304.230. Enforcement of load laws--commercial vehicle inspectors, powers.
Enforcement of load laws--commercial vehicle inspectors, powers.
304.230. 1. It shall be the duty of the sheriff of each county orcity to see that the provisions of sections 304.170 to 304.230 areenforced, and any peace officer or police officer of any county or city orany highway patrol officer shall have the power to arrest on sight or upona warrant any person found violating or having violated the provisions ofsuch sections. Beginning January 1, 2009, only law enforcement officersthat have been approved by the Missouri state highway patrol under section304.232, members of the Missouri state highway patrol, commercial vehicleenforcement officers, and commercial vehicle inspectors appointed undersubsection 4 of this section shall have the authority to conduct randomroadside examinations or inspections to determine compliance with sections304.170 to 304.230, and only such officers shall have the authority, withor without probable cause to believe that the size or weight is in excessof that permitted by sections 304.170 to 304.230, to require the driver,operator, owner, lessee, or bailee, to stop, drive, or otherwise move to alocation to determine compliance with sections 304.170 to 304.230.Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, a law enforcementofficer not certified under section 304.232 may stop a vehicle that has avisible external safety defect relating to the enforcement of theprovisions of sections 304.170 to 304.230 that could cause immediate harmto the traveling public. Nothing in this section shall be construed aspreventing a law enforcement officer not certified under section 304.232from stopping and detaining a commercial motor vehicle when such officerhas probable cause to believe that the commercial motor vehicle is beingused to conduct illegal or criminal activities unrelated to violations ofsections 304.170 to 304.230. In the course of a stop, the law enforcementofficer shall identify to the driver the defect that caused the stop. Ifthe vehicle passes a comprehensive roadside inspection, the law enforcementofficer, state highway patrolman, or other authorized person shall issuesuch vehicle a commercial vehicle safety alliance inspection decal to beaffixed to the vehicle in a manner prescribed by the commercial vehiclesafety alliance. The superintendent of the Missouri state highway patrolshall promulgate rules and regulations relating to the implementation ofthe provisions of this section. Any rule or portion of a rule, as thatterm is defined in section 536.010, RSMo, that is created under theauthority delegated in this section shall become effective only if itcomplies with and is subject to all of the provisions of chapter 536, RSMo,and, if applicable, section 536.028, RSMo. This section and chapter 536,RSMo, are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the generalassembly pursuant to chapter 536, RSMo, to review, to delay the effectivedate, or to disapprove and annul a rule are subsequently heldunconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority and any ruleproposed or adopted after August 28, 2008, shall be invalid and void.
2. Any peace officer approved under section 304.232 or any highwaypatrol officer is hereby given the power to stop any such conveyance orvehicle as above described upon the public highway for the purpose ofdetermining whether such vehicle is loaded in excess of the provisions ofsections 304.170 to 304.230, and if he or she finds such vehicle loaded inviolation of the provisions thereof he or she shall have a right at thattime and place to cause the excess load to be removed from such vehicle;and provided further, that any regularly employed maintenance man of thedepartment of transportation shall have the right and authority in any partof this state to stop any such conveyance or vehicle upon the publichighway for the purpose of determining whether such vehicle is loaded inexcess of the provisions of sections 304.170 to 304.230, and if he or shefinds such vehicle loaded in violation of the provisions thereof, he or sheshall have the right at that time and place to cause the excess load to beremoved from such vehicle. When only an axle or a tandem axle group of avehicle is overloaded, the operator shall be permitted to shift the load,if this will not overload some other axle or axles, without being chargedwith a violation; provided, however, the privilege of shifting the weightwithout being charged with a violation shall not extend to or includevehicles while traveling on the federal interstate system of highways.When only an axle or tandem axle group of the vehicle traveling on thefederal interstate system of highways is overloaded and a court authorizedto enforce the provisions of sections 304.170 to 304.230 finds that theoverloading was due to the inadvertent shifting of the load changing axleweights in transit through no fault of the operator of the vehicle and thatthe load thereafter had been shifted so that no axle had been overloaded,then the court may find that no violation has been committed. The operatorof any vehicle shall be permitted to back up and reweigh, or to turn aroundand weigh from the opposite direction. Any operator whose vehicle isweighed and found to be within five percent of any legal limit may requestand receive a weight ticket, memorandum or statement showing the weight orweights on each axle or any combinations of axles. Once a vehicle is foundto be within the limits of section 304.180 after having been weighed on anystate scale and there is no evidence that any cargo or fuel has been added,no violation shall occur, but a presumption shall exist that cargo or fuelhas been added if upon reweighing on another state scale the total grossweight exceeds the applicable limits of section 304.180 or 304.190. Thehighways and transportation commission of this state may deputize andappoint any number of their regularly employed maintenance men to enforcethe provisions of such sections, and the maintenance men delegated andappointed in this section shall report to the proper officers anyviolations of sections 304.170 to 304.230 for prosecution by such properofficers.
3. The superintendent of the Missouri state highway patrol may assignqualified persons who are not highway patrol officers to supervise oroperate permanent or portable weigh stations used in the enforcement ofcommercial vehicle laws. These persons shall be designated as commercialvehicle inspectors and have limited police powers:
(1) To issue uniform traffic tickets at a permanent or portable weighstation for violations of rules and regulations of the division of motorcarrier services of the highway and transportation commission anddepartment of public safety, and laws, rules, and regulations pertaining tocommercial motor vehicles and trailers and related to size, weight, fueltax, registration, equipment, driver requirements, transportation ofhazardous materials and operators' or chauffeurs' licenses, and theprovisions of sections 303.024 and 303.025, RSMo;
(2) To require the operator of any commercial vehicle to stop andsubmit to a vehicle and driver inspection to determine compliance withcommercial vehicle laws, rules, and regulations, the provisions of sections303.024 and 303.025, RSMo, and to submit to a cargo inspection whenreasonable grounds exist to cause belief that a vehicle is transportinghazardous materials as defined by Title 49 of the Code of FederalRegulations;
(3) To make arrests for violation of subdivisions (1) and (2) of thissubsection. Commercial vehicle inspectors shall not have the authority toexercise the powers granted in subdivisions (1), (2) and (3) of thissubsection until they have successfully completed training approved by thesuperintendent of the Missouri state highway patrol; nor shall they havethe right as peace officers to bear arms.
4. The superintendent of the Missouri state highway patrol mayappoint qualified persons, who are not members of the highway patrol,designated as commercial vehicle enforcement officers, with the powers:
(1) To issue uniform traffic tickets for violations of laws, rulesand regulations pertaining to commercial vehicles, trailers, special mobileequipment and drivers of such vehicles, and the provisions of sections303.024 and 303.025, RSMo;
(2) To require the operator of any commercial vehicle to stop andsubmit to a vehicle and driver inspection to determine compliance withcommercial vehicle laws, rules, and regulations, compliance with theprovisions of sections 303.024 and 303.025, RSMo, and to submit to a cargoinspection when reasonable grounds exist to cause belief that a vehicle istransporting hazardous materials as defined by Title 49 of the Code ofFederal Regulations;
(3) To make arrests upon warrants and for violations of subdivisions(1) and (2) of this subsection. Commercial vehicle officers selected anddesignated as peace officers by the superintendent of the Missouri statehighway patrol are hereby declared to be peace officers of the state ofMissouri, with full power and authority to make arrests solely forviolations under the powers granted in subdivisions (1) to (3) of thissubsection. Commercial vehicle enforcement officers shall not have theauthority to exercise the powers granted in subdivisions (1), (2) and (3)of this subsection until they have successfully completed training approvedby the superintendent of the Missouri state highway patrol and havecompleted the mandatory standards for the basic training and licensure ofpeace officers established by the peace officers standards and trainingcommission under subsection 1 of section 590.030, RSMo. Commercial vehicleofficers who are employed and performing their duties on August 28, 2008,shall have until July 1, 2012, to comply with the mandatory standardsregarding police officer basic training and licensure. Commercial vehicleenforcement officers shall have the right as peace officers to bear arms.
5. Any additional employees needed for the implementation of thissection shall be hired in conformity with the provisions of the federalfair employment and antidiscrimination acts.
6. Any part of this section which shall be construed to be inconflict with the axle or tandem axle load limits permitted by theFederal-Aid Highway Act, Section 127 of Title 23 of the United States Code(Public Law 85-767, 85th Congress) shall be null, void and of no effect.
7. The superintendent may also appoint members of the patrol who arecertified under the commercial vehicle safety alliance with the power toconduct commercial motor vehicle and driver inspections and to require theoperator of any commercial vehicle to stop and submit to said inspectionsto determine compliance with commercial vehicle laws, rules, andregulations, compliance with the provisions of sections 303.024 and303.025, RSMo, and to submit to a cargo inspection when reasonable groundsexist to cause belief that a vehicle is transporting hazardous materials asdefined by Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(RSMo 1939 § 8408, A.L. 1963 p. 422, A.L. 1965 p. 492, A.L. 1979 H.B. 454, A.L. 1985 H.B. 157 merged with H.B. 368, A.L. 1994 S.B. 475, A.L. 1998 H.B. 1802, A.L. 2008 S.B. 930 & 947)Prior revision: 1929 § 7790
CROSS REFERENCE:
Division of motor carrier and railroad safety abolished, duties and functions transferred to highways and transportation commission and department of transportation, RSMo 226.008