(1) A person commits the offense of operating in violation of a variance permit if the person has been issued a variance permit under ORS § 818.200 that authorized the movement of anything and the person does any of the following:

Terms Used In Oregon Statutes 818.340

  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Person: includes individuals, corporations, associations, firms, partnerships, limited liability companies and joint stock companies. See Oregon Statutes 174.100

(a) Drives, moves or operates anything in violation of the terms of the permit.

(b) Owns anything and causes or permits it to be driven, moved or operated in violation of the permit. Operation in violation of this section is prima facie evidence that the owner caused or permitted the operation and the owner shall be liable for any penalties imposed under subsection (5) of this section as a result of the operation.

(2) A person is in violation of the terms of a permit for purposes of this section if the person misrepresents any size or weight required to be specified when applying for the permit.

(3) It shall be a defense to any charge of violation of this section if the person so charged produces a variance permit issued under ORS § 818.200 that authorized the operation and that was issued prior to and valid at the time of operation.

(4) A person does not commit the offense described in this section if the person is driving, moving or operating anything under a variance permit issued under ORS § 818.200 and:

(a) The permit authorizes the person to exceed the maximum weight limitations;

(b) The person is operating a vehicle with a fully functional idle reduction system designed to reduce fuel use and emissions from engine idling; and

(c) The total weight of the vehicle is not more than 550 pounds greater than the weight authorized by the variance permit.

(5) Violation of the offense described in this section is subject to civil liability under ORS § 818.410.

(6) The offense described in this section, operating in violation of a variance permit, is punishable according to the following:

(a) Violation of any provision of the permit, other than the violations described in paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of this subsection, is a Class D violation.

(b) Violation of any weight provision by a vehicle that is authorized by permit to exceed axle or tandem axle weights specified in ORS § 818.010 (1) or (2) is subject to penalty under Schedule II of the penalties in ORS § 818.430.

(c) Violation of any weight provision by a vehicle listed in ORS § 818.210 is subject to penalty under Schedule I of the penalties in ORS § 818.430.

(d) Violation related to the required number of pilot vehicles or routing in accordance with the terms, limits or conditions established on a permit under ORS § 818.220 (1)(c) is a Class A traffic violation. [1983 c.338 § 528; 1985 c.16 § 272; 1995 c.339 § 1; 1997 c.360 § 2; 1999 c.352 § 2; 2007 c.92 § 2; 2007 c.664 § 2; 2008 c.10 § 1; 2019 c.491 § 13]