1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to traffic regulations; extending the length 
  1.3             limitations and easing the weight restrictions for 
  1.4             trucks hauling milk; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, 
  1.5             sections 169.81, subdivision 2; and 169.87, 
  1.6             subdivision 3. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 169.81, 
  1.9   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 2.  [LENGTH OF SINGLE VEHICLE.] (a) No single unit 
  1.11  motor vehicle, except mobile cranes which may not exceed 48 
  1.12  feet, trucks for hauling milk which may not exceed 50 feet, and 
  1.13  buses which may not exceed 45 feet, unladen or with load may 
  1.14  exceed a length of 40 feet extreme overall dimensions inclusive 
  1.15  of front and rear bumpers, except that the governing body of a 
  1.16  city is authorized by permit to provide for the maximum length 
  1.17  of a motor vehicle, or combination of motor vehicles, or the 
  1.18  number of vehicles that may be fastened together, and which may 
  1.19  be operated upon the streets or highways of a city; provided, 
  1.20  that the permit may not prescribe a length less than that 
  1.21  permitted by state law.  A motor vehicle operated in compliance 
  1.22  with the permit on the streets or highways of the city is not in 
  1.23  violation of this chapter.  
  1.24     (b) No single semitrailer may have an overall length, 
  1.25  exclusive of non-cargo-carrying accessory equipment, including 
  1.26  refrigeration units or air compressors, necessary for safe and 
  2.1   efficient operation mounted or located on the end of the 
  2.2   semitrailer adjacent to the truck or truck-tractor, in excess of 
  2.3   48 feet, except that a single semitrailer may have an overall 
  2.4   length in excess of 48 feet but not greater than 53 feet if the 
  2.5   distance from the kingpin to the centerline of the rear axle 
  2.6   group of the semitrailer does not exceed 41 feet.  No single 
  2.7   trailer may have an overall length inclusive of tow bar assembly 
  2.8   and exclusive of rear protective bumpers which do not increase 
  2.9   the overall length by more than six inches, in excess of 45 feet.
  2.10  For determining compliance with the provisions of this 
  2.11  subdivision, the length of the semitrailer or trailer must be 
  2.12  determined separately from the overall length of the combination 
  2.13  of vehicles.  
  2.14     (c) No semitrailer or trailer used in a three-vehicle 
  2.15  combination may have an overall length in excess of 28-1/2 feet, 
  2.16  exclusive of: 
  2.17     (1) non-cargo-carrying accessory equipment, including 
  2.18  refrigeration units or air compressors and upper coupler plates, 
  2.19  necessary for safe and efficient operation, mounted or located 
  2.20  on the end of the semitrailer or trailer adjacent to the truck 
  2.21  or truck-tractor; 
  2.22     (2) the tow bar assembly; and 
  2.23     (3) lower coupler equipment that is a fixed part of the 
  2.24  rear end of the first trailer.  
  2.25     The commissioner may not grant a permit authorizing the 
  2.26  movement, in a three-vehicle combination, of a semitrailer or 
  2.27  trailer that exceeds 28-1/2 feet, except that the commissioner 
  2.28  may renew a permit that was granted before April 16, 1984, for 
  2.29  the movement of a semitrailer or trailer that exceeds the length 
  2.30  limitation in this paragraph, or may grant a permit authorizing 
  2.31  the transportation of empty trailers that exceed 28-1/2 feet, 
  2.32  when using a B-train hitching mechanism as defined in Code of 
  2.33  Federal Regulations, title 23, section 658.5, paragraph (o), 
  2.34  from a point of manufacture in the state to the state border. 
  2.35     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 169.87, 
  2.36  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  3.1      Subd. 3.  [SCHOOL BUSES AND, HEAD START BUSES, AND MILK 
  3.2   TRUCKS.] (a) Weight restrictions imposed pursuant to 
  3.3   subdivisions 1 and 2 do not apply to: 
  3.4      (1) a school bus or Head Start bus transporting students, 
  3.5   Head Start children, or Head Start parents when the gross weight 
  3.6   on a single axle of the school bus or Head Start bus does not 
  3.7   exceed 14,000 pounds; provided that, or 
  3.8      (2) a truck for hauling milk when the gross weight on a 
  3.9   single axle of the milk truck does not exceed 14,000 pounds. 
  3.10     (b) However, road authorities may restrict any highway 
  3.11  under their jurisdiction to a lesser axle weight than allowed 
  3.12  under paragraph (a), by written order to school boards and, Head 
  3.13  Start grantees, and dairy plants licensed under chapter 28A, 24 
  3.14  hours in advance of required compliance with such reduced axle 
  3.15  weight.  
  3.16     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.17     This act is effective the day following final enactment.