Pennsylvania Consolidated & Unconsolidated Statutes
Chapter 49 - Size, Weight and Load
Section 4981 - Weighing and measurement of vehicles

(a) Authority of police officers and qualified department employees.--A police officer or qualified department employee is authorized to require the driver of a vehicle or combination to stop and submit the vehicle or combination to be measured and weighed. Weighing may be done by using either portable or stationary scales, provided that when portable scales more than one inch in height are used, sufficient ramp blocks shall be made available to allow the vehicle or combination to mount the scales safely. The weighing shall be conducted by qualified personnel who have been trained in the use of weighing equipment in a training program approved by an agency of the Commonwealth. The personnel performing the weighing on all highways and interstates in this Commonwealth shall inform the drivers of the vehicle of the right to readjust or rearrange the load under section 4982(c) (relating to reducing or readjusting loads of vehicles). The driver or owner, if present, of a vehicle or combination may, at the time of weighing, witness in an orderly fashion the weighing procedure. If the driver wishes to witness the procedure from outside the cab of the vehicle, he shall be required to turn off the engine, put the transmission in gear and set the emergency brake before leaving the cab. A police officer or qualified department employee may require that a vehicle or combination be driven to the nearest stationary scales if the scales are within two miles.
(b) Scales on freeways.--The Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania State Police, shall operate on freeways at points which it deems necessary scales and other equipment for detecting violations of the size and weight limitations prescribed by this chapter. The department may also contract with persons or local authorities to use their scales.
(c) Tolerance when weighing axles.--A 3% tolerance per axle shall be permitted when a vehicle is weighed on stationary or portable scales. This tolerance shall not apply on any interstate highway to vehicles weighed on stationary scales.
(d) Reweighing at request of driver or owner.--Whenever scales operated by other than the department indicate that a vehicle, wheel, axle or pair of axles is overweight, the driver or owner may elect to have the vehicle reweighed on the nearest available scales which have been certified by the Department of Agriculture. The lower reading of the two scales shall determine whether charges shall be filed under this section.
(e) Certification of accuracy of portable scales.--
(1) Portable scales shall be calibrated for the purpose of certification of accuracy by the Department of General Services. A certificate from the Department of General Services showing that portable scales were calibrated and found to be accurate shall be competent and prima facie evidence of those facts in every proceeding in which a violation of this chapter is charged.
(2) Portable scales shall be calibrated as follows:
(i) Annually.
(ii) Following any event that could affect the accuracy of the portable scale or following repairs or failures. If a portable scale is calibrated under this subparagraph, the portable scale shall not need to be calibrated for a period of one year.
(f) Certification of qualified personnel.--The competency of a witness to testify concerning the weighing of a vehicle may be established by a certificate from an agency of the Commonwealth showing that the person was trained in the use of weighing equipment in a training program approved by a Commonwealth agency. This certification shall be admissible as competent and prima facie evidence that the person is qualified and trained in the use of weighing equipment in such a training program.
(June 18, 1980, P.L.229, No.68, eff. 60 days; Oct. 10, 1980, P.L.791, No.147, eff. imd.; June 23, 1982, P.L.605, No.171, eff. imd.; June 19, 1985, P.L.49, No.20, eff. 60 days; July 8, 1986, P.L.432, No.90, eff. 60 days; Dec. 11, 1986, P.L.1530, No.166, eff. 60 days; Feb. 10, 1994, P.L.10, No.2, eff. imd.; June 22, 2001, P.L.559, No.37, eff. 60 days; Oct. 19, 2010, P.L.557, No.81, eff. 90 days)

2010 Amendment. Act 81 amended subsec. (e). The preamble of Act 81 provided that Act 81 may be referred to as the Sgt. Michael C. Weigand Law.
2001 Amendment. Act 37 amended subsecs. (a) and (e).
1994 Amendment. Act 2 amended subsecs. (a) and (e) and added subsec. (f).
1986 Amendment. Act 166 amended subsec. (c).
Cross References. Section 4981 is referred to in sections 4102, 4982 of this title; section 4150 of Title 3 (Agriculture).

Structure Pennsylvania Consolidated & Unconsolidated Statutes