If you’re familiar with overweight commodity permits in the state of Indiana, you’ve probably been hauling around metal and agricultural products in your tractor-trailer; these products including bark, logs, sawdust, and woodchips. As long as you carried loads like these, the vehicle was a divisible load, meaning that the tractor-trailer and the load could be separated, and the gross vehicle weight was120,000 pounds max, a permit was issued.
However, as of April 29, 2021, House Enrolled Act 1190 was signed into law, making all overweight divisible loads eligible for such a permit. Gary Langston, the Indiana Motor Truck Association president, agrees with this change, explaining that by taking out the commodity specification, “everybody’s treated fairly and they can move forward.”
What Still Needs to Be Considered for A Permit
Now, because a carrier’s permit is no longer dependent on what is being carried, any load can qualify as long as the vehicle is
able to be separated in order to reach length, width, and height requirements
the gross vehicle weight ranges from 80,000 to 120,000 pounds
the divisible load surpasses 2.4 equivalent single-axle load
Limitations On the Road
Although INDOT will possibly allow these larger divisible loads on state highways and state-maintained routes with a proper written application, local highways would need to provide a separate proper written application for carriers of overweight vehicles.
The permit may also limit the exact routes that overweight tractor-trailers are allowed on. Straying from these routes can prove costly for the carrier with civil penalties reaching $1,000 for the first violation and up to $1,500 for every following violation. Without a proper permit, driving overweight trucks, in general, can lead to a $5,000 fine per violation.
Looking Towards the Future
Beginning on the first of July, changes made to the oversize trucking regulations will go into effect. Unless INDOT notices excessive accidents or damages caused by these overweight trucks, suspending overweight loads in response, the plan is to allow up to 8,500 permits to be issued per year. Depending on emergencies, the number of permits issued can increase for the time being in order to satisfy demands in the marketplace.
By October 1 of this year, the fees for these permits will be decided and set. Once the new regulations have been in effect long enough for INDOT to analyze how overweight trucks perform and affect the roads and other drivers, a report will be submitted to the Interim Study Committee on Roads and Transportation and the legislative council.
This report is expected to be submitted by July 1, 2023, and will address fees and further changes for a better trucking system.
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