§ 31-25-1. Compliance with chapter required. (a)(1) Except in reference to §§ 31-25-16 and 31-25-27 where it shall be considered a violation, it is a civil violation for any carrier to drive or move or to cause or permit to be driven or moved on any highway any vehicle or vehicles of a size or […]
§ 31-25-10. Fastening of load and covering. (a) No person shall operate on any highway any vehicle with any load unless the load and any covering on it is securely fastened so as to prevent the covering or load from becoming loose, detached, or in any manner a hazard to other users of the highway. […]
§ 31-25-11. Connections between coupled vehicles. When one vehicle is towing another the drawbar or other connection shall be of sufficient strength to pull all weight towed by it and the drawbar or other connection shall not exceed fifteen feet (15′) from one vehicle to the other, except the connection between any two (2) vehicles […]
§ 31-25-12. Flags on tow chains. When one vehicle is towing another and the connection consists of a chain, rope, or cable, there shall be displayed upon the connection a white flag or cloth not less than twelve inches (12″) square. Violations of this section are subject to fines enumerated in § 31-41.1-4. History of […]
§ 31-25-12.1. Vehicles to be towed in right lane. (a) When a tow truck or other vehicle is towing another vehicle, except those vehicles designed to be in combination, in this state upon any public highway divided into two (2) or more clearly marked lanes for travel in the same direction, it shall be unlawful […]
§ 31-25-13. Axle load limit. (a) The gross weight imposed on the highway by the wheels of any one axle of a vehicle shall not exceed twenty-two thousand four hundred pounds (22,400 lbs.). (b) For the purposes of this chapter, “axle load” is defined as the total load transmitted to the road by all wheels […]
§ 31-25-14. Maximum weight and tandem axles. (a) It shall be unlawful to transport or operate over or upon any public highway in this state any vehicle equipped with tandem axles, should the gross weight of the axles exceed thirty-six thousand pounds (36,000 lbs.) if the axle spacing does not exceed eight feet (8′). (b) […]
§ 31-25-15. Investigations as to safety of buses, trucks, and trailers. The administrator of the division of motor vehicles upon registering any truck, truck tractor, or semi-trailer under the laws of this state, or any bus for the transportation of ten (10) or more persons, may require any information and may make any investigation or […]
§ 31-25-16. Authorized weight shown in registration — Exceeding limit. (a) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall insert in the registration card issued for a vehicle the gross weight for which it is registered. If it is a truck tractor to be used for propelling semi-trailers, he or she shall separately insert […]
§ 31-25-17. Identification of trucks and truck-tractors. (a) Every motor truck and every truck-tractor exceeding a gross vehicle weight or gross combination weight of ten thousand pounds (10,000 lbs.) shall be identified with the name, trade name, or company identifying logo and the city and state of the owner and operating carrier, or individual transporting […]
§ 31-25-18. Weighing of suspected overweight vehicles. Any proper officer having reason to believe that the weight of a vehicle and load is unlawful is authorized to require the driver to stop and submit to a weighing of the vehicle and load by means of either portable or stationary scales, and may require that the […]
§ 31-25-19. Removal of excess from overweight vehicles. Whenever a proper officer upon weighing a vehicle and load, as provided in § 31-25-18, determines that the weight is unlawful, the officer may require the driver to stop the vehicle in a suitable place and remain standing until the portion of the load is removed as […]
§ 31-25-2. Vehicles exempt from limitations. (a) The provisions of this chapter governing size, weight, and load shall not apply to: (1) Road machinery; (2) Farm vehicles, including farm tractors, temporarily moved upon a highway; (3) Any vehicle owned and operated by the Rhode Island public transit authority that is designed for carrying passengers and […]
§ 31-25-20. Refusal to submit to weighing or removal of excess load. Any driver of a vehicle who fails or refuses to stop and submit the vehicle and load to a weighing, or who fails or refuses when directed by a proper officer upon a weighing of the vehicle to stop the vehicle and otherwise […]
§ 31-25-21. Power to permit excess size or weight of loads. (a) The department of transportation, with respect to highways under its jurisdiction, may, in its discretion, upon application in writing and good cause being shown for it, approve the issuance of a special permit in writing authorizing the applicant to operate or move a […]
§ 31-25-22. Application for excess load permit. (a) The application for an annual divisible load permit pursuant to § 31-25-21 shall specifically describe the vehicle or vehicles and load to be operated or moved, and the particular highways for which the permit to operate is requested. (b) For divisible load permits, the specifically described vehicle […]
§ 31-25-23. Conditions and restrictions on excess load permits. (a) The department of transportation or local authority is authorized to issue or withhold a permit at its discretion, or if the permit is issued, to limit the number of trips, or to establish seasonal or other time limitations within which the described vehicles may be […]
§ 31-25-24. Carrying and inspection of permits. Every permit, including all documentation required by that permit, issued under §§ 31-25- 21 — 31-25-23 shall be carried in the vehicle to which it refers and shall be open to inspection by any proper officer or authorized agent of any authority granting the permit. No person shall […]
§ 31-25-25. Seasonal weight restrictions by local authorities. (a) Local authorities with respect to highways under their jurisdiction may by ordinance or resolution prohibit the operation of vehicles upon a highway or impose restrictions as to the weight of vehicles to be operated upon a highway, for a total period of not to exceed ninety […]
§ 31-25-26. Prohibition of commercial vehicles by local authorities. Local authorities with respect to highways under their jurisdiction may, by ordinance or resolution, prohibit the operation of trucks or other commercial vehicles, or may impose limitations as to the weight of those vehicles on designated highways, which prohibitions and limitations shall be designated by appropriate […]
