Court Opinion

ID: 9636345
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 14:24:49.48117+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:09:44.475517
License: Public Domain

ROBERTS, Chief Justice,
concurring.
I agree that appellant was improperly fined pursuant to section 4945 of the Vehicle Code, 75 Pa.C.S. § 4945, which imposes sanctions for exceeding the maximum weight permitted by section 4941 for loads transported on the highways. Appellant sought to transport a bulldozer which, when combined with his vehicle, weighed 143,450 pounds, *624more than the maximum gross weight permitted by section 4941. However, before attempting to transport the load on state highways, appellant sought and obtained a valid “overweight permit” from the Department of Transportation pursuant to section 4961(a)(2), as the bulldozer which he sought to transport was “nondivisible.” See 67 Pa.Code § 179.1.
The citations against appellant for operating a vehicle without pilot cars, 67 Pa.Code § 179.10(13), failing to display oversize load placards, 67 Pa.Code § 179.10(15), and failing to post red flags on his trailer, 67 Pa.Code § 179.10(16), provided grounds for requiring appellant immediately to remove his vehicle from the state highway, correct the safety violations, and pay the $50 fine as established by section 4907 for those safety violations. However, those citations provided no basis for subjecting appellant to a $20,250 fine under section 4945 of the Vehicle Code for an overweight-vehicle violation, as there is no indication of a legislative intent to deem a vehicle with a proper overweight permit to be “overweight” for purposes of penalty provisions merely because of unrelated safety violations. Accordingly, the order of the Commonwealth Court is properly reversed.