Pennsylvania Consolidated & Unconsolidated Statutes
Chapter 47 - Inspection of Vehicles
Section 4704 - Inspection by police or Commonwealth personnel

(a) Authority to inspect.--
(1) Inspection in conjunction with vehicle weighing.--
(i) Any Pennsylvania State Police officer or qualified Commonwealth employee engaged in weighing vehicles as provided in Ch. 49 Subch. E (relating to measuring and adjusting vehicle size and weight) is authorized to inspect any item of the vehicle's equipment and its load, driver and documents to determine whether they meet standards established in department regulations.
(ii) Any police officer or Commonwealth employee engaged in weighing vehicles as provided in Ch. 49 Subch. E is authorized to inspect any items of a vehicle's equipment to determine whether they meet the standards established in department regulations.
(2) Systematic vehicle inspection programs.--Any Pennsylvania State Police officer or qualified Commonwealth employee engaged in a systematic vehicle inspection program may inspect any vehicle, driver, documents, equipment and load to determine whether they meet standards established in department regulations.
(3) Probable cause.--
(i) Any State Police officer or qualified Commonwealth employee having probable cause to believe that a vehicle, driver, documents, equipment or load are unsafe, not equipped as required or otherwise not in compliance with the law or regulations may inspect the vehicle, driver, documents, equipment or load.
(ii) Any police officer having probable cause to believe that a vehicle or its equipment is unsafe, not equipped as required or otherwise not in compliance with the law or regulations may inspect the vehicle or its equipment.
(4) Testing in conjunction with vehicle emissions.--When testing for vehicle emissions, testing may include remote sensing devices or systematic roadside checks with tailpipe tests, emission control device checks and a check of the subject vehicle's emission control system including all of the components to determine if any part of the system has been disabled, changed or altered. The systematic testing may be conducted by police officers or qualified Commonwealth employees.
(5) Inspection of a vehicle involved in an accident.--Any Pennsylvania State Police officer or qualified Commonwealth employee is authorized to inspect any item of equipment and the load, driver and documents of any vehicle involved in an accident to determine whether they meet standards established in department regulations.
(b) Notice of violation.--Any police officer or qualified Commonwealth employee, having probable cause to believe that any vehicle or mass transit vehicle, regardless of whether it is being operated, or its equipment, documents or load, are unsafe, not equipped as required, or are otherwise not in compliance with the law or department regulations, may at any time submit a written notice of the violations to the driver of the vehicle or the mass transit vehicle or to the owner, lessee or registrant, or if none of them is present, to an adult occupant of the vehicle or the mass transit vehicle, or if the vehicle or the mass transit vehicle is unoccupied, the notice shall be attached to the vehicle or the mass transit vehicle in a conspicuous place.
(1) The notice shall specify the particulars of the violations and require that the violations be corrected. Within five days or, in the case of a motor carrier vehicle or bus, within 15 days or before commencement of the vehicle's next trip, whichever occurs first, or in the case of emission testing, within 30 days, evidence must be submitted to the police or the Commonwealth, whichever is applicable, that the violations have been corrected.
(2) If the police officer or qualified Commonwealth employee has probable cause to believe that a vehicle or mass transit vehicle is unsafe or not in proper repair or fails a roadside vehicle emission test, he may require in the written notice that the vehicle or mass transit vehicle be inspected. The owner or driver shall, within five days of the date of notification or, in the case of a motor carrier vehicle or bus, within 15 days of the date of notification or before commencement of the vehicle's next trip, whichever occurs first, or in the case of emission testing, within 30 days, submit to the police or the Commonwealth, whichever is applicable, certification from an official inspection station that the vehicle or the mass transit vehicle has been restored to legal operating condition in relation to the particulars specified on the notice. Any person who fails a roadside vehicle emission inspection shall have 30 days in which to pass an enhanced vehicle emission inspection or to produce evidence that the subject vehicle has a valid emissions test waiver.
(3) After the expiration of the five-day, 15-day or 30-day period specified in paragraphs (1) and (2), whichever is appropriate, the vehicle shall not be operated upon the highways of this Commonwealth and a mass transit vehicle shall not be operated until the owner or driver has submitted to the police or the Commonwealth, whichever is applicable, evidence of compliance with the requirements of paragraph (1) or (2), whichever is applicable.
(c) Operation prohibited if hazardous.--
(1) In the event a vehicle or a mass transit vehicle, or its equipment, load or driver, in the reasonable judgment of the officer or qualified Commonwealth employee, is in such condition that further operation would be hazardous, the officer or qualified Commonwealth employee may require that the vehicle or the mass transit vehicle not be operated under its own power or that the driver discontinue driving, or both, and may so stipulate in the notice given under subsection (b). In the case of motor carrier vehicles or their drivers, all such determinations shall be based on out-of-service criteria established in department regulations.
(2) In the event a motor carrier vehicle or mass transit vehicle is involved in an accident that causes the death of the vehicle operator or another person, the motor carrier vehicle or mass transit vehicle and its equipment, load, driver and documents shall be inspected by a qualified Commonwealth employee as designated by the department in accordance with subsection (f) before the vehicle or driver will be allowed to continue operation.
(d) Authority of police and qualified Commonwealth employees.--Any police officer or qualified Commonwealth employee shall be authorized to detain and inspect any sealed or unsealed vehicle, container or shipment which they have probable cause to believe may be in violation of the law or Commonwealth regulations while in transit or in maintenance facilities, terminals or other public or private property to ascertain if commodities or materials are being unloaded, stored or transported in an illegal manner; to inspect contents; to inspect and copy documents and otherwise to ensure compliance with the law and Commonwealth regulations, except that only State Police and qualified Commonwealth employees shall have the authority to enforce any law or regulation pertaining to drivers, including, but not limited to, minimum driver qualifications, maximum hours of service and driver records, or pertaining specifically to hazardous materials. If a seal is opened for inspection, the inspecting officer or Commonwealth employee shall reseal any vehicle, container or shipment prior to further transportation.
(e) Limitation of authority of qualified Commonwealth employees.--The authority granted to qualified Commonwealth employees under this section shall be exercised only when the employee is in uniform and shall apply only to motor carrier vehicles, buses and all vehicles and combinations carrying hazardous materials in an amount and type which require the vehicle to be placarded under Chapter 83 (relating to hazardous materials transportation) and to the drivers of all such vehicles. Qualified Commonwealth employees who are not police officers shall be regarded as police officers under this part for the purpose of instituting criminal proceedings by citation under Chapter 50 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure.
(f) Training of Commonwealth employees.--The department shall establish a program or programs to train and qualify Commonwealth employees, including Pennsylvania State Police officers, to inspect vehicles, equipment, documents, loads and drivers as authorized under this section and may provide such a program to train and qualify any police officer. After one year following the effective date of this section, inspections under subsection (a)(2) may be conducted only by personnel qualified under this program. Until that time, such inspections may be conducted by personnel designated by the department. A document executed by a department official, or a photostatic copy thereof, indicating that a person, including any police officer, has been so qualified or designated shall be competent and prima facie evidence of the qualification or designation.
(g) Limitations.--(Deleted by amendment).
(h) Administrative coordination.--The department shall coordinate with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission in the enforcement of this section and 66 Pa.C.S. § 3312(a) (relating to evasion of motor carrier and broker regulations).
(June 18, 1980, P.L.223, No.67, eff. imd.; June 18, 1980, P.L.229, No.68, eff. 60 days; June 19, 1985, P.L.49, No.20, eff. 60 days; Dec. 16, 1992, P.L.1250, No.166; Dec. 18, 1992, P.L.1411, No.174, eff. 60 days; May 20, 1993, P.L.30, No.10, eff. 60 days; Feb. 10, 1994, P.L.10, No.2, eff. imd.; June 19, 2001, P.L.281, No.21, eff. imd.; June 26, 2001, P.L.734, No.75, eff. 60 days; Dec. 23, 2002, P.L.1982, No.229; Nov. 26, 2008, P.L.1658, No.133, eff. 60 days)

2008 Amendment. Act 133 deleted subsec. (g).
2002 Amendment. Act 229 amended subsecs. (a), (c), (e) and (g), effective in 60 days as to subsecs. (a) and (c) and six months as to the remainder of the section.
2001 Amendments. Act 21 amended subsec. (c) and added subsec. (h) and Act 75 amended subsec. (c) and added subsec. (h). Act 75 overlooked the amendment by Act 21, but the amendments do not conflict in substance and have both been given effect in setting forth the text of subsec. (c). The addition of subsec. (h) by Acts 21 and 75 is identical and therefore has been merged.
1992 Amendment. Section 9 of Act 166 provided that the amendment shall take effect 60 days after the Department of Transportation certifies by notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin that an enhanced emission inspection program will commence.
References in Text. Section 3312(a) of Title 66, referred to in subsec. (h), does not exist.
Cross References. Section 4704 is referred to in sections 1373, 4102, 4107, 6103 of this title; section 4150 of Title 3 (Agriculture).