Atlas Twp. – Hoping to reduce road damage, township officials have adopted ordinances for local control over trucks.
Five sections of the Motor Carrier Safety Act and the Motor Carrier Fuel Tax Act were approved by the Atlas Township Board at its Dec. 20 meeting, enabling the township to collect fine money from trucks in violation of weight and other vehicle codes.
‘If you write (tickets) under state law, the state gets all the revenue,? said Atlas Township Supervisor Paul Amman in the township’s Oct. 18 meeting.
While the cost of weighing vehicles is expected to offset the revenue, township officials hope the new ordinances will discourage truck drivers from overloading vehicles and using local roads as shortcuts.
Fines for speeding and nearly 20 other violations, including lack of inspections, overweight or defective vehicles, or carrying an unauthorized rider can result in fines up to $240 per violation, with additional fines assigned by a magistrate.
‘It’s not a huge amount of money we’ll be making, but we’ll get prevention,? said township attorney David Lattie at the Oct. 18 meeting, when board members first considered adopting the ordinances.
In 2004, the township spent $275,000 fixing portions of Coolidge, Henderson, and Ridge roads.
‘I’m not looking to make a ton of bucks with this, but we are spending on average 20 percent of our budget on roads, and these trucks are tearing the heck out of ’em,? Amman said.
The ordinances take effect Jan. 26, said Tere Onica, Atlas Township clerk.