GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

1991 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 449

HOUSE BILL 1064

 

AN ACT TO AMEND THE AXLE REQUIREMENTS FOR MOTOR HOMES AND CERTAIN TRUCKS.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  G.S. 20-116(d) reads as rewritten:

"(d)      A single vehicle having two axles shall not exceed 35 feet in length of extreme overall dimensions inclusive of front and rear bumpers.  Provided, however, a bus or motor home with two axles may be up to shall not exceed 40 feet in length overall of dimensions inclusive of front and rear bumpers.  A single vehicle having three axles shall not exceed 40 feet in length overall of dimensions inclusive of front and rear bumpers.  Provided, further, trucks transporting unprocessed cotton from farm to gin shall not exceed 48 feet in length overall of dimensions inclusive of front and rear bumpers.  A truck-tractor and semitrailer shall be regarded as two vehicles for the purpose of determining lawful length and license taxes."

Sec. 2.  G.S. 20-4.01(27) reads as rewritten:

"(27)      Passenger Vehicles. -

a.         Excursion passenger vehicles. - Vehicles transporting persons on sight-seeing or travel tours.

b.         For hire passenger vehicles. - Vehicles transporting persons for compensation. This classification shall not include vehicles operated as ambulances; vehicles operated by the owner where the costs of operation are shared by the passengers; vehicles operated pursuant to a ridesharing arrangement as defined in G.S. 136-44.21; vehicles transporting students for the public school system under contract with the State Board of Education or vehicles leased to the United States of America or any of its agencies on a nonprofit basis; or vehicles used for human service or volunteer transportation.

c.         Common carriers of passengers. - Vehicles operated under a franchise certificate issued by the Utilities Commission for operation on the highways of this State between fixed termini or over a regular route for the transportation of persons or property for compensation.

d.         Motorcycles. - Vehicles having a saddle for the use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground, including motor scooters and motor-driven bicycles, but excluding tractors and utility vehicles equipped with an additional form of device designed to transport property, three-wheeled vehicles while being used by law-enforcement agencies and mopeds as defined in subdivision d1 of this subsection.

d1.       Moped. - Vehicles having two or three wheels and operable pedals and equipped with a motor which does not exceed 50 cubic centimeters piston displacement and cannot propel the vehicle at a speed greater than 20 miles per hour on a level surface.

d2.       Motor home or house car. - A vehicular unit, designed to provide temporary living quarters, built into as an integral part, or permanently attached to, a self-propelled motor vehicle chassis or van.  The vehicle must provide at least four of the following facilities:  cooking, refrigeration or icebox, self-contained toilet, heating or air conditioning, a portable water supply system including a faucet and sink, separate 110-125 volt electrical power supply, or an LP gas supply.

e.         U-drive-it passenger vehicles. - Vehicles rented or leased to be operated by the lessee. This shall not include vehicles of nine-passenger capacity or less which are leased for a term of one year or more to the same person or vehicles leased or rented to public school authorities for driver-training instruction.

f.          Ambulances. - Vehicles equipped for transporting wounded, injured, or sick persons.

g.         Private passenger vehicles. - All other passenger vehicles not included in the above definitions."

Sec. 2.1.  G.S. 20-116(f) reads as rewritten:

"(f)      The load upon any vehicle operated alone, or the load upon the front vehicle of a combination of vehicles, shall not extend more than three feet beyond the front wheels of such vehicle or the front bumper of such vehicle, if it is equipped with such a bumper.  Under this subsection 'load' shall include the boom on a self-propelled vehicle."

Sec. 3.  This act is effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 28th day of June, 1991.

 

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James C. Gardner

President of the Senate

 

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Daniel Blue, Jr.

Speaker of the House of Representatives