CROSS REFERENCES
See sectional histories for similar State law.
Warning devices when disabled on freeways, RC 4513.28
Weighing vehicle; removal of excess load, RC 4513.33
Hours of service of truck drivers, RC 4921.30
Arrest notice of drivers, RC 5577.14
Raw rendering material transportation, CO 221.03
Parking commercial vehicles in residential districts, CO 349.13
Impounding commercial vehicles, CO 405.08
Slower moving vehicles to be driven in right-hand lane, CO 431.06
Safety lighting, CO 437.06
Slow-moving vehicle lights and emblem, CO 437.10, 437.15
Bus stops regulated, CO 451.18
Truck zones, CO 451.20
Parking trucks and commercial vehicles, CO 451.21
Garbage disposal vehicle sanitation, CO 551.38
Truck loads causing litter, CO 613.07
No person shall operate or move a vehicle or combination of vehicles of a size or weight of vehicle or load exceeding the maximum specified in RC 5577.01 to 5577.09, inclusive, or otherwise not in conformity with RC 4513.01 to 4513.37, inclusive, upon any State route within the City, except pursuant to special written permit issued by the Ohio Director of Transportation, or upon any local truck route. Every such permit shall be carried in the vehicle or combination of vehicles to which it refers and shall be open to inspection by any police officer.
No holder of a permit issued by the Ohio Director of Transportation shall be required to obtain any local permit or license or pay any local fee or charge for movement on any State route within the City. However, no person shall operate any such vehicle or combination of vehicles upon any roadway within the City which is not a State route, except as provided in Section 439.02.
(RC 4513.34; Ord. No. 1684-76. Passed 6-29-76, eff. 7-6-76)
(a) The Director of Public Service may issue permits, upon written application, to move vehicles, objects or structures that are in excess of the weight and/or size limitations specified in this chapter over any street, highway, bridge or culvert, other than a state route. The Director of Public Service shall issue each permit for a particular vehicle, object or structure to move over a specific route prescribed by the Director.
(b) The Director of Public Service shall issue permits only for non-divisible loads, unless the Director determines that it would be in the best interests of the safety of the travelling public and the welfare of the transportation system to waive this restriction. As used in this section, "non-divisible" means that which cannot be reduced in size or weight, or which is impractical to divide, or which cannot be so adjusted as to be within the weight and size limitations specified in this chapter and RC 5577.01 to 5577.14.
(c) The Director of Public Service shall require each permittee to indemnify and save harmless the City of Cleveland with respect to the permittee's activities under the permit. The Director shall further require that the permittee maintain at all times during the term of the permit automobile liability insurance to insure both the permittee and the City of Cleveland with respect to permittee's activities under the permit, with limits not less than the following:
Bodily injury coverage per person
_ $375,000.00
Bodily injury coverage per occurrence
_ $375,000.00
Property damage coverage per occurrence
_ $375,000.00
In lieu thereof, a single limit policy of automobile liability insurance covering both personal injury and property damage in an amount not less than $750,000.00 may be substituted.
(d) The Director of Public Service may impose such additional requirements or conditions for the issuance of a permit under this section as the Director deems necessary for the safety and welfare of the citizens of the City of Cleveland and the travelling public, and to protect the integrity of the streets, highways, bridges and culverts in the City of Cleveland. Such additional requirements or conditions may include the keeping of a log of the number of moves made under the authority of a permit issued pursuant to this section.
(e) The Director of Public Service may issue such rules and regulations as the Director deems necessary to fulfill the purposes of this section and Section 439.021. Such rules and regulations shall take effect ten (10) days after publication in the City Record.
(Ord. No. 2743-91. Passed 12-16-91, eff. 12-23-91)
Note: Pursuant to Section 2 of Ord. No. 2743-91, Section 439.02, as enacted by Ord. No. 2743-91, shall take effect on February 1, 1992.
Note: Section 439.02, enacted by Ord. No. 366-A-90, was re-enacted by Ord. No. 2363-91, passed 10-28-91, eff. 11-4-91, to extend the effective date, which was further extended by Ord. No. 2744-91, passed 12-16-91, eff. 12-23-91.
Pursuant to Section 1 of Ord. No. 2744-91, amending the effective date in Section 2 of Ord. No. 2363-91, Section 439.02, as re-enacted by Ord. No. 2363-91, takes effect on November 1, 1991 and expires on January 31, 1992.
Pursuant to Section 3 of Ord. No. 2744-91, all permits issued pursuant to Section 439.02, as enacted by Ord. No. 366-A-90 and extended by Section 3 of Ord. No. 2363-91, were further extended through and including January 31, 1992, except that any permit issued for a single overweight and/or oversize move was not extended, but expired in accordance with the terms of the permit.
(a) The Director of Public Service shall use the following categories for purposes of assessing fees for permits issued under Section 439.02:
(1) Active Permit. An active permit shall be issued for a single movement over a designated route, and may allow for return to the place of origin over the same route with approval of the Director of Public Service. An active permit shall be issued for a duration of not to exceed 72 hours, except that a permit allowing the movement of a load in excess of 120,000 lbs. shall be for a duration of not to exceed five (5) days.
(2) Continuing Permit. A continuing permit shall be issued for repeated movements of the same vehicle, including any approved load and axle spacing, over the same routing between the same two locations. A continuing permit shall be issued for a period of not to exceed 365 days.
(3) Construction Equipment Permit. A construction equipment permit shall be issued for repeated movements of the same vehicle to and from construction work sites. A construction equipment permit shall be for a vehicle, including trailer and/or equipment or machinery, which does not exceed twelve feet in width, and which does not exceed the weight, length, and height limitations of this chapter and Sections 5577.02 and 5577.05 of the Revised Code. A construction equipment permit shall be issued for a period of not to exceed 365 days.
(4) Inactive Permit. An inactive permit shall be issued for repeated movements of the same vehicle, including the approved load and axle spacing. For an inactive permit, the route is not specified when the application is submitted. When a given route is subsequently submitted to and approved by the Director of Public Service, the Director shall issue a validation number, which shall activate the permit for a duration of not to exceed 72 hours. An inactive permit shall be issued either for a period of not to exceed 90 days, or for a period of not to exceed 365 days, the duration of which shall be in accordance with the amount paid by the applicant under the schedule of fees set forth in division (b) of this section.
(b) The Director of Public Service shall charge the following fees for permits issued under Section 439.02:
| Active permit — (single movement) | Fee |
| Processing fee — 72 hours or 5 days | $15.00 |
| Overweight surcharge | $7.50 |
| Overwidth surcharge (over 12') | $7.50 |
| Overheight surcharge (over 14' 6") | $15.00 |
| Return trip surcharge with authorization | $7.50 |
| Continuing Permit | Fee |
| Processing fee — 365 days | $20.00 |
| Overweight surcharge | $7.50 |
| Overwidth surcharge (over 12') | $7.50 |
| Overheight surcharge (over 14' 6") | $15.00 |
| Construction Equipment Permit (up to 12' wide) | Fee |
| Processing fee — 365 days | $15.00 |
| Inactive Permit | Fee |
| Processing fee — 365 days | $15.00 |
| Processing fee — 90 days | $7.50 |
| Validation number charge (approval of routing) and return | $7.50 |
| Overweight surcharge | $7.50 |
| Overwidth surcharge (over 12') | $7.50 |
| Overheight surcharge (over 14' 6") | $15.00 |
(c) In addition to the foregoing fees and charges, if a police escort is required by state law, or at any other time that the Director of Public Service and the Traffic Commissioner determine that a police escort is needed, the permittee shall also reimburse the City for the costs of the escort as determined by the Chief of Police.
(Ord. No. 2393-02. Passed 2-3-03, eff. 2-3-03)
(a) No vehicle, object or structure shall be operated or moved upon any public street, highway, bridge or culvert within the City other than a State Route having an axle load, wheel load or a vehicle and load weight in excess of the maximums specified in RC 5577.01 to 5577.14, inclusive, or such lesser axle load, wheel load or vehicle and load weight as the Director of Public Service shall determine due to the conditions of the public street, highway, bridge or culvert.
(b) All motor trucks whose axle load, wheel load or vehicle and load weight is in excess of the maximum specified in division (a) of this section, shall operate in conformity with signs posted by the Chief of Police, or the officer designated in charge of traffic control prohibiting, limiting or diverting such motor trucks on such residential street, except while receiving goods or making deliveries along such streets.
(Ord. No. 2515-89. Passed 12-11-89, eff. 12-15-89)
All commercial tractors, trailers, semitrailers and pole trailers and trucks in excess of 7,000 pounds gross weight shall be operated in the lane nearest the right-hand edge of the roadway upon all through streets and highways when parking is prohibited in such traffic lane, otherwise in the lane of traffic immediately left thereof. No such vehicles shall overtake and pass any other moving vehicle traveling in the same direction in the right-hand lane of any through street and highway unless otherwise directed by a police officer or traffic control device.
The provisions of this section do not apply when commercial tractors, trailers, semitrailers and pole trailers and trucks in excess of 7,000 pounds gross weight are making an approach for a left turn or when the lane nearest the right-hand edge of the roadway or the lane immediately left thereof upon any through street or highway is not available for travel, or when the lane nearest the right-hand edge of the roadway is reserved for vehicles making or intending to make a right turn at the next nearest intersection and when traffic control devices have been placed or erected to so indicate the restricted use of such traffic lane.
(Ord. No. 1684-76. Passed 6-29-76, eff. 7-6-76)
The driver of any truck or motor vehicle drawing another vehicle, when traveling upon a roadway, shall maintain a space of 200 feet whenever conditions permit, between such vehicle and another truck or motor vehicle drawing another vehicle ahead, so an overtaking vehicle may enter and occupy such space without danger. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to prevent overtaking and passing nor shall the same apply upon any lane specially designated for use by trucks.
(Ord. No. 1684-76. Passed 6-29-76, eff. 7-6-76)
No person shall operate or move any crawler-type tractor, steam shovel, derrick, roller or any equipment or structure having a normal operating speed of six or less miles per hour or a vertical body or load clearance of less than nine inches above the level surface of a roadway, upon or across any tracks at a railroad grade crossing, without first complying with subsections (a) and (b) hereof.
(a) Before making any such crossing, the person operating or moving any such vehicle or equipment shall first stop the same, and while stopped he shall listen and look in both directions along such track for any approaching train and for signals indicating the approach of a train, and shall proceed only upon exercising due care.
(b) No such crossing shall be made when warning is given by automatic signal or crossing gates or a flagman or otherwise of the immediate approach of a railroad train or car.
If the normal sustained speed of such vehicle, equipment or structure is not more than three miles per hour, the person owning, operating or moving the same shall also give notice of such intended crossing to a station agent or superintendent of the railroad, and a reasonable time shall be given to such railroad to provide proper protection for such crossing. Where such vehicles or equipment are being used in constructing or repairing a section of highway lying on both sides of a railroad grade crossing, and in such construction or repair it is necessary to repeatedly move such vehicles or equipment over such crossing, one daily notice specifying when such work will start and stating the hours during which it will be prosecuted is sufficient.
(RC 4511.64; Ord. No. 1684-76. Passed 6-29-76, eff. 7-6-76)
No vehicle shall be operated upon the public streets, highways, bridges and culverts within the City, whose dimensions exceed those specified in this section.
(a) No such vehicle shall have a width in excess of:
(1) 104 inches for passenger bus type vehicles operated exclusively within municipal corporations;
(2) 102 inches, excluding such safety devices as are required by law, for passenger bus type vehicles operated over freeways and such other State roads with minimum pavement widths of twenty-two feet, except those roads or portions thereof over which operation of 102-inch buses are prohibited by order of the Ohio Director of Transportation;
(3) 132 inches for traction engines;
(4) 102 inches, including load, for all other vehicles, except that the Director may, by journal entry, prohibit operation of 102-inch vehicles on such State routes or portions thereof as the Director designates.
(b) No such vehicle shall have a length in excess of:
(1) 60 feet for passenger bus type vehicles operated by a regional transit authority pursuant to Sections 306.30 to 306.54 of the Revised Code;
(2) 40 feet for any other passenger bus type vehicle;
(3) 53 feet for any semitrailer when operation in a commercial tractor-semitrailer combination, with or without load, except that the Director may, by journal entry, prohibit the operation of any such commercial tractor-semitrailer combination on such State routes or portions thereof as the Director designates;
(4) Seventy-five feet for drive-away saddlemount vehicle transporter combinations and drive-away saddlemount with fullmount vehicle transporter combinations, not to exceed three saddlemounted vehicles, but which may include one fullmount;
(5) 28.5 feet for any semitrailer or trailer when operated in a commercial tractor-semi-trailer-trailer combination, except that the Director may, by journal entry, prohibit the operation of any such commercial tractor-semitrailer-trailer combination on such State routes or portions thereof as the Director designates;
(6) 65 feet for any other combination of vehicles coupled together, with or without load, except as provided in divisions (b)(3) and (5) of this section and in division (d) of this section;
(7) 40 feet for all other vehicles except trailers and semitrailers, with or without load.
(c) No such vehicle shall have a height in excess of thirteen feet six inches, with or without load.
(d) Any combination of vehicles designed and used exclusively for the transportation of motor vehicles shall be allowed a length of 65 feet, except that the load thereon may extend no more than four feet beyond the rear of such combination of vehicles and may extend no more than three feet beyond the front of such combination of vehicles.
The lengths prescribed in divisions (b)(2) to (7) of this section shall not include safety devices, bumpers attached to the front or rear of such bus or combination, energy conservation devices as provided in any regulations adopted by the Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation, or any noncargo-carrying refrigeration equipment attached to the front of trailers and semitrailers. In special cases, vehicles whose dimensions exceed those prescribed by this section may operate in accordance with rules promulgated by the Ohio Director of Transportation.
This section does not apply to fire engines, fire trucks or other vehicles or apparatus belonging to any municipal corporation or to the volunteer fire department of any municipal corporation or used by such department in the discharge of its functions. This section does not apply to vehicles and pole trailers used in the transportation of wooden and metal poles, nor to the transportation of pipes or well-drilling equipment nor to farm machinery and equipment. The owner or operator of any vehicle, machinery or equipment not specifically enumerated in this section but the dimensions of which exceed the dimensions provided by this section, shall when operating the same on the highways and streets of this state comply with the rules of the Director governing such movement, which rules the Director may adopt and promulgate. Sections 119.01 to 119.13 of the Revised Code apply to any rules adopted under this section, or the amendment or rescission thereof, and any person adversely affected shall have the same right of appeal as provided in such sections.
This section does not require the State, the City, County, township or any railroad or other private corporation to provide sufficient vertical clearance to permit the operation of such vehicle, or to make any changes in or about existing structures now crossing streets, roads and other public thoroughfares in the City.
(RC 5577.05; Ord. No. 91-96. Passed 3-18-96, eff. 3-26-96)
Drivers of vehicles described in this chapter shall be required, upon request by a police officer, to give full and true information as to the route they are following and the name of the consignor and consignee and place of delivery or removal and the location of any consignment being hauled or goods being removed, and upon a designation by such police officer of a route to be followed, shall immediately adopt and pursue such route.
(Ord. No. 1684-76. Passed 6-29-76, eff. 7-6-76)
No person shall drive or operate, or cause to be driven or operated, any commercial car, trailer or semitrailer, used for the transportation of goods or property, the gross weight of which, with load, exceeds three tons, upon the streets, bridges and culverts within the City unless such vehicle is equipped with suitable metal protectors or substantial flexible flaps on the rearmost wheels of such vehicle or combination of vehicles to prevent, as far as practicable, the wheels from throwing dirt, water or other materials on the windshields of following vehicles. Such protectors or flaps shall have a ground clearance of not more than one-fifth of the distance from the center of the rearmost axle to the center of the flaps under any conditions of loading of the vehicle, and they shall be at least as wide as the tires they are protecting. If the vehicle is so designed and constructed that such requirements are accomplished by means of fenders, body construction or other means of enclosure, then no such protectors or flaps are required. Rear wheels not covered at the top by fenders, bodies or other parts of the vehicle shall be covered at the top by protective means extending at least to the center line of the rearmost axle.
(RC 5577.11; Ord. No. 1684-76. Passed 6-29-76, eff. 7-6-76)
(a) When one vehicle is towing another vehicle, the drawbar or other connection shall be of sufficient strength to pull all weight towed thereby, and such drawbar or other connection shall not exceed fifteen feet from one vehicle to the other, except the connection between any two vehicles transporting poles, pipe, machinery or other objects of structural nature which cannot readily be dismembered.
(b) When one vehicle is towing another and the connection consists only of a chain, rope or cable, there shall be displayed upon such connection a white flag or cloth not less than twelve inches square.
(c) In addition to such drawbar or other connection, each trailer and each semitrailer which is not connected to a commercial tractor by means of a fifth wheel shall be coupled with stay chains or cables to the vehicle by which it is being drawn. The chains or cables shall be of sufficient size and strength to prevent the towed vehicle's parting from the drawing vehicle in case the drawbar or other connection should break or become disengaged. In case of a loaded pole trailer, the connecting pole to the drawing vehicle shall be coupled to the drawing vehicle with stay chains or cables of sufficient size and strength to prevent the towed vehicle's parting from the drawing vehicle.
(d) Every trailer or semitrailer, except pole and cable trailers and pole and cable dollies operated by a public utility, as defined in RC 5727.01, shall be equipped with a coupling device which shall be so designed and constructed that the trailer will follow substantially in the path of the vehicle drawing it, without whipping or swerving from side to side. Vehicles used to transport agricultural produce or agricultural production materials between a local place of storage and supply and the farm, when drawn or towed on a street or highway at a speed of twenty-five miles per hour or less, and vehicles designed and used exclusively to transport a boat between a place of storage and a marina, or in and around a marina, when drawn or towed on a street or highway for a distance of no more than ten miles and at a speed of twenty-five miles per hour or less, shall have a drawbar or other connection, including the hitch mounted on the towing vehicle, which shall be of sufficient strength to pull all the weight towed thereby. Only one such vehicle used to transport agricultural produce or agricultural production materials as provided in this section may be towed or drawn at one time, unless the towing vehicle is an agricultural tractor, as defined in Section 401.02.
(RC 4513.32; Ord. No. 91-96. Passed 3-18-96, eff. 3-26-96)
(a) No vehicle shall be driven or moved on any street, highway or other public place unless such vehicle is so constructed, loaded or covered as to prevent any of its load from dropping, sifting, leaking or otherwise escaping therefrom, except that sand or other substances may be dropped for the purpose of securing traction, or water or other substances may be sprinkled on a roadway in cleaning or maintaining such roadway.
(b) Except for a farm vehicle used to transport agricultural produce or agricultural production materials or a rubbish vehicle in the process of acquiring its load, no vehicle loaded with garbage, swill, cans, bottles, waste paper, ashes, refuse, trash, rubbish, waste, wire, paper, cartons, boxes, glass, solid waste, scrap metal, or any other material of an unsanitary nature that is susceptible to blowing or bouncing from a moving vehicle shall be driven or moved on any street, highway or other public place unless the load is covered with a sufficient cover to prevent the load or any part of the load from spilling onto the street, highway or other public place. (RC 4513.31)
(c) No person shall operate any vehicle so as to track or drop mud, stones, concrete, gravel or other similar material on any street, highway or other public place.
(d) It shall be the duty of the driver of a vehicle who unlawfully drops or deposits mud, stones, concrete, gravel or other similar material or permits the load or any portion thereof to be dropped or deposited upon any street, highway or other public place to immediately remove the same or cause it to be removed.
(e) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree on the first offense, and a misdemeanor of the second degree on the second or any subsequent offense.
(Ord. No. 2196-01. Passed 6-10-02, eff. 6-14-02)
(a) In addition to any other lawful requirements of load distribution, no person shall operate any vehicle upon a street or highway unless such vehicle is so laden as to prevent its contents from shifting or otherwise unbalancing the vehicle to such an extent as to interfere with the safe operation of the same.
(b) No motor vehicle or trailer shall be driven unless the tailboard or tailgate, tarpaulins, chains (except ground or contact chains), ropes, stakes, poles, and the like, or any part of the load, are securely fastened to prevent dangling, flapping, swinging or falling from the side, end or top of the load or body. All projecting cargo shall be properly guarded by a red flag or cloth or a red light or lantern as required by Section 437.08.
(Ord. No. 1684-76. Passed 6-29-76, eff. 7-6-76)
No person shall drive over the improved streets of the City a traction engine or tractor with tires or wheels equipped with ice picks, spuds, spikes, chains or other projections of any kind extending beyond the cleats, or no person shall tow or in any way pull another vehicle over the improved streets of the City, which towed or pulled vehicle has tires or wheels equipped with ice picks, spuds, spikes, chains or other projections of any kind. "Traction engine" or "tractor," as used in this section, applies to all self-propelling engines equipped with metal-tired wheels operated or propelled by any form of engine, motor or mechanical power.
(RC 5589.08; Ord. No. 1684-76. Passed 6-29-76, eff. 7-6-76)
(a) For purposes of this section, "studded tire" means any tire designed for use on a vehicle, and equipped with metal studs or studs of wear-resisting material that project beyond the tread of the traction surface of the tire. "Motor vehicle," "street or highway," "public safety vehicle" and "school bus" have the same meaning as given those terms in Chapter 401.
(b) No person shall operate any motor vehicle, other than a public safety vehicle or school bus, that is equipped with studded tires on any street or highway, except during the period extending from November 1 of each year through April 15 of the succeeding year.
(c) This section does not apply to the use of tire chains when there is snow or ice on the streets or highways where such chains are being used, or the immediate vicinity thereof.
(RC 5589.081; Ord. No. 1684-76. Passed 6-29-76, eff. 7-6-76)
(a) No person shall drive a commercial motor vehicle, commercial car or commercial tractor while his ability or alertness is so impaired by fatigue, illness or other causes that it is unsafe for him to drive such vehicle. No driver shall use any drug which would adversely affect his ability or alertness.
(b) No owner of a commercial motor vehicle, commercial car or commercial tractor, or a person employing or otherwise directing the driver of such vehicle, shall require or knowingly permit a driver in any such condition described in subsection (a) hereof to drive such vehicle upon any street or highway.
(RC 4511.79; Ord. No. 91-96. Passed 3-18-96, eff. 3-26-96)
(a) Whoever violates the weight provisions of Section 439.01 or Section 439.03 is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree for overloads not in excess of five thousand pounds; and is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree for overloads in excess of five thousand pounds but not in excess of ten thousand pounds. Whoever violates the weight provisions of Section 439.01 or Section 439.02 for overloads in excess of ten thousand pounds shall be fined $3.00 per one hundred pounds of overload plus court costs, and may be imprisoned not more than sixty days, or both.
(b) Whoever violates any other provision of Section 439.01 or Section 439.03 is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree on the first offense. On each subsequent offense within one year of the first offense, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree.
(Ord. No. 366-A-90. Passed 10-22-90, eff. 10-29-90)