
weight which would be lawful for each unit by a proper distribution
of the load upon the various axles supporting each unit.
A weighmaster, sheriff's deputy or police officer shall
not stop a truck or vehicle in movement upon a road or highway in
the Township for any purpose, unless driving a duly marked vehicle,
clearly showing the emblem, insignia or seal of the state, county
or Township.
A driver or owner of a vehicle who knowingly fails to stop and
submit to the weighing of the vehicle or load when requested or ordered
to do so by a deputy, police officer or weighmaster of the Township
is guilty of a misdemeanor.
The Motor Carrier Safety Rules, promulgated to accomplish the
purpose of the Motor Carrier Safety Act, MCLA §§ 480.11
to 480.19, by authority conferred on the Department of State Police
by MCLA § 480.14, is hereby adopted by reference as if fully
set out in this article.
References in the Motor Carrier Safety Rules to "governmental
units" shall mean the Township.
The Township Board may designate one or more agents or officials
as weighmaster of the Township who, in addition to the sheriff's
deputy and other police officers, shall enforce this article. Each
weighmaster, when enforcing these provisions, shall drive a duly marked
vehicle, clearly showing the emblem, insignia or seal of the Township
and equipped with flashing, rotating or oscillating lights, which
shall not be activated except in those circumstances where the warning
produced by the lights is required for public safety, and with a siren
which shall not be used except when the vehicle is in the immediate
pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of this article. Furthermore,
each weighmaster shall carry, and display on request, an identification
card denoting his title.
Any weighmaster of the Township, sheriff's deputy or police
officer having reason to believe that a person, vehicle or load is
in violation of any of the provisions of this article may issue to
the driver or owner of a vehicle an appearance citation, pursuant
to MCLA §§ 764.9a through 764.9g, and consistent with
MCLA §§ 257.741 through 257.750.
