Code of Maine Rules › 29 - DEPARTMENT OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE › 250 - BUREAU OF MOTOR VEHICLES › Bureau of Motor Vehicles › Chapter 157 - THE ADMINISTRATION OF OVER DIMENSION AND OVERWEIGHT PERMITS › Section 250-157-1 - DEFINITIONS

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
Generally, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise,
					 undefined terms used in this rule have the same meaning as in Title
					 29-A.
1. APPLICATION: means the
				  original or renewal application for the privilege of moving overlimit loads or
				  overlimit vehicles on the public highways.
2. APPORTIONED OR PRORATED FOR THE STATE OF
				  MAINE: means registration based on a proportional payment of registration fees
				  determined through the IRP which includes a fair allotment for Maine.
3. BUREAU: any reference to Bureau in this
				  rule means the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
4. CLEARANCE refers to the vertical distance
				  between the highest point of the vehicle or load, and an overhead structure.
				  The distance from the chassis to the ground is referred to as under
				  clearance.
5. COMBINATION (OF)
				  VEHICLE(S): means a truck or truck tractor used in combination with a
				  trailer(s) and/or a semi trailer(s).
5A. CRANE: "Crane" means a type of special
				  mobile equipment designed primarily to lift heavy objects, and which does not
				  carry any property except for necessary tools and equipment.
6. COMMISSIONER: means the Commissioner of
				  the Maine Department of Transportation, or any Deputy Commissioner of the Maine
				  Department of Transportation.
7.
				  DAYLIGHT TRAVEL: means travel one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour
				  after sunset.
8. DESTINATION: means
				  the point where the overlimit load will be required by the applicable overlimit
				  permit to cease movement upon open sections of the public highways within the
				  context of the vehicle's current single move.
9. DIVIDED HIGHWAY: means a highway with a
				  physical barrier or a clearly indicated dividing space dividing opposing
				  traffic, and constructed to impede vehicular traffic over the
				  barrier.
10. DIVISIBLE: means a
				  load which can be reduced to legal limits without destroying its value (See
				  NON-DIVISIBLE LOAD).
11. EMERGENCY
				  OFF-HOUR MOVES: means those moves of overlimit vehicles and/or loads that are
				  made in order to create a degree of remedy to, or contribute to a degree of
				  remedy to a sudden and immediate condition that threatens the health and safety
				  of the public during hours in which the Overlimit Permit Unit is not staffed,
				  or is otherwise unable to process permit applications.
12. ENGINEERING REVIEW/SPECIAL AND DETAILED
				  REVIEW/DETAILED ENGINEERING REVIEW: means the detailed review of an overlimit
				  permit application by an engineer under the Maine Department of
				  Transportation's direction. An engineering review may be required on extreme
				  loads, or when the Issuing Authority deems it necessary.
13. ENVELOPE VEHICLE: means a vehicle and
				  load of a weight and dimensions pre-approved for expedited
				  permitting.
14. EXTREME (WHEN IN
				  REFERENCE TO WEIGHT, HEIGHT, LENGTH, WIDTH): means dimensions or weight deemed
				  to be in excess of the legal limits to such a degree that additional measures
				  are determined to be necessary in order to ensure public safety, to minimize
				  disruption to the public, or to protect highway and bridge infrastructure. The
				  determination of an "extreme" load will depend on various conditions taken
				  together such as the requested route, pavement and shoulder widths, highway
				  geometrics, expected traffic volume, the presence of public utilities or
				  railroad crossings, and the weight and dimensions of the object to be moved. A
				  vehicle or load that is 125 feet or more in length, or exceeds 16 feet in
				  height, or 16 feet in width, or 160,000 pounds generally will be presumed to be
				  an extreme load and may be required to comply with additional safety measures.
				  Every 5-axle crane exceeding 121,000 pounds is presumed to be non-routine,
				  extreme vehicle. Vehicles or loads of lesser dimensions or weight may be
				  determined to be extreme loads based on local conditions.
15. FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY
				  ADMINISTRATION (FMCSA): means an agency of the United States Department of
				  Transportation whose primary mission is to reduce crashes, injuries, and
				  fatalities involving large trucks and buses.
16. GENERAL LAW HIGHWAYS: means all
				  non-Interstate highways in Maine and Interstate 95 from the New Hampshire State
				  line to Exit 113 (Augusta Cushnoc Bridge) which includes the Maine
				  Turnpike.
17. GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT
				  RATING (GVWR): means the weight rating of the vehicle and maximum load as
				  determined by the final stage manufacturer.
18. HIGHWAY: means all public ways and roads,
				  including the Maine Turnpike, streets, avenues, alleys, boulevards, parks,
				  squares, ferries, bridges and approaches there to within the State.
19. INSTANT OVERLIMIT PERMIT: 
				  1means a serialized document approved
				  by the Overlimit Permit Unit via telephone that authorizes a single trip to
				  legally transport an overlimit vehicle, or vehicle combination, and/or load
				  upon public highways within seven days, along certain approved routes, and from
				  a single origin to a single destination within the state of Maine. Instant
				  permits typically are for a single move, but may be issued for one round
				  trip.
20. INTERNATIONAL
				  REGISTRATION PLAN (IRP): means the uniform reciprocal agreement for the
				  registration of commercial motor vehicles used in interstate commerce. The IRP
				  provides for the proportional collection and distribution of jurisdictional
				  registration fees based on the percentage of miles traveled in each member
				  jurisdiction.
21. INTERSTATE
				  SYSTEM: means "The Interstate Highway System" as defined in the United States
				  Highway Act of 1956, with the exception that it does not include the portions
				  of the Interstate System subject to Maine's General Law gross weight limits
				  (See GENERAL LAW HIGHWAYS).
22.
				  ISSUING AUTHORITY: means the Department of the Secretary of State, Office of
				  Motor Carrier Services, Overlimit Permit Unit acting under the guidelines and
				  advice of the Maine Department of Transportation, pursuant to Title
				  29-A M.R.S.A.
				  §2382, or any entity authorized to issue
				  an overlimit permit pursuant to Title 29-A.
23. LEGAL (AS IN LEGAL HEIGHT, LEGAL LIMITS,
				  AND NORMAL LEGAL LIMIT): means a dimension or weight that does not require an
				  overlimit permit.
24. LOAD: means
				  any object(s) that may be carried by a vehicle or combination of
				  vehicles.
25. LONG TERM (MONTHLY)
				  PERMIT: means a document that allows a single vehicle to move for up to 12
				  consecutive months when that vehicle, in combination with its load exceeds
				  normal legal limits, but also meets certain other conditions.
26. MOBILE HOME: means a structure,
				  transportable in one or more sections, built on a permanent chassis, and
				  designed to be used as a dwelling, with or without a foundation, when connected
				  to the required utilities including the plumbing, heating, and electrical
				  systems within the unit. The term mobile home includes office trailers, display
				  or sales models, portable classrooms, and similar structures.
27. MODULAR HOME: means a structure,
				  transportable in one or more sections, not built on a permanent chassis and
				  moved on a semitrailer, and designed to be used as a dwelling, with or without
				  a foundation, when connected to the required utilities including the plumbing,
				  heating, and electrical systems within the unit.
28. MOTOR VEHICLE LAWS: means those laws
				  concerning motor vehicles as found in Title 29-A and related rules.
29. MULTI-STATE PERMITS: means those
				  overlimit permits that specify an origin and/or destination located outside the
				  State of Maine. [See NEW ENGLAND TRANSPORTATION CONSORTIUM (NETC) and NASTO
				  OVER SIZE AND OVERWEIGHT PERMIT AGREEMENT (NOOPA)].
30. NASTO OVERSIZE AND OVERWEIGHT PERMIT
				  AGREEMENT (NOOPA): means a multi-state agreement among the jurisdictions
				  belonging to the Northeast Association of State Transportation Officials
				  (NASTO) to issue expedited overlimit permits to move loads meeting certain
				  criteria. The permittee is issued a single permit via a permit
				  service.
31. NEW ENGLAND
				  TRANSPORTATION CONSORTIUM (NETC):2 means an
				  agreement among the states of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode
				  Island, and Vermont to issue multi-state overlimit permits to vehicles meeting
				  certain conditions and traveling on a designated highway network. The issuing
				  state issues a single permit on behalf of all affected states.
32. NIGHT MOVES: means those moves that will
				  take place between one-half hour after sunset, and one-half hour before sunrise
				  as defined in Title
				  29-A M.R.S.A.
				  §101(78).
33. NON-CONFORMING SEMITRAILER: means a
				  semitrailer whose total structural length exceeds 48 feet but does not exceed
				  53 feet and the semitrailer does not meet the conditions defined in Title
				  29-A M.R.S.A.
				  §2390(J).
34. NON-DIVISIBLE LOAD: means a load which,
				  if separated into smaller loads or vehicles, would:
A. make it unable to perform the function for
				  which it was intended; or
B.
				  destroy its value; or
C. require
				  more than eight work hours to dismantle using appropriate equipment.
Sealed oceangoing containers, spent nuclear materials in
					 casks, and government controlled military vehicles and their loads will be
					 considered non-divisible.