CHAPTER 354

An Act to amend and reenact § 46.1-3889, as amended, of the Code of Vir-
ginia, relating to the weight of certain motor vehicles. 'S 821)

Approved March 31, 1964

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 46.1-339, as amended, of the Code of Virginia, be amended and
reenacted as follows:

§ 46.1-339. (a) The maximum gross weight and axle weight to be
permitted on the road surface of any highway shall be in accordance with
the provisions of this section.

(>) For the purposes of this section * the following definitions shall
apply.

(1) single axle—an assembly of two or more wheels whose centers
are in one transverse vertical plane or may be included between two parallel
transverse vertical planes forty inches apart, extending across the full
width of the vehicle.

(2) tandem axle—any two or more consecutive axles whose centers
are more than forty inches but not more than eighty-four inches apart,
and are individually attached to and/or articulated from a common attach-
ment to the vehicle including a connecting mechanism designed to equalize
the load between azles.

(8) single axle weight—the total weight transmitted to the road by
all wheels whose centers may be included between two parallel transverse
vertical planes forty inches apart, extending across the full width of the
vehicle.

(4) tandem axle weight—the 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 forty inches and not
more than eighty-four inches apart; extending across the full width of the
vehicle.

(5) group of axles—all of the axles located under a vehicle or com-
bination.

(c) The single axle weight of any vehicle or combination shall not
exceed eighteen thousand pounds, nor shall it exceed six hundred fifty
pounds per inch, width of tire, measured in contact with the surface of the
highway. The tandem axle weight of any vehicle or combination shall not
exceed thirty-two thousand pounds, and no one axle of such tandem unit
shall exceed the weight permitted for a single axle. Furthermore, the weight
CH. 354] AcTs OF ASSEMBLY 567

imposed upon the highway by two or more consecutive axles, individually
attached to the vehicle and spaced not less than forty inches nor more than
eighty-four inches apart, shall not exceed thirty-two thousand pounds and
no one axle of such unit shall exceed the weight permitted for a single axle.

(d) * The total gross weight imposed upon the highway by a vehicle
or combination shall not exceed the maximum weight given for the re-
spective distance between the first and last axle of the group of axles
measured longitudinally to the nearest foot as set forth in the following
table:

Distance in feet between Maximum weight in
the extremes of any pounds on any group
group of axles of axles
4

(e) Provided, however, that motor vehicles which are registered with
the Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles or State Corporation Commission
prior to July first, nineteen hundred and fifty-six may be permitted to
operate under (1) the preceding paragraphs of this section in conformity
therewith or (2) under the provisions of the statutes of this State in force
on January first, nineteen hundred and fifty-six but such operation shall
only be permissible during the period in which the motor vehicle remains
in operating condition. When such vehicle ceases to be operable the option
to operate under this provision shall terminate. All vehicles, operation of
which is desired under the provisions of subsection (2) of this paragraph,
shall be registered with the State Department of Highways and obtain a
permit, without cost, so to do.

2. An emergency exists and this Act is in force from its passage.