State Information on Citation and Civil Assessments Issued for Overweight Violations
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) policy is that each State enforce vehicle size and weight laws to assure that violations are discouraged and that vehicles traversing the highway system do not exceed the limits specified by law. These size and weight limits are based upon design specifications and safety considerations, and enforcement shall be developed and maintained both to prevent premature deterioration of the highway pavement and structures and to provide a safe driving environment (23 CFR § 657.5).
Each State shall certify to the Federal Highway Administrator, before January 1 of each year, that it is enforcing all State laws respecting maximum vehicle size and weight permitted on what, prior to October 1, 1991, were the Federal-aid Primary, Secondary, and Urban Systems, including the Interstate System, in accordance with 23 U.S.C. 127. The States must also certify that they are enforcing and complying with the ISTEA freeze on the use of Longer Combination Vehicle's (LCV's) and other multi-unit vehicles. The certification shall be supported by information on activities and results achieved during the preceding 12-month period ending on September 30 of each year (23 CFR § 657.13).
In their certification to FHWA the States submit measures of activity, including penalties. Penalties reported include the number of citations or civil assessments issued for violations of each of the following: Axle, gross and bridge formula weight limits. The number of vehicles whose loads are either shifted or offloaded must also be reported (23 CFR § 657.15(f)(3)(ii)).
The following are the Federally mandated maximum weights for the National
System of Interstate and Defense Highways and reasonable access thereto:
1) 80,000 pounds gross vehicle weight
2) 20,000 pound single axle weight*
3) 34,000 pound tandem axle weight**
4) Bridge Formula***
*Single axle weight: Total
weight transmitted to the road by all wheels whose centers may be included
between two parallel transverse vertical planes 40 inches apart, extending
across the full width of the vehicle.
**Tandem axle weight: Total
weight transmitted to the road by two or more consecutive axles whose
centers may be included between parallel transverse vertical planes
spaced more than 40 inches and not more than 96 inches apart, extending
across the full width of the vehicle.
***Federal bridge formula:
Focuses on cargo placement and effects on axle loading. It applies
when the gross weight on two or more consecutive axles exceeds the
limitations of the formula. The bridge formula may reduce otherwise
legal gross vehicle weight (For more information on the Federal Bridge
Formula see
23
CFR § 658.17(e) or the FHWA Publication Bridge Formula Weights
[HTML, PDF,
1.5MB]).
For more information on Federal weight requirements see 23 CFR § 658.17.
State Weight Violation Facts and Figures FY 2003
The following table indicates the number of trucks cited or issued civil assessments by the States for violation of weight laws. Also included are the number of trucks that were required to off load or shift their load to be in compliance with the weight laws.
| State | Axle Weight Violation | Gross Weight Violation | Bridge Formula Violation | Load Shifts | Off Loadings | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 3846 | 4252 | 2255 | 3364 | 3976 | 17693 |
| Alaska | 215 | 36 | 0 | 225 | 111 | 587 |
| Arizona | 2126 | 1361 | 27 | 23389 | 1554 | 28457 |
| Arkansas | 2004 | 2617 | 872 | 5104 | 0 | 10597 |
| California | 31836 | 5142 | 1134 | 39623 | 0 | 77735 |
| Colorado | 6785 | 4132 | 243 | 8637 | 2280 | 22077 |
| Connecticut | 2002 | 2820 | 102 | 1382 | 408 | 6714 |
| Delaware | 156 | 107 | 43 | 0 | 66 | 372 |
| DC | 90 | 181 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 271 |
| Georgia | 1544 | 11204 | 35002 | 1306 | 1953 | 51009 |
| Hawaii | 36 | 0 | 0 | 1120 | 92 | 1248 |
| Idaho | 3868 | 1080 | 1459 | 7762 | 260 | 14429 |
| Illinois | 13278 | 3420 | 1570 | 46455 | 6861 | 71584 |
| Indiana | 6070 | 1901 | 125 | 2119 | 722 | 10937 |
| Iowa | 1481 | 2091 | 4409 | 6031 | 2395 | 16407 |
| Kansas | 6333 | 320 | 390 | 11699 | 1362 | 20104 |
| Kentucky | 5328 | 1692 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7020 |
| Louisiana | 15041 | 7332 | 21 | 40417 | 0 | 62811 |
| Maine | 235 | 326 | 3 | 414 | 923 | 1901 |
| Maryland | 15804 | 2292 | 2267 | 0 | 1464 | 21827 |
| Massachusetts | 2593 | 1604 | 812 | 90 | 616 | 5715 |
| Michigan | 1359 | 2198 | 439 | 831 | 676 | 5503 |
| Minnesota | 308 | 694 | 2411 | 234 | 255 | 3902 |
| Mississippi | 1617 | 4266 | 3148 | 10586 | 5352 | 24969 |
| Missouri | 8264 | 1437 | 566 | 9858 | 1881 | 22006 |
| Montana | 683 | 0 | 229 | 4819 | 2472 | 8203 |
| Nebraska | 6104 | 889 | 389 | 13858 | 1685 | 22925 |
| Nevada | 376 | 37 | 262 | 0 | 332 | 1007 |
| New Hampshire | 929 | 1139 | 92 | 0 | 0 | 2160 |
| New Jersey | 1845 | 807 | 0 | 174 | 0 | 2826 |
| New Mexico | 777 | 145 | 13 | 317 | 77 | 1329 |
| New York | 4013 | 2990 | 1704 | 844 | 0 | 9551 |
| North Carolina | 7415 | 18799 | 6732 | 51 | 2 | 32999 |
| North Dakota | 945 | 350 | 94 | 11612 | 4758 | 17759 |
| Ohio | 18878 | 5489 | 441 | 0 | 0 | 24808 |
| Oklahoma | 403 | 894 | 342 | 135 | 73 | 1847 |
| Oregon | 11951 | 3524 | 4515 | 1893 | 296 | 22179 |
| Pennsylvania | 284 | 959 | 210 | 0 | 0 | 1453 |
| Rhode Island | 1 | 114 | 15 | 0 | 108 | 238 |
| South Carolina | 6259 | 5127 | 0 | 543 | 241 | 12170 |
| South Dakota | 2716 | 312 | 159 | 2847 | 340 | 6374 |
| Tennessee | 7326 | 632 | 251 | 244 | 105 | 8558 |
| Texas | 34731 | 12920 | 11641 | 7915 | 4538 | 71745 |
| Utah | 4368 | 648 | 421 | 4792 | 1091 | 11320 |
| Vermont | 216 | 872 | 4 | 0 | 164 | 1256 |
| Virginia | 6203 | 10407 | 36576 | 82934 | 0 | 136120 |
| Washington | 5448 | 562 | 1973 | 7542 | 2419 | 17944 |
| West Virginia | 311 | 799 | 1914 | 0 | 320 | 3344 |
| Wisconsin | 239 | 1233 | 2901 | 1522 | 2280 | 8175 |
| Wyoming | 270 | 105 | 243 | 784 | 873 | 2275 |
| Puerto Rico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 254910 | 132258 | 128419 | 363472 | 55381 | 934440 |
