Oct. 22 – A new Kentucky state law that took effect in July caught some truckers by surprise when they got overweight fines of $6,000 to $7,000.
House Bill 495 gave county fiscal courts the leeway to let trucks exceed the legal weight limits on county roads if the trucking companies post bonds to cover the costs to repair road damages. But it also deleted an older limit of a $500 maximum fine for overweight loads.
State Rep. Hoby Anderson believes someone in the Transportation Cabinet made the change by removing one line from the bill. “We didn’t intend to vote on a maximum fine,” he told the Associated Press. “I don’t think anyone was voting for $6,500 fines.”
Restoring the fine cap will require action by the General Assembly, which won’t have another regular session until January 2000, unless voters approve a constitutional amendment Nov. 3 authorizing special sessions.
The change in the law does not apply to trucks hauling coal.