A person may move along or across a public road or highway, road building machinery, vehicles, traction engines, rollers, structural units incapable of dismemberment or other apparatus or machinery of unusual size or weight, on trailers or semitrailers, after registering the trailers or semitrailers with the Director of Motor Vehicles and paying him a registration fee of $200.00 and obtaining a permit therefor from the director for the State highways traversed by them, or from the county supervisor or supervisors of roads of the county or counties for the county roads traversed by them or from the duly authorized official or officials of the municipality or municipalities for the municipal roads traversed by them, subject to the provisions of this article, provided, however, that the provisions for registration and registration fee shall not apply to such vehicles duly registered in any other State or Federal district which grants exemption from registration and registration fee to vehicles properly registered in New Jersey under provisions of this article, traversing the roads of said other State or Federal district.

A trailer or semitrailer, having a width in excess of 96 but not more than 144 inches, used to transport divisible loads for industrial processing or storage may be registered with the director at a fee of $200.00. A trailer or semitrailer so registered may be operated on any public highway, except limited access highways, provided the distance operated on the highway is not more than 1,000 feet from the point of entrance to the point of exit and further provided that a permit valid for the duration of the registration year is obtained from the director. Such movements may be made at any hour of any day of the year and no escort vehicles shall be required. The limitation as to distance operated shall not apply when the vehicle is empty and proceeding to or from an inspection, service, maintenance, or repair facility.

The director, board of chosen freeholders and a municipality, may be regulation in the case of the director and by resolution in the case of the board of freeholders or municipality, adopt general rules and regulations with respect to the issuance and use of permits, but not contrary to those stated above, and may impose reasonable fees therefor provided that no permit shall be issued unless the said director, county supervisor or authorized municipal official is reasonably satisfied as to the financial responsibility of the applicant for permit to meet any claims for damages which may arise and reasonable evidence of such financial responsibility is filed with the said director, supervisor or municipal official.

Amended by L.1941, c. 260, p. 690, s. 1; L.1951, c. 23, p. 72, s. 20; L.1952, c. 149, p. 508, s. 1; L.1960, c. 13, p. 33, s. 1; L.1961, c. 113, p. 707, s. 4; L.1971, c. 310, s. 1, eff. Sept. 2, 1971; L.1975, c. 180, s. 10, eff. Jan. 1, 1976.