STATEHOUSE (Feb. 22, 2017) – The Indiana House of Representatives today voted unanimously in favor of a bill co-authored by State Rep. Randy Frye (R-Greensburg) that would give truck drivers more leeway when transporting wood products.
House Bill 1447 would provide protections to drivers who unknowingly go over weight limits when transporting wood products like logs, sawdust, shavings and woodchips. Currently, farmers are able to transport agricultural commodities or goods such as wheat, corn and beans even if their truck is 10 percent over the weight limit, if there is not a scale available. This proposal would prevent the BMV from assessing points against the driver’s commercial driver’s license in these situations.
“When farmers are loading their trucks, oftentimes there isn’t a scale readily available,” Frye said. “This can make it difficult to be completely accurate when loading agricultural goods. This bill would not let overweight vehicles completely off the hook, but it would give farmers a bit of flexibility when hauling wood products from locations that do not have scales.”
House Bill 1447 can now be considered by the Senate.
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Rep. Frye (R-Greensburg) represents Ohio and Switzerland counties, as well as portions of Ripley, Decatur, Jennings, Jefferson and Dearborn counties.
A high-resolution photo of Frye can be downloaded by clicking here.
