SUBPART C. PENALTIES

§388. Penalties; payments

            A.(1) Whoever owns or drives any vehicle or combination of vehicles in violation of any rule, regulation, directive, or requirement of the secretary adopted pursuant to R.S. 32:380 through 385 or in violation of R.S. 32:380 through 385 shall be assessed a penalty of one hundred dollars for each violation.

            (2) All commercial vehicles rated one ton or greater, except automobiles, private passenger pickup trucks, private passenger vans, recreational vehicles, buses, utility vehicles convoying to or from emergency service restoration due to a natural disaster, and tow trucks unless the tow truck has a gross vehicle weight rating in excess of twenty-six thousand pounds or is hauling or carrying a vehicle not exempt from the provisions of this Section, shall be required to stop at a stationary weight enforcement scale location.

            (3) Each vehicle that is required to stop at a department stationary weight enforcement scale location and that fails to stop shall be assessed the following penalty:

            (a) Vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than twenty-six thousand pounds shall be fined one hundred dollars for failure to stop at the department stationary weight scales. This fine shall be in addition to any other fine which may be assessed for other violations.

            (b) Vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of twenty-six thousand pounds or more shall be fined five hundred dollars for failure to stop at the department stationary weight scales. This fine shall be in addition to any other fines which may be assessed for other violations.

            (4) Any vehicle which inadvertently bypasses the department stationary weight scales and returns to the scales voluntarily without the assistance of law enforcement shall not be assessed any penalty for bypassing the scales.

            B.(1)(a) Except as provided in Subparagraphs (b) and (c) of this Paragraph, whoever owns or operates any vehicle or combination of vehicles in violation of any rule, regulation, directive, or requirement of the secretary adopted under R.S. 32:386 or in violation of R.S. 32:386 shall be required to reduce the load to the maximum permissible gross weight and shall be assessed a penalty on such weight which exceeds the maximum permissible gross weight as defined by R.S. 32:386 or maximum allowable axle weights, whichever results in the higher fine, in accordance with the following schedule:

          OVERWEIGHT                                        PENALTY

                POUNDS

1 to 999$10.00 minimum

1,000 to 1,9991¢ per pound in excess of legal limit

2,000 to 2,9992¢ per pound in excess of legal limit

3,000 to 3,9993¢ per pound in excess of legal limit

4,000 to 4,9994¢ per pound in excess of legal limit

5,000 to 5,9995¢ per pound in excess of legal limit

6,000 to 6,9996¢ per pound in excess of legal limit

7,000 to 7,9997¢ per pound in excess of legal limit

8,000 to 8,9998¢ per pound in excess of legal limit

9,000 to 9,9999¢ per pound in excess of legal limit

10,000 to 10,99910¢ per pound in excess of legal limit

11,000 and over11¢ per pound in excess of legal limit

            (b)(i) Any truck hauling concrete or construction aggregates shall not be assessed a penalty for weight which exceeds the maximum allowable axle weights, if such truck does not also exceed the maximum permissible gross weight as provided in R.S. 32:386 and such truck is not operating on the interstate system.

            (ii) Any truck hauling hot mix asphalt which is performing work pursuant to a contract with the state or the governing authority of a parish or municipality shall not be assessed a penalty for weight which exceeds the maximum allowable axle weights, if such truck does not also exceed the maximum permissible gross weight as provided in R.S. 32:386 and such truck is not operating on the interstate system.

            (iii) Any truck fitted with a compactor body which is engaged in the collecting and hauling of solid waste including residential solid waste, agricultural waste, commercial solid waste, construction or demolition debris, garbage, industrial solid waste, trash, white goods, woodwaste, and yard trash, as defined in the rules and regulations of the Department of Environmental Quality, shall not be assessed a penalty for weight which exceeds the maximum allowable axle weights if such truck does not also exceed the maximum permissible gross weight as provided in R.S. 32:386 and 387 and such truck is not operating on the interstate system. Such truck shall not be assessed a penalty for exceeding its maximum permissible gross weight, as determined by law or pursuant to issuance of a special permit, if the waste is wet and the location from which the waste was collected had received measurable precipitation, as recorded by National Weather Service recognized observation stations, within twenty-four hours prior to collection provided the total excess weight is ten percent or less of the truck's maximum permissible gross weight and such truck is not operating on the interstate system. If the total excess weight is greater than ten percent of the truck's maximum permissible gross weight, as determined by law or pursuant to issuance of a special permit, the assessed penalty shall be calculated only on the excess weight which is above the ten percent allowance for water weight.

            (iv) Effective from August 1, 2012 through July 31, 2020, no truck hauling ready-mixed concrete shall be assessed a penalty for exceeding its maximum permissible gross weight, as determined by law, provided the total excess weight is ten percent or less of such truck's maximum permissible gross weight, such truck contains a certificate evidencing its most recent mixer chip-out of build-up occurred within the previous ninety days, such truck does not exceed the posted load while crossing a posted bridge, such truck is not operating on the interstate system, and no tire on such truck exceeds its tire weight rating. If such truck's total excess weight is greater than ten percent of its maximum permissible gross weight, as determined by law, such truck shall be assessed a penalty calculated on the total amount by which the truck's weight exceeds its maximum permissible gross weight, as determined by law. For the purposes of this Item, a "ready-mixed concrete truck" is defined as a vehicle designed exclusively to transport or manufacture ready-mixed concrete and includes a concrete pump truck engaged in hauling ready-mixed concrete. This Item shall not apply to any ready-mixed concrete truck as defined in R.S. 32:387.20 that has been issued a permit pursuant to R.S. 32:387.20.

            (v) No dump truck hauling concrete or construction aggregates shall be assessed a penalty for exceeding its maximum permissible axle weight, as determined by law, provided that the total excess gross weight is five percent or less of the truck's maximum permissible gross weight, the truck does not exceed the posted load while crossing a posted bridge, the truck is not operating on the interstate system, and no tire on the truck exceeds its tire weight rating. However, the maximum gross vehicle weight of any such vehicle shall not exceed eighty thousand pounds plus a tolerance thereon of not more than two percent. If the truck's total excess gross weight is greater than five percent of its maximum permissible gross weight, as determined by law, the truck shall be assessed a penalty calculated on the total amount by which the truck's weight exceeds its maximum permissible gross weight, as determined by law, and shall not exceed eighty thousand pounds plus a tolerance thereon of not more than two percent. For the purposes of this Section, "dump truck" shall mean a vehicle designed exclusively to transport construction aggregates.

            (c) Prior to assessment of a penalty for weight which exceeds the maximum allowable axle weights, the owner or operator is authorized to shift the load to reduce or eliminate such excess axle weight penalties as long as no part of the shipment is removed.

            (2) Whoever owns or drives any vehicle or combination of vehicles with a gross weight in excess of its licensed weight but less than or equal to its legal maximum gross weight may be assessed a penalty of one hundred dollars and shall be required to increase its license to the weight being carried not to exceed the legal maximum.

            (3) The owner or driver of a vehicle or combination of vehicles in violation of the bridge formula axle spacing requirements of R.S. 32:386(H) shall be fined fifty dollars for each violation.

            (4)(a) Whoever owns any business entity engaged in the sale or shipment of construction aggregates requiring a weigh master, not including asphalt, or transfer sales or shipment from rail, barge, or ship to wholesale stockpiles or inventories within a five-mile radius of the point where the shipment was transferred, who violates, or whose driver or contract driver violates any rule, regulation, directive, or requirement of the secretary adopted under R.S. 32:386 or violates R.S. 32:386 shall also be assessed a separate penalty for each violation in accordance with the schedule set forth in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection. However, notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter or any law to the contrary, any such business, or weigh master thereof, who releases a vehicle that is within the maximum permissible gross weight limitations for travel on a state highway shall not be assessed any penalty when said vehicle is found in violation of gross maximum weight limitations while traveling on any interstate highway. For purposes of enforcing this Subsection, any weights and standards or state policeman having reason to believe that such owner is in violation of R.S. 32:386 is authorized to enter and go upon, without formal warrant, any vehicle, stand, place, building, or premises, for the purpose of inspecting only the shipping ticket or tickets issued in connection with the particular load found in violation of R.S. 32:386 by any weights and standards police in order to determine whether such sales at the origin of shipment contain the amounts represented and are offered for sale or sold in a manner in accordance with law. The discovery of an overweight vehicle after proper weighing shall constitute "reason to believe" for purposes of this Subsection.

            (b) When used in this Section, "construction aggregates" means any of the following:

            (i) Sand.

            (ii) Gravel.

            (iii) Crushed stone.

            (iv) Reef shell.

            (v) Clam shell.

            (vi) Sand-clam shell mixture.

            (vii) Sand-reef shell mixture.

            (viii) Sand clay gravel.

            (ix) Clam-reef shell mixture.

            (x) Crushed concrete.

            (xi) Expanded clay.

            (xii) Calcium sulfate hemihydrate.

            (xiii) Asphalt.

            (xiv) Bulk soil.

            (xv) Dirt.

            (xvi) Bulk rock.

            (xvii) Sand rock.

            (xviii) Asphalt millings.

            C.(1) Whoever owns or drives any vehicle or combination of vehicles in violation of any rule, regulation, directive, or requirement of the secretary adopted pursuant to R.S. 32:387 or in violation of the terms and conditions of any special permit issued under R.S. 32:387 shall be assessed a penalty of one hundred dollars.

            (2) Whoever owns or drives a vehicle or combination of vehicles in violation of an overweight special permit shall be assessed a penalty for each pound of gross weight in excess of the special permit weight in accordance with the following schedule and may increase the permissible gross weight authorized by the special permit if he shall satisfy any special conditions imposed by the secretary or otherwise shall reduce his load to the maximum weight allowed under his special permit:

Pounds Over Permit

                  Gross Weight                                           Penalty

                  0 to 3,000                                           2¢ per pound

                  3,001 to 5,000                                    3¢ per pound

                  5,001 to 10,000                                  4¢ per pound

                  10,001 and over                                  $100 plus 5¢ per pound

            (3) Repealed by Acts 2021, No. 384, §5, eff. July 1, 2022.

            D. Whoever owns or drives any vehicle or combination of vehicles in violation of R.S. 32:387(F) shall be assessed a penalty of twenty-five dollars.

            E. Whoever owns or drives a vehicle or combination of vehicles without a proper escort when such escort is required by a special permit shall be assessed a penalty of one hundred dollars, and the vehicle or combination of vehicles shall be impounded until a proper escort is secured by the permittee.

            F. Payments for penalties imposed by the Department of Transportation and Development and the Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall be remitted to the Transportation Trust Fund. However, any payments for citations for weight limit violations on parish roads in a parish shall be paid to the public works department of said parish.

            G.(1) All penalties collected by the secretary and the commissioner shall be paid into the state treasury on or before the twenty-fifth day of each month following their collection and, in accordance with Article VII, Section 9 of the Constitution of Louisiana, shall be credited to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund. However, after a sufficient amount of the penalties collected by the secretary and the commissioner is allocated from the fund to pay all obligations secured by the full faith and credit of the state within any fiscal year, the treasurer shall pay an amount equal to the fees paid into the Bond Security and Redemption Fund pursuant to this Paragraph into the Transportation Trust Fund created under Article VII, Section 27 of the Constitution of Louisiana.

            (2) The Department of Public Safety and Corrections, public safety services, and the Department of Transportation and Development shall keep a set of books showing from whom every dollar is paid and for what purpose. It also shall keep in its file vouchers or receipts for all monies paid out.

            Acts 1992, No. 902, §1; Acts 1992, No. 984, §10; Acts 1993, No. 847, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1186, §1; Acts 1999, No. 685, §1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 2000, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 121, §1, eff. April 19, 2000; Acts 2001, No. 1201, §1; Acts 2003, No. 1219, §1, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2005, No. 426, §1, eff. July 1, 2005; Acts 2010, No. 320, §1, eff. July 1, 2010; Acts 2012, No. 723, §1; Acts 2014, No. 291, §1; Acts 2016, No. 371, §1; Acts 2018, No. 312, §1; Acts 2018, No. 441, §1; Acts 2020, No. 324, §1; Acts 2021, No. 384, §§1, 5, eff. July 1, 2022; Acts 2021, No. 442, §1; Acts 2024, No. 239, §1.