Request By:
Milo Bryant, Secretary
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
State Office Building
Frankfort, Kentucky 40622
Opinion
Opinion By: Frederic J. Cowan, Attorney General; Gerard R. Gerhard, Assistant Attorney General
Re: Whether "Tolerances" are Allowed in Connection with Truck Weights on The Interstate Highway System in Kentucky; Tridem Axle Maximum Weight. AGO Corr. No. 91-(0)-95.
By letter of January 3, 1991, to you, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Division Administrator Paul E. Toussaint asked, in substance, that this office advise whether "tolerances" are applicable in connection with enforcement of maximum truck weights for trucks using the Interstate Highway System in Kentucky, and that we clarify the maximum allowable weight for tridem axles on the Interstate Highway System in Kentucky. Mr. Toussaint's letter also requests responses to certain issues from your agency.
In our view, as explained below, "tolerances" are not applicable to truck weights concerning trucks using the Interstate Highway System in Kentucky, and the maximum allowable axle load for a tridem axle used on the Interstate Highway System in Kentucky is forty-eight thousand pounds .
The questions posed by the Federal Highway Administration arise because of prohibitions on allocation of federal highway funds to states which do not impose certain maximum truck weight requirements in connection with trucks operating on the Interstate Highway System. See 23 United States Code § 127.
Kentucky statutory language providing that "tolerances" above specified maximum weights are not permitted on the Interstate Highway System in Kentucky, and the maximum allowable gross weight for a tridem axle on the Interstate Highway System in Kentucky, appears in Kentucky Revised Statute (KRS) 189.222.
When "tolerance" is mentioned in connection with truck axle weight maximums in the provision noted (KRS 189.222), such term is expressly conditioned by the phrase "except on the interstate highway system" or similar wording. For example, KRS 189.222(1)(d) provides, in part:
Except on the interstate highway system , a tolerance of not more than five per cent (5%) per axle load shall be permitted before a carrier is deemed to have violated paragraph (c) of this subsection.
(Emphasis added.)
In the view of this office, such language expressly provides that "tolerances" that might effectively increase statutory maximum weights for trucks are not applicable on the Interstate Highway System in Kentucky.
Regarding the maximum allowable weight for a tridem axle operated on the Interstate Highway System in Kentucky, that weight is established at forty-eight thousand pounds by KRS 189.222(7) and (7)(b), which provide in pertinent part respectively:
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the secretary of the Transportation Cabinet may not authorize the operation of any motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles, upon any part of the federal aid highway system or state parkway system, which exceeds the following dimensions and weights:
* * * *
. . . forty-eight thousand (48,000) pounds on three (3) axles which are spaced forty-two (42) inches or more apart and less than one hundred twenty (120) inches apart.
* * * *
(Emphasis added.)
It is recognized in connection with truck axles, that the language of KRS 189.222(7)(b) (above) refers to a "tridem axle. " The Interstate Highway System is a part of the "federal aid highway system" referred to in KRS 189.222(7). It follows that the maximum allowable weight for tridem axles used on the Interstate Highway System in Kentucky is 48,000 pounds.
The weight limitation regarding tridem axles in Kentucky first appeared in Kentucky law in 1972 (Acts, 1972, ch. 150 § 1, eff. June 16, 1972), and was expressly stated in relation to the Interstate Highway System in 1974 (Acts, 1974, ch. 368 § 1, eff. June 21, 1974). A review of statutory amendments since June 16, 1972, indicates the 48,000 pound limit regarding tridem axles has been continuously in effect since June 16, 1972, to the present.
Mr. Toussaint's letter indicated there was confusion on the part of the FHWA concerning the applicability of "tolerances" in connection with truck weights, for trucks using the interstate highways in Kentucky, and in connection with the maximum weight allowable on a tridem axle on such highways. No details regarding the source of such confusion were provided.
We believe Kentucky law, including its regulations, is clear that "tolerances" are not applicable in connection with truck weights on the Interstate Highway System in Kentucky. Kentucky Administrative Regulation 603 KAR 5:066 provides, in part, as it did prior to a recent amendment discussed below:
There shall be no tolerances allowed on gross weight, axle weight, or combinations of axle weights on vehicles operating over a Class "AAA" highway which is a part of the Interstate System .
(Emphasis added.)
The entire Interstate Highway System in Kentucky is a "Class AAA" highway. Thus the regulation cited, in addition to KRS 189.222, bans "tolerances" in connection with truck weights on the Interstate Highway System in Kentucky.
Confusion regarding the maximum weight for a tridem axle on the Interstate Highway System in Kentucky, however, may have arisen from Kentucky Administrative Regulation 603 KAR 5:066, Section 4, as it existed prior to June 4, 1991. That regulation may have, prior to such date, attempted to authorize a weight maximum for a tridem axle on the Interstate Highway System in Kentucky, in excess of that established by KRS 189.222. At least to the extent of such excess, the regulation was a nullity. KRS 13A.120(2)(h), (i), and (4). In any event, 603 KAR 5:066 was amended effective June 4, 1991, to reflect that the maximum weight for a tridem axle on the Interstate Highway System in Kentucky is 48,000 pounds.
For the reasons indicated, we conclude that "tolerances" are not applicable in connection with maximum truck weights on the Interstate Highway System in Kentucky, and the maximum allowable weight for a tridem axle on the Interstate Highway System in Kentucky is 48,000 pounds.