An Act To Clarify and Strengthen the State's Motor Vehicle Laws
Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §555, sub-§2, ¶A-2 is enacted to read:
Sec. 2. 29-A MRSA §558, sub-§1-B, ¶A, as amended by PL 2007, c. 703, §15, is further amended to read:
Sec. 3. 29-A MRSA §558, sub-§1-B, ¶B, as amended by PL 2007, c. 703, §15, is further amended to read:
Sec. 4. 29-A MRSA §558, sub-§1-B, ¶E is enacted to read:
Sec. 5. 29-A MRSA §1761, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 and affected by Pt. B, §5, is repealed.
Sec. 6. 29-A MRSA §1916, sub-§2, ¶B, as amended by PL 1997, c. 129, §1, is further amended to read:
(1) A bus that transports passengers for hire;
(2) A motor vehicle used to transport human remains by a funeral establishment, as described in Title 32, section 1501, or by a medical examiner appointed pursuant to Title 22, section 3022 or 3023;
(3) A limousine that regularly transports passengers for hire and has a carrying capacity of more than 6 passengers and whose owner is required to obtain an operating permit pursuant to section 552; and
(4) A multi-purpose vehicle.
Sec. 7. 29-A MRSA §1916, sub-§2-A, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 129, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 8. 29-A MRSA §1917, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2005, c. 66, §1, is further amended to read:
Sec. 9. 29-A MRSA §1917, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 146, §1, is repealed.
Sec. 10. 29-A MRSA §2054, sub-§2, ¶C, as amended by PL 2007, c. 11, §1, is further amended to read:
(1) A vehicle engaged in highway maintenance or in emergency rescue operations by civil defense and public safety agencies and a public utility emergency service vehicle may be equipped with auxiliary lights that emit an amber light.
(2) A wrecker must be equipped with a flashing light mounted on top of the vehicle in such a manner as to emit an amber light over a 360` angle. The light must be in use on a public way or a place where public traffic may reasonably be anticipated when servicing, freeing, loading, unloading or towing a vehicle.
(3) A vehicle engaged in snow removal or sanding operations on a public way must be equipped with and display an auxiliary light that provides visible light coverage over a 360` range. The light must emit an amber beam of light and be equipped with a blinking or strobe light function and have sufficient intensity to be visible at 500 feet in normal daylight. When the left wing of a plow is in operation and extends over the center of the road, an auxiliary light must show the extreme end of the left wing. That light may be attached to the vehicle so that the beam of light points at the left wing. The light illuminating the left wing may be controlled by a separate switch or by the regular lighting system and must be in operation at all times when the vehicle is used for plowing snow on public ways.
(4) A vehicle equipped and used for plowing snow on other than public ways may be equipped with an auxiliary rotary flashing light that must be mounted on top of the vehicle in such a manner as to emit an amber beam of light over a 360` angle, or an amber strobe, or combination of strobes, that emits at a minimum a beam of 50 candlepower and provides visible light coverage over a 360` range. The light may be in use on a public way only when the vehicle is entering the public way in the course of plowing private driveways and other off-highway locations.
(5) A rural mail vehicle may be equipped with auxiliary lights.
(a) The lights used to the front must be white or amber, or any shade between white and amber.
(b) The lights used to the rear must be amber or red, or any shade between amber and red.
(c) The lights, whether used to the front or rear, must be mounted at the same level and as widely spaced laterally as possible.
(d) The lights, whether used to the front or rear, must flash simultaneously.
(e) The lights must be visible from a distance of at least 500 feet in normal daylight.
(6) A vehicle used or provided by a contract security company to assist in traffic control and direction at construction or maintenance sites on a public way may be equipped with amber auxiliary lights.
(7) A Department of Public Safety vehicle operated by a motor carrier inspector or motor vehicle inspector may be equipped with auxiliary lights that emit an amber light.
(8) A vehicle used by an animal control officer appointed pursuant to Title 7, section 3947 may be equipped with auxiliary lights that emit a flashing amber light.
(9) A refuse, garbage or trash business vehicle used by an individual to transport refuse, garbage and trash may be equipped with auxiliary lights that emit a flashing amber light.
(10) A vehicle used by an individual to transport and deliver newspapers may be equipped with auxiliary lights that emit a flashing amber light.
Sec. 11. 29-A MRSA §2078, last ¶, as amended by PL 1999, c. 183, §11, is further amended to read:
An operator or pedestrian commits a Class E crime if that operator or pedestrian refuses to follow the directions for the movement of vehicles or pedestrians on request or signal of a law enforcement officer or if the operator or pedestrian knowingly refuses to follow the direction of a sign clearly posted by a law enforcement officer to temporarily close a way to vehicular traffic or to vehicles of a certain description or to divert pedestrian or vehicular traffic during a fire, accident, emergency or special event. For the purposes of this section, a posted sign must include language sufficiently describing the restriction or prohibition and must include the fact that a violation is a Class E crime.
Sec. 12. 29-A MRSA §2307, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2003, c. 633, §7, is further amended to read:
Sec. 13. 29-A MRSA §2307, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2003, c. 633, §7, is further amended to read:
Sec. 14. 29-A MRSA §2307, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2003, c. 633, §7, is repealed.
Sec. 15. 29-A MRSA §2358, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2001, c. 687, §§18 and 19, is further amended to read:
A weighing point must have signs:
The placement of signs is prima facie evidence that these signs were displayed in accordance with this section.
An operator of a vehicle subject to GVW restrictions bus or truck with a registered weight or gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 pounds or subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations who fails to stop at the weighing point when the signs are operating, unless otherwise directed by a state police officer, commits a traffic infraction for which a forfeiture fine not to exceed $500 may be adjudged.