House Bill 1531

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 63-3-501, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT VEHICLES LOADED WITH TIMBER OR ANY OTHER FORESTRY PRODUCTS ON ANY PUBLIC ROAD, STREET OR HIGHWAY IN THIS STATE SHALL NOT OPERATE AT A SPEED GREATER THAN TEN MILES PER HOUR LESS THAN THE POSTED SPEED LIMIT FOR OTHER VEHICLES; TO AMEND SECTION 63-5-19, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE A PENALTY FOR THE OPERATION OF CERTAIN VEHICLES WITHOUT PROPERLY SECURING THEIR LOADS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 63-3-501, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

63-3-501. No person shall operate a vehicle on the highways of the state at a speed greater than sixty-five (65) miles per hour.

The Mississippi Transportation Commission may, in its discretion, by order duly entered on its minutes, increase the speed restrictions on any portion of the Interstate Highway System provided such speed restrictions are not increased to more than seventy (70) miles per hour. The commission may likewise increase the speed limit to seventy (70) miles per hour on controlled access highways with four (4) or more lanes. However, vehicles loaded with timber or any other forestry products on any public road, street or highway in this state shall not operate at a speed greater than ten (10) miles per hour less than the posted speed limit for other vehicles.

SECTION 2. Section 63-5-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

63-5-19. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, no single vehicle, unladen or with load, shall have an overall length, inclusive of front and rear bumpers, in excess of forty (40) feet.

(2) No semitrailer operating in a truck tractor-semitrailer combination and no trailer drawn by a motor vehicle shall exceed a length of fifty-three (53) feet.

(3) No semitrailer or trailer operating in a truck tractor-semitrailer-trailer combination and no trailer operating in a double trailer combination drawn by a motor vehicle shall exceed a length of thirty (30) feet.

(4) No semitrailer or trailer combinations in excess of two (2) units, excluding the towing motor vehicle, shall be allowed to operate on the highways of this state.

(5) No motor home shall have an overall length exclusive of front and rear bumpers, in excess of forty-five (45) feet.

(6) The load upon the rear vehicle of a combination of vehicles transporting forest or agricultural products in their natural state shall not project more than twenty-eight (28) feet beyond the rear axle of the vehicle except in the special circumstance hereinafter prescribed. If such products project more than twenty-eight (28) feet beyond the rear axle and, due to the end use for which they are intended (such as tall utility poles or light poles or the like), such products cannot be shortened without rendering them useless for the finished product for which they have been cut, then such special circumstance may be considered good cause for the obtaining of a permit which shall be procured pursuant to Section 63-5-51 before vehicles transporting such products may operate. Except as otherwise provided in Section 63-5-21, any vehicle transporting projecting loads as described in this subsection that extend four (4) feet or more beyond the rear or body of the vehicle shall operate only during daylight hours, and the load on vehicles designed to transport forestry products shall be secured by at least two (2) chains, two (2) wire ropes, or two (2) nylon straps, one (1) positioned behind the front bolster and one (1) in front of the back bolster. Any person who violates the provisions of this section, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be subject to a fine of not less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) nor more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one (1) year, or both such fine and imprisonment.

(7) Except as otherwise provided in Section 63-5-21, the rear projecting load of any vehicle operating during the period described under Section 63-7-11 may not extend four (4) feet or more beyond the rear or body of the vehicle.

(8) The length limitations on projecting loads prescribed in this section do not apply to a single vehicle or the rear vehicle of a combination of vehicles designed for on-farm delivery and unloading of any agricultural product, in its natural or manufactured form, which is fitted with an auger or similar unloading device permanently affixed to the vehicle that extends no more than eight (8) feet horizontally beyond the rear or body of the vehicle provided that no portion of such device which extends four (4) feet or more beyond the rear or body of the vehicle is less than seven (7) feet above the roadway surface. However, any such vehicle may not be operated on the public highways, roads or streets of this state during the period described under Section 63-7-11.

(9) A vehicle designed and especially constructed to transport raw cotton from harvest to the cotton gin may have a total overall length not to exceed fifty (50) feet whenever any such vehicle is being operated within a radius of fifty (50) miles of the vehicle's home base or its contractual customer.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2004.