Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:383 – Loads on vehicles; care required thereto; penalties; definition
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:383
- Cargo: means the items or freight to be moved, including items placed on or in a vehicle, towed by a vehicle, or a vehicle itself. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Highway: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way or place of whatever nature publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for the purpose of vehicular travel, including bridges, causeways, tunnels and ferries; synonymous with the word "street". See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Load: means a weight or quantity of anything resting upon something else regarded as its support. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Operator: means every person, other than a chauffeur, who drives or is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle upon a highway or who is exercising control over or steering a vehicle being towed by a motor vehicle. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Vehicle: means every device by which persons or things may be transported upon a public highway or bridge, except devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
A.(1) The load on a vehicle shall not drop, sift, leak, or otherwise escape therefrom, except that sand may be dropped on a highway to secure traction or a liquid substance may be dropped on a highway to clean or maintain such highway.
(2) Any load of garbage, refuse, sludge, and other discarded material being transported by a commercial hauler shall be covered while being transported in such a manner as to prevent the load from spilling or dropping from the vehicle.
(3) Any violation of Paragraph (2) of this Subsection for failure to cover any load of garbage, refuse, sludge, and other discarded material shall be punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.
(4) The penalty provisions of Paragraph (3) of this Subsection shall not apply when the load was properly covered and subsequently became uncovered as the result of an accident or circumstances beyond the control of the operator of the vehicle.
B.(1) The load on any vehicle shall be 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.
(2) Freight containers, as defined in 49 C.F.R. § 171.8, used in both the waterborne transport of cargo and in the overland transport of cargo shall be properly secured so as to prevent the container from becoming loose, detached, or in any manner a hazard to other users of the highway.
(3) Any violation of Paragraph (2) of this Subsection shall be punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.
(4) The penalty provisions of La. Rev. Stat. 32:383(B)(3) shall not apply when the freight container was properly secured and subsequently became loose or detached as the result of an accident or circumstances beyond the control of the operator of the vehicle.
C. “Loose material” means dirt, sand, gravel, nails, or other material that is capable of blowing or spilling from a vehicle as a result of movement or exposure to air, wind currents, or weather, but shall not include agricultural products in their natural state or wood chips.
Acts 1977, No. 113, §1, eff. June 22, 1977. Amended by Acts 1982, No. 257, §1; Acts 1985, No. 936, §1; Acts 1990, No. 928, §1; Acts 2006, No. 302, §1.