Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1946 )

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OFTEXAS Honorable.Homer Garrison, Jr., Director Texas Department of PublIcSafety CampMabry Austin 9, Texas Dear 9lr : Opinion NO. 0-7196 Re: Whether a properly registered truck and trailer which does not exceed 96 Inches in width, can be used to have and combine over 108 inches in width without a special permit and related question. Your recent opinion request reads as follows: 'Mr. A, the owner of a commercial truck and trailer, properly licensed in the State of Texas, contracts wlth Mr. B, the owner of a thrashing combine which Is an lm- plement of husbandry, to transport on this commercial motor vehicle the said combine from Amarillo, Texas, to Beeville, Texas, for a stated sum of money for the above transportation. 'The said truck and trailer are under 96 Inches In width; therefore, legal to move on Texas highways. But after the said combine is loaded on thfs commercial motor vehicle, it Is over 108 inches In width at the widest point; thus, maki.ngit an overwidth vehicle under Texas laws. "1 0 Does this truck and trailer, loaded with thfs combine, require a specialpertit from the State Highway Department to move over Texas State highways? “2 . Thus loaded and moving as a commercial load, is this an i.mplementof husbandry fn so far as t$af’fic regulations of the State of Texas are concerned% Article 6675a-2, V.A.C.S. provides in part as follows: II Owners of farm tractors, farm trailers, . . . . farm semi-trailers, and implements of husbandrv, operated or moved temporarily uoon the hlghways shall not be required to register such fsrm tractors, farm Honorable Homer Garrison, Jr., Page 2 o -7196 trailers, farm semi-trailers, or imolements of hus- bandry; . e . . ." (Emphasis ours). Article 6675a-1, paragraph (r), V.A.C.S. reads as follows: “(r) 'Implements of husbandry' shall mean farm implements, machinery and tools as used in tilling the soil, but shall not Include any passenger car or truck." Article 6675a-1, paragraph (q), V.A.C.S. provides as follows: 'o erated or moved temporarily upon the ,,,,a$$ Bymeant is ' the operation or conveying between different farms, and the operation or conveyance from the owner's farm to the place where his farm produce is prepared for market or where same Is actually marketed and return." Article 6675a-8b, V.A.C.S. provides as follows: "No motor vehicle shall be registered and licensed which has a total outside width, including any load thereon, of more than ninety-six (96) inches, except that the width of a farm tractor shall not exceed nine (9) feet, and ex- cepting further, that the limitations as to size of vehicle shall not apply to implements of husbandry, and highway building and maintenance machinery;temporarily propelled or moved upon the public highway. Article 6675a-6, V.A.C.S, provides in part as follows: The term 'gross weight' as used in this se&lo; sha1.imean the actual weight of the vehicle fully equipped with body, and other equipment, as certified by any Official Public Weigher or any License and Weight Inspector of the State Highway Department, plus Its net carrying capacity. 'Net carrying capacity' of any vehicle except a bus, as used in this section, shall be the weight of the heaviest net load to be carried on the vehicle being registered; provided said net carrying capacity shall in no,case be less than the manufacturer's rated carrying capacity. . . D -' Article 6701a, Section 1, V.A.C.S. provides: "When any person, firm or corporation shall desire to operate over a state highway super-heavy OP over-size equip- ment for the transportation of such commodities as cannot Honorable Homer Garrison, Jr., page 3 o-7196 be reasonably dismantled, where the gross weight or size exceeds the limits allowed by law to be transported over a state highway the State Highway Department may, upon appli- cation, since a permit for the operation of said equipment with said commodities, when said State Highway Department is of the opinion that the same may be operated without material damage to the highway. Provided, however, that nothing in this Act shall prevent the full control of such movements or operations on the streets of cities and towns by the ordinances of such nmnicipa1ities.I' After carefully considering the above quoted statutes, as well as the related statutes in reference to registration, we have arrived at the following conclusions: 1. That the truck and trailer in question can lawfully move upon the highways of this State, and carry any load that does not exceed either the gross veight for which it is registered (and in no event can exceed 48,000 pounds gross weight) OP the legal width of 96 inches without a specia1 ,permi~t as provided in Article 67ola. 2. That the Truck and trailer in question cannot law- fully move upon the highways of this State, when its gross weight exceeds the gross weight for which it is registered or the load thereon exceeds 96 inches in width, without a special permit as provided in Article 6701-a. 3. That a special permit cannot be obtained for said truck and trailer to haul super-heavy OP over-size equipment, if such equipment can be reasonably dismantled. 4. That the truck and trailer loaded with the combine when being transported, as stated in your opinion request, 1~snot an "Implement of husbandry" in that the definition of such phrase, as above set forth, explicitly states that same "shall not include any passenger car or truck". 5. Even though it were considered an 'Implement of husbandry", It could not be transported as stated in your letter without a special permit, in that iC,would not he "operated 01" moved temporarily upon the highways'!,as that phrase is defined in Article 6675a-1. Pour specific questions can theref’ore be answered numerically as follows: 1, The truck and trailer, loaded with the combine in question, requires a special permit from the State Highway Depart- ment to move over Texas State Highways, in the manner stated in Honorable Homer Garrison, Jr., page 4 o-7196 your letter (if the combine cannot be reasonably dismantled, 80 as not to exceed either the gross weight or 96 inches in width). 2. The truck and trailer, loaded with such combine, moving as a commercial load, is not an implement of husbandry in so far as traffic regulations of the State of Texas are concerned. We trust that we have fully answered your inquiry. Yours very truly ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS By s/w,V. Geppert W,V. Geppert Assistant WVG :MS:wc APPROVED APR 12, 1946 s/Wm. J. Fanning (Acting) ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS Approved Opinion Committee By s/BWB Chairman