LOUISIANA
Department of Transportation and Development, Baton Rouge, LA. 504-343-2345.
§383. Loads on vehicles; care required thereto; penalties; definition
The load on a vehicle shall not drop, sift, leak, or otherwise escape therefrom, except that sand may be dropped on a highway to secure traction or a liquid substance may be dropped on a highway to clean or maintain such highway.
Any load of garbage, refuse, sludge, and other discarded material being transported by a commercial hauler shall be covered while being transported in such a manner as to prevent the load from spilling or dropping from the vehicle.
Any violation of Paragraph (2) of this Subsection for failure to cover any load of garbage, refuse, sludge, and other discarded material shall be punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.
The penalty provisions of Paragraph (3) of this Subsection shall not apply when the load was properly covered and subsequently became uncovered as the result of an accident or circumstances beyond the control of the operator of the vehicle.
The load on any vehicle shall be securely fastened so as to prevent the covering or load from becoming loose, detached, or in any manner a hazard to other users of the highway.
Freight containers, as defined in 49 CFR 171.8, used in both the waterborne transport of cargo and in the overland transport of cargo shall be properly secured so as to prevent the container from becoming loose, detached, or in any manner a hazard to other users of the highway.
Any violation of Paragraph (2) of this Subsection shall be punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.
The penalty provisions of R.S. 32:383(B)(3) shall not apply when the freight container was properly secured and subsequently became loose or detached as the result of an accident or circumstances beyond the control of the operator of the vehicle
“Loose material” means dirt, sand, gravel, or other material that is capable of blowing or spilling from a vehicle as a result of movement or exposure to air, wind currents, or weather, but shall not include agricultural products in their natural state or wood chips.
§383.1. Loads of loose materials on vehicles; care required thereto; penalties
Any load of loose material as defined in R.S. 32:383(C) being transported by a commercial hauler, or in a vehicle purchased by the state or any political subdivision of this state after August 15, 1999, shall be covered in such a manner as to prevent the load from blowing, spilling, or dropping from the vehicle. However, a load of dirt or sand shall be exempt from the provisions of this Section if the load is being transported within a municipality with a population of not less than ten thousand five hundred nor more than eleven thousand two hundred in a parish with a population of no less than thirty-one thousand two hundred fifty nor no more than thirty-two thousand five hundred all according to the latest decennial census, and the speed of the vehicle transporting the load does not exceed twenty-five miles per hour.
Any violation of this Section for failure to cover a load of loose material while being transported shall be punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars or more than two hundred dollars.
Acts 1991, No. 555, §1; Acts 1995, No. 544, §1; Acts 1999, No. 258, §1; Acts 2001, No. 787, §1; Acts 2001, No. 1205, §1.
