Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
The issuance of a divisible load overweight permit will
be guided by considerations for the safety of the traveling public and the
protection of the highways and the environment.
(a) Accident reporting. Whenever a vehicle or
combinations of vehicles operating under a divisible load overweight permit is
involved in an accident reportable under section 605 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, a copy
of the report (MV 104) filed with the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall be
submitted to the Advisory Council within 10 days of such accident. Reports
shall be mailed to the Advisory Council, Department of Transportation, Building
5, Room 311, 1220 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12232. Failure to timely report
such accidents may result in revocation of the permit.
(c) Operation.
(1) Divisible load overweight vehicles
operating on four-lane or divided highways should be driven in the right-most
lane of traffic, except where the right lane must exit. In the event that
extremely slow traffic is encountered in the right-most lane, permit vehicles
may legally pass such traffic unless otherwise prohibited by regulatory sign.
Vehicles operating on an incline and unable to maintain the posted speed limit
should pull off the highway whenever possible to allow traffic to pass. Permit
vehicles shall be driven, as nearly as practicable, entirely within a single
lane and shall not move from that lane unless such movement can safely be
made.
(2) The front or steering
axle shall not carry more than 22,400 pounds.
(3) Permit vehicles registered to the same
owner(s) shall not travel in the same direction of travel closer than 1,000
feet apart unless specified on the permit.
(4) Loads must be adequately secured to the
permit vehicle to prevent shifting.
(5) Permit movements during periods of high
winds, poor visibility, or when the highways are slippery due to snow, ice or
rain should be restricted, based upon the necessity of the load reaching its
destination promptly. During such periods, such vehicles may be halted by any
police officer and ordered removed from the highway.
(6) All axles taken into consideration to
establish weight limitations must support a reasonable proportion of the load
when the vehicle is laden.
(7) The
applicant may be required to demonstrate to the department that the number of
axles on the vehicle does not unduly hinder steering capacity so as to make
operation of the vehicle unsafe.
(8) The applicant/permittee may have to
demonstrate that the steering capacity of the vehicle will not be unduly
hindered if the vehicle maintains a bogey or air axle.
(9) Each vehicle must be loaded so that the
center of gravity of the laden vehicle will not cause the unsafe operation of
the vehicle.
(10) No permitted
vehicle should be operated in excess of the manufactured-recommended gross
weight rating (replacement vehicles only) or the weight rating(s) set forth in
the permit application for that vehicle. No permitted vehicle shall operate in
excess of the registered gross vehicle weight of that vehicle. Operation of
permitted vehicles in excess of the above weights is considered to be per se
unsafe.
