The maximum axle load shall not exceed the number of pounds designated
in the following provisions which prescribe the distance between axles:
A. When the axle spacing is nine feet or more between axles,
the maximum axle load shall not exceed 18,000 pounds for vehicles equipped
with high pressure pneumatic or balloon tires.
B. When the axle spacing is less than nine feet between
two axles but more than 3 1/2 feet, the maximum axle load shall not exceed
13,000 pounds for vehicles equipped with high pressure pneumatic or balloon
tires.
C. When axles are spaced less than 3 1/2 feet apart,
the maximum axle load shall not exceed 9,000 pounds per axle.
D. Subsections
A,
B and
C shall be known as the normal loading maximum.
When normal loading is in effect, the State Transportation Department
and local authorities with respect to highways under their jurisdiction may
designate certain highways, or sections of those highways, where bridges and
road surfaces are adequate for heavier loading, which designation may be revised
as needed, on which the maximum tandem axle assembly loading shall not exceed
16,000 pounds for any axle of the assembly, if there is no other axle within
nine feet of any axle of the assembly.
Except as provided in §
199-57, on a legal combination of vehicles, only one tandem axle assembly shall be permitted on the designated highways at the gross permissible weight of 16,000 pounds per axle, if there is no other axle within nine feet of any axle of the assembly, and if no other tandem axle assembly in the combination of vehicles exceeds a gross weight of 13,000 pounds per axle. When the maximum gross weight of a combination of vehicles with load does not exceed 73,280 pounds, two tandem axle assemblies shall be permitted on the designated highways at a gross permissible weight of 16,000 pounds per axle, if there is no other axle within nine feet of any axle of the assembly.
The normal size of tires shall be the rated size as published by the
manufacturers, and the maximum wheel load permissible for any wheel shall
not exceed 700 pounds per inch of width of tire.
The State Transportation Department or a local authority with respect
to highways under its jurisdiction may suspend the restrictions imposed by
this article when and where, in its discretion, conditions of the highways
or the public health, safety and welfare so warrant, and may impose the restricted
loading requirements of this article on designated highways at any other time
that the conditions of the highway may require.
For the purpose of enforcement of this chapter, the gross vehicle weight of a single vehicle and load or a combination of vehicles and loads shall be determined by weighing individual axles or groups of axles, and the total weight on all the axles shall be the gross vehicle weight. In addition, the gross axle weight shall be determined by weighing individual axles or by weighing a group of axles and dividing the gross weight of the group of axles by the number of axles in the group. Pursuant to §
199-57, the overall gross weight on the group of two or more axles shall be determined by weighing individual axles or several axles, and the total weight of all the axles in the group shall be the overall gross weight of the group.