HEAITORNEY GENERAL 

OFTEXAS 

Hor;omble Homer Garrison, Jr., Cireotor 

Cepnrtment of Puolic Safety 

Camp Mabry 

Austin, Texas 

Dear Sir: Opinipn No. O-3328 

Reg Whether or not the vehicles 

making up e "combination of 

vehicles" measured as a un!t 

under the Scientific Truck 3ill 

should be registered separately 

or together under Artiole 

66758, Y.A.C.S. 

This is in reply to your request for our opinion on House Bill 

No. 19, known as the Scientific Truck Bill, reoently passed by tho Fortysevsnth Legislature. Your request saysr 

"Inasmuch as the present registration law requires 

the truck tractor to be registered under one rate and the 

semi-trailer under another, vre do not know how to advise 

parties to register their combination vehicles. It appears 

that in this Bill a combination is considered one vehicle." 

Your request has reference to that part of said House Bill No. 

19, which reads as follows: 

"Section 5. Except as otherwise provided by law, 

no oommarcial motor vehicle, truck-tractor, trailer, or 

semi-trailer, nor oombination of suoh vehicles, shall be 

operated over, on. or upon the public highways outside 

the limits of an incorporated city or tom, the total gross 

weight of which exoeeds that given by the following formula: 

"W equals C times (L plus 40). where 

'W equals total gross weight, including load and 

vehicle. in poundsr 

"C equals 7001 

"L equals the distance between the first and last 

axles of a vehicle or combination of vehicles. in feet. 

"Under the foregoing formula, the gross weight is 

ascertained by adding forty (40) to the distanoe in feet 

between the first and last axles of a vehicle or oombination 

of vehicles and multiplying this sum by seven hundred (700). 
Honorable Homer Garrison, Jr., pege 2 O-3326 

Provided, however, the gross weight shell never exceed 

thirty-eight thousand (36,000) pounds. 

"Provided, however, the gross weight permitted by 

the foregoing formula shell be subjeot to the following 

restriations and limitationsr 

'No such vehicle nor combination of vehioles shall 

have e greater weight than six hundred (600) pounds per 

inch width of tire upon any wheel concentreted upon the surfaoe 

of the highway and using high-pressure tires, end e greater 

weight than six hundred end fifty (650) pounds per inch width 

of tire upon any wheel aoncentrated upon the surface of the 

highway end using low-pressure tires, end no wheel shall 

carry a load in excess of eight thousand (6,000) pounds on 

high-pressure tires end nine thousand (9,000) pounds on lowpressure tires, nor any axle a load in excess of sixteen 

thousand (16,000) pounds on high-pressure tires, end eighteen 

thousand (16,000) pounds on low-pressure tires. An axle 

load shell be defined es the total load on all wheels whose 

centers may be included between two parallel transverse 

vertical planes forty (40) inches apart." 

Said above quoted provision in said Saientifio Truck Bill is en amendment 

replacing Se&ion 5 of the present Article 627~1 of Vernon's Annotated 

Penal Code of Texas. 

Said Article 627~1, V.A.P.C., deals primarily with the size, 

weight, and manner of operation of motor vehicles CD the highways in Texas. 

Said Article 627a was originally passed in 1929 es Senate Bill Bo. 11, 

Chapter 42, page 72, Forty-first Legislature, 2nd Called Session, and amended in 1931, by House Bill No. 336, Chapter 262, page 507, Fortysecond Legislature, Regular Session. 

Artiale 911b of Vernon's Annotated Revised Civil Statutes of 

Texas provides for the regulation by the Railroad Commission of Texas of 

motor propelled vehicles used in transporting property for compensation 

or hire over the highweys in this State. Said Article 911b, V.A.C.S., 

was originally passed in 1929 es House Bill No. 654, Chapter 314, page 

696, Forty-first Legisleture, Regular Session, and amended in 1931 by 

House Bill No. 335, Chapter 277, page 480, Forty-second Legislature, 

Regular Session. 

Artiole 6675a of Vernon's Annotated Revised Civil Statutes of 

Texas provides for the registration of all motor vehicles, trailers end 

semi-trailers used on the State highways end fixes a soale of license fees 

to be paid on the various types of motor vehicles, trailers end semitrailers. Said Article 6675a, V.A.C.S., was originally passed ia 1929 as 

House Bill No. 6, Chapter 66, page 172, Forty-first Legislature, Second 

Called Sessions, end has been amended on several ocaasions, since that time. 
_ . . - 

honorable homer Garrison, Jr., pege 3 O-3326 

The Scientific Truck Bill, quoted in pert above, emending 

Article 827a, V.A.P.C., deals with a combination of vehioles es one unit, 

that is, for the purposes of said Scientific Truck Bill emending Article 

627a, V.A.P.C., e combination of vehicles used together are measured and 

considered es one mechanism. As heretofore pointed out, the purpose of 

said Article 627a, V.A.P.C., is to regulate the siee, weight, end manner 

of operation of motor vehicles on the highways. 

Tie essume that you have reference to Article 6675a, V.A.C.S., 

when you say that "the present registration law requires the truck 

tractor to be registered under one rate and the semi-trailer under another 

" . . . . . . . . . That statement is true. The purpose of said Article 6675a, 

V.A.C.S., was to provide for e method of registration of all motor vehicles, 

trailers end semi-trailers used on the highways. 

It is apparent that in providing for a method of registration 

in Article 6675a, V.A.C.S., the Legislature deemed it best to require thst 

each motor vehicle, trailer end semi-trailer be registered separately. 

However, it is equally apperent that in fixing limitations on the size, 

weight end operation of trucks, trailers end semi-trailers on the highways, 

in the Scientific Truck Bill, emending Article 827a, V.A.P.C., a combination of vehicles is to be measured es e unit. !% see no objection to 

dealing with trucks end trailers separately in carrying out the terms of 

one law, to-wit, the registration law, end dealing with trucks end trailers 

collectively es one unit under the law regulating size end weight when 

they ere operated together es .a combination. The legislature probably 

considered that when the State keeps a record of all of the motor vehicles, 

trailers end semi-trailers in the State under the registration lews of 

this State all such vehicles should be registered separately even though 

some of them are used together in one combinetion, but in regulating the 

size, weight end operation of vehicles for the purposes of safety on the 

highways a better result could be obtained by applying the limitations 

end rules es to size, weight end operations to each combination of 

vehicles es if it was one unit. 

Our answer to your inquiry is thet every motor vehicle, including truck tractors, end every trailer end semi-trailer, used upon 

the public highways of this State, should be registered separately under 

the terms of Artiale 6675~~. V.A.C.S., even though two or more are used 

together es e combination end are aonsidered e "combination of vehicles" 

under the Scientific Truck Bill. 

In your letter requesting this opinion you asked for .a criminal complaint form to be used in the prosecution of cases for violations 

of the Scientific Truck Bill. Enolosed is such e form. 
- . . _ 

Honorable Homer Garrison, Jr., page 4 O-3326 

Yours very truly 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

By S/Ceail C. Rotsch 

Cecil C. Rotsch 

CCR:db:wc 

AFTROVED MAY 26, 1941 

s/Grover Sellers 

FIRST ASSISTANT 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

Approved Opinion Committee By s/EW@ Chairman