§ 179.16. Penalties and enforcement.
(a) General rule. A violation of this chapter or a permit shall be authority for the officer to confiscate the permit and for imposition of any or all of the following penalties:
(1) Such fines, imprisonment and other penalties as are provided by law.
(2) Revocation of the registration of the applicant under § 179.6 (relating to revocation of registration).
(3) Confiscation of the special hauling permits of the applicant by a police officer or representative of the Department.
(4) Refusal by the Department to issue future special hauling permits or to permit future registration under § 179.5 (relating to issuance of registration agreement).
(5) Removal of a registered person from the monthly billing system.
(b) Determination of amount of overweight.
(1) Weight in excess of permitted weight. If a vehicle or combination operating under a permit is found to have a weight in excess of the permitted axle or gross weight, the amount of overweight is determined by subtracting from the actual weight the greater of the permitted weight or the maximum weight authorized by Chapter 49, Subchapter C of the act (relating to maximum weights of vehicles).
Example 1 (Legal axle exceeds permit axle) Scale Weight 16,000 16,000 (Scale Weight) Permit Weight 14,000 -18,000 (Greater Weight = Legal) Legal Weight 18,000 - 2,000 (No Fine) Example 2 (Permit axle exceeds legal axle) Scale Weight 26,000 26,000 (Scale Weight) Permit Weight 24,000 -24,000 (Greater Weight = Permit) Legal Weight 18,000 + 2,000 (Amount Overweight) Example 3 (Legal gross exceeds permit gross) Scale Weight 90,000 90,000 (Scale Weight) Permit Weight 75,000 -80,000 (Greater Weight = Legal) Legal Weight 80,000 +10,000 (Amount Overweight) Example 4 (Permit gross exceeds legal gross) Scale Weight 90,000 90,000 (Scale Weight) Permit Weight 84,000 -84,000 (Greater Weight = Permit) Legal Weight 80,000 + 6,000 (Amount Overweight) (2) Other permit violations. If any vehicle or combination operating under a permit to exceed weight limits is found to be operating off the approved route indicated in the permit, the amount of overweight is determined as if there were no permit.
Source The provisions of this § 179.16 adopted August 5, 1977, effective August 6, 1977, 7 Pa.B. 2192; amended April 25, 1980, effective May 1, 1980, 10 Pa.B. 1686; renumbered May 16, 1981, 11 Pa.B. 1678; amended January 20, 1984, effective March 21, 1984, 14 Pa.B. 224; readopted December 2, 1988, effective December 3, 1988, 18 Pa.B. 5364. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (125309) to (125310).
Notes of Decisions The fines assessed under the Vehicle Code for operating overweight vehicles without a permit were not proper when special permits had been obtained. Commonwealth v. J. F. Lomma, Inc., 590 A.2d 342 (Pa. Super. 1991).
Where a party has an overweight permit authorizing the party to haul overweight loads over a specific route, a penalty imposed on that party’s hauling of an overweight load over an unauthorized route shall be imposed under 75 Pa.C.S. § 4945, not under 75 Pa.C.S. § 4907. Commonwealth v. Liver, 520 A.2d 56 (Pa. Super. 1987).
An initial administrative review by the Department of Transportation is not required under this section, which clearly states that the violation of any regulation under the Vehicle Code would invalidate the special permit and constitute grounds for prosecution. Austin v. Commonwealth, 442 A.2d 832 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1982). Vacated on other grounds see 459 A.2d 336 (Pa. 1983).
Cross References This section cited in 67 Pa. Code § 179.1 (relating to definitions); and 67 Pa. Code § 179.14 (relating to single-trip special hauling book permits for oversize movements).
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