2019 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 56 - Motor Vehicles
Chapter 5 - Uniform Act Regulating Traffic On Highways
Section 56-5-70. Certain vehicle requirements suspended during state of emergency; declarations of emergency triggering federal relief under 49 C.F.R. 390.23.
(A)(1) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or any other provision of law, during a state of emergency declared by the Governor and in the course of responding to the state of emergency:
(a) requirements relating to registration, permitting, length, width, weight, and load are suspended for commercial and utility vehicles traveling on noninterstate routes for up to one hundred twenty days, provided the vehicles do not exceed a gross weight of ninety thousand pounds and do not exceed a width of twelve feet;
(b) requirements relating to time of service suspensions for commercial and utility vehicles traveling on interstate and noninterstate routes are suspended for up to thirty days, unless extended for additional periods in accordance with 49 C.F.R. 390-399.
(2) All vehicles operated upon the public highways of this State under the authority of this section must:
(a) be operated in a safe manner;
(b) maintain required limits of insurance; and
(c) be clearly identified as a utility vehicle or provide appropriate documentation indicating it is a commercial vehicle responding to the emergency.
(B) When an emergency is declared which triggers relief from regulations pursuant to 49 C.F.R. 390.23 in North Carolina or Georgia, an emergency, as referenced in the regional emergency provision of 49 C.F.R. 390.23(a)(1)(A), must be declared in this State by the Governor.
(C) A declaration of emergency in this State, as described in subsection (B), must not be terminated prior to the termination of the declarations of emergencies in North Carolina and Georgia or the thirtieth day after the initial declaration of emergency in this State, whichever is less.
(D) A declaration of emergency in this State that triggers relief from regulations pursuant to 49 C.F.R. 390.23 must be effective for no less than fourteen days prior to its termination. Unless the initial declaration of emergency contains a termination date, the order may not be terminated until the passage of seven days after notification of the date of termination is issued or the passage of thirty days after the initial declaration of the emergency, whichever is less. If termination of the declaration of emergency is to occur prior to the passage of thirty days after the initial declaration of emergency, the declaration of emergency must be terminated at 11:59 p.m. on a Friday.
(E) Citations for violating a local ordinance or the traffic laws relating to speeding or disregarding traffic control devices based in whole or in part on photographic evidence, whether gathered in conjunction with radar speed detection devices and whether the camera or other electronic device capturing the photographic evidence was attended or unattended at the time it captured the photographic evidence, only may be issued for violations that occur while relief from regulations pursuant to 49 C.F.R. 390.23 has been granted due to an emergency. A person who receives a citation for violating traffic laws relating to speeding or disregarding traffic control devices based in whole or in part on photographic evidence must be served in person with notice of the violation within one hour of the occurrence of the violation unless a collision occurred and fault cannot be determined immediately or the party who caused the collision is not immediately accessible due to medical treatment. The provisions of this subsection do not apply to toll collection enforcement.
HISTORY: 2001 Act No. 79, Section 1; 2010 Act No. 250, Section 1, eff June 11, 2010; 2011 Act No. 65, Section 3, eff June 17, 2011; 2015 Act No. 9 (S.358), Section 1, eff May 7, 2015.
