S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-4160 – Weighing vehicles and loads; unloading excess weight; penalties

(A) An officer or agent of the Department of Public Safety having reason to believe that the weight of a vehicle and load is unlawful may require the driver to stop and submit to a weighing of the vehicle and load either by means of portable or stationary scales and may require that the vehicle be driven to the nearest public scales. Whenever an officer upon weighing a vehicle and load determines that the weight is unlawful, he may require the driver to stop the vehicle in a suitable place and remain standing until the portion of the load necessary to reduce the axle weight, or gross weight of the vehicle, or both, to the limits permitted under this chapter is removed. All material unloaded must be cared for by the owner or operator of the vehicle at his own risk. In determining whether the limits established by Section 56-5-4130 or 56-5-4140 have been exceeded, the scaled weights of the gross weight of vehicles and combinations of vehicles are considered to be not closer than ten percent to the true gross weight, except as otherwise provided in Section 56-5-4140.
(B) A person who operates a vehicle on a public highway whose axle weight is in excess of the limits imposed by Section 56-5-4130 or 56-5-4140 is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined five cents per pound or imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both. If a vehicle does not exceed the gross weight limits provided for by this article, and the axle weight limits are not exceeded by more than five percent including enforcement tolerances, the fine imposed is reduced by fifty percent with a minimum fine of twenty-five dollars.
(C) A person who operates a vehicle found to exceed the excess gross weight limitations imposed by Section 56-5-4130 or 56-5-4140 is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall pay to the Department of Public Safety a fine based on the following scale:
1. (1) 500-3,500 pounds: four cents per pound over weight limit;
2. (2) 3,501-6000 pounds: six cents per pound over weight limit, beginning with the first pound in excess;
3. (3) 6,001 pounds and over: ten cents per pound over weight limit, beginning with the first pound in excess.
  The fine imposed pursuant to items (1) and (2) must be equal to one-half the rate for vehicles transporting raw farm or forest products from the farm or forest to the first market, or by fully enclosed motor vehicles designed specifically for collecting, compacting, and hauling garbage from residences or from garbage dumpsters, or by motor vehicles operating open top trailers used for hauling recyclables, scrap, and waste materials from sites without facilities for weighing, when operating for those purposes. If an operator is found to be in violation of both gross and axle limits, only one citation may be issued, the fine being for the greater of the two, for that load. No fine may be issued for violation of the vehicle registration statues if that vehicle is registered for the maximum allowable weight for that class of vehicle as provided in Section 56-5-4140.
  If the operator of the vehicle, upon conviction, fails to remit the fine imposed by this subsection to the Department of Public Safety, the owner of the vehicle is responsible for remitting the fine. The court is prohibited from suspending any portion of this fine.
(D)
1. (1) A person who operates a vehicle found to have out-of-service violations, other than violations of brakes out of adjustment and lighting violations which can be repaired at the scene, detected during a roadside inspection, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall pay to the Department of Public Safety a fine of two hundred dollars.
2. (2)
  1. (a) An individual who operates a commercial motor vehicle on a public highway whose vehicle or driver is in violation of the out-of-service order as defined in 49 CFR 390.5 is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined five hundred dollars.
  2. (b) A company or individual who operates or allows a commercial motor vehicle to be operated on a public highway in violation of a motor carrier operation out-of-service order, or order to cease operation, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined one thousand dollars.
3. (3) If the operator of the vehicle, upon conviction, fails to remit the fine imposed by this subsection to the Department of Public Safety, the owner of the vehicle is responsible for remitting the fine. The court is prohibited from suspending any portion of this fine.
(E) At the time that a uniform size, weight, and safety citation is issued pursuant to this section, the officer or agent who is authorized to issue the citation must inform the individual receiving the citation that he has the option, at that time, to elect to pay his fine directly to the Department of Public Safety or to receive a hearing in magistrate's court. If the individual at the time the citation is issued elects to pay his fine directly to the department within twenty-eight days, as specified on the citation, no assessments may be added to the original fine pursuant to this section. The fine may be deposited with the arresting officer or a person the department may designate. The fine must be deposited in full or other arrangements satisfactory to the department for payment must be made before the operator is allowed to move the vehicle.
(F) Magistrates have jurisdiction of all contested violations of this section. All monies collected pursuant to Section 56-5-4160 must be forwarded to the Department of Public Safety as provided for in this section. A magistrate, within forty-five days, must forward all monies collected to the department for deposit in the account established in this section. The department shall use these monies to establish and maintain automated data bases, to upgrade and refurbish existing weigh stations, to purchase and maintain portable scales, to hire additional State Transport Police Officers, to purchase equipment for State Transport Police Officers, and to procure other commercial motor vehicle safety measures, and fund other commercial motor vehicle safety programs that the department considers necessary. The fine may be deposited with the arresting officer or a person the department may designate. The fine must be deposited in full or other arrangements satisfactory to the department for payment must be made before the operator is allowed to move the vehicle. If there is no conviction, the fine must be returned to the owner promptly.
"Conviction", as used in this section, also includes the entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere and the forfeiture of bail or collateral deposited to secure a defendant's presence in the court.
If the fine is not paid in full to the Department of Public Safety within forty-five days after conviction, the license and registration of the vehicle found to violate Section 58-23-1120 or Regulations 38-423 et seq. or exceed the limits imposed by Section 56-5-4130 or 56-5-4140 must be suspended. The owner of the vehicles immediately shall return the license and registration of the vehicle to the Department of Motor Vehicles. If a person fails to return them as provided in this section, the Department of Motor Vehicles may secure possession of them by a commissioned trooper or officer. The suspension continues until the fine is paid in full.
(G) The Department of Public Safety shall provide a separate uniform citation to be used by the State Transport Police Division of the Department of Public Safety. The uniform citation must be used for all size, weight, and safety violations which the State Transport Police Division of the Department of Public Safety is primarily responsible for enforcing.
(H) The issuance of a uniform citation to the operator of a vehicle for a violation of this section, Section 58-23-1120, or Regulations 38-423 et seq. constitutes notice to the owner of the violation. The uniform citation must include the following language in bold letters to be printed across the bottom of the citation "THE ISSUANCE OF SIZE, WEIGHT, AND SAFETY UNIFORM CITATION TO THE OPERATOR OF A VEHICLE CONSTITUTES NOTICE TO THE OWNER OF A SIZE, WEIGHT OR SAFETY VIOLATION".
(I) An individual who fails to conduct a safety inspection of a vehicle as required by Part 396 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations or fails to have in his possession documentation that an inspection has been performed must be fined one hundred dollars per vehicle operated in violation of this subsection.
(J) Motor carriers, officers, or agents in charge of them, who fail or refuse to permit authorized State Transport Police representatives or employees to examine and inspect their books, records, accounts, and documents, or their plants, property, or facilities, as provided by law and with reasonable notice, are guilty of a misdemeanor. Each day of such failure or refusal constitutes a separate offense and each offense is punishable by a fine of one thousand dollars.
(K) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all fines collected pursuant to this section must be deposited into an account in the Office of the State Treasurer and called the "Size, Weight, and Safety Revitalization Program Fund for Permanent Improvements". Monies credited to the fund may only be expended as authorized in item (F) of this section.