SENATE BILL No. 186

 

 

February 22, 2011, Introduced by Senator CASPERSON and referred to the Committee on Transportation.

 

 

 

      A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled

 

"Michigan vehicle code,"

 

by amending section 705 (MCL 257.705), as amended by 2000 PA 214.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

 1        Sec. 705. (1) Brake equipment shall be required as follows:

 

 2        (a) A motor vehicle, other than a motorcycle or moped, and a

 

 3  low-speed vehicle when operated upon a highway shall be equipped

 

 4  with brakes adequate to control the movement of and to stop and

 

 5  hold the vehicle, including 2 separate means of applying the

 

 6  brakes, each of which means shall be effective to apply the

 

 7  brakes to at least 2 wheels. If these 2 separate means of

 

 8  applying the brakes are connected in any way, they shall be

 

 9  constructed in a way that failure of 1 part of the operating

 


 1  mechanism shall not leave the motor vehicle without brakes on at

 

 2  least 2 wheels.

 

 3        (b) A motorcycle or moped when operated upon a highway shall

 

 4  be equipped with at least 2 brakes, 1 on the front wheel and 1 on

 

 5  the rear wheel, which that may be operated by hand or foot.

 

 6        (c) A trailer or semitrailer of a gross weight of 15,001

 

 7  pounds or more when operated upon a highway shall be equipped

 

 8  with brakes operating on all wheels and designed to be applied by

 

 9  the driver of the towing motor vehicle from its cab.

 

10        (d) A new motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer sold in

 

11  this state and operated upon the highways shall be equipped with

 

12  brakes on all wheels, except a motorcycle or moped, and except

 

13  that a semitrailer, pole trailer, or trailer of less than 3,000

 

14  pounds gross weight need not be equipped with brakes if the gross

 

15  weight of a trailer or pole trailer, no part of the load of which

 

16  rests upon the towing vehicle, does not exceed 40% of the gross

 

17  weight of the towing vehicle, and if the gross weight of the

 

18  towing vehicle and the gross weight of a semitrailer or pole

 

19  trailer, part of the load of which rests upon the towing vehicle,

 

20  does not exceed 40% of the gross weight of the towing vehicle

 

21  when connected to the semitrailer or pole trailer. This

 

22  subdivision shall does not apply to a trailer or semitrailer

 

23  owned by a farmer and used exclusively in connection with the

 

24  farming operations of the farmer and not used for hire.

 

25        (e) Every bus, school bus, truck, or truck tractor shall be

 

26  equipped with brakes operating on all wheels, except that a truck

 

27  or truck tractor that has 3 or more axles need not have brakes on

 


 1  the front wheels if the vehicle was manufactured before July 25,

 

 2  1980.

 

 3        (f) In any combination of motor driven vehicles, means shall

 

 4  be provided for applying the rearmost trailer brakes, for a

 

 5  trailer equipped with brakes, in approximate synchronism with the

 

 6  brakes on the towing vehicle and developing the required braking

 

 7  effort on the rearmost wheels at the fastest rate; or means shall

 

 8  be provided for applying braking effort first on the rearmost

 

 9  trailer equipped with brakes; or both of the above means capable

 

10  of being used alternatively may be employed.

 

11        (g) A motor vehicle and combination of vehicles, except pole

 

12  trailers, motorcycles, and mopeds, shall be equipped with parking

 

13  brakes adequate to hold the vehicle on any grade on which it is

 

14  operated, under all conditions of loading on a surface free from

 

15  snow, ice, or loose material. The parking brakes shall be capable

 

16  of being applied in conformance with the foregoing requirements

 

17  by the driver's muscular effort or by spring action or by

 

18  equivalent means. Their operation may be assisted by the service

 

19  brakes or other source of power if failure of the service brake

 

20  actuation system or other power assisting mechanism will not

 

21  prevent the parking brakes from being applied in conformance with

 

22  the foregoing requirements. The parking brakes shall be designed

 

23  in a manner that when once applied they shall remain applied with

 

24  the required effectiveness despite exhaustion of any source of

 

25  energy or leakage of any kind. The same brake drums, brake shoes,

 

26  and lining assemblies, brake shoe anchors, and mechanical brake

 

27  shoe actuation mechanism normally associated with the wheel brake

 


 1  assemblies may be used for both the service brakes and the

 

 2  parking brakes. If the means of applying the parking brakes and

 

 3  the service brakes are connected in any way, they shall be

 

 4  constructed in a manner that failure of 1 part shall not leave

 

 5  the vehicle without operative brakes.

 

 6        (h) The brake shoes operating within or upon the drums of

 

 7  the vehicle wheels of a motor vehicle may be used for both

 

 8  service and hand operation.

 

 9        (2) A motor vehicle or combination of motor-drawn vehicles

 

10  shall be capable at all times and under all conditions of

 

11  loading, of being stopped on a dry, smooth, level road free from

 

12  loose material within the distances specified in this subsection,

 

13  or shall be capable of being decelerated at a sustained rate

 

14  corresponding to these distances upon initial application of the

 

15  service (foot) brake.

 

 

16

 

Feet to stop

Deceleration

17

 

from 20 miles

in feet

18

 

per hour

per second

19

     Vehicles or combination

 

 

20

of vehicles having brakes on

 

 

21

all wheels .....................

30

14

22

     Vehicles or combination

 

 

23

of vehicles not having brakes

 

 

24

on all wheels ..................

40

10.7

 

 

25        (3) Subsection (2) does not apply to a combination of motor-

 

26  drawn vehicles under all of the following circumstances:

 

27        (a) The drawn vehicle is an implement of husbandry. as


 

 1  defined in section 21.

 

 2        (b) The motor vehicle hauling the implement of husbandry

 

 3  does not exceed a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour if the

 

 4  implement of husbandry being drawn is not equipped with brakes

 

 5  that meet the standards set forth in 49 C.F.R. CFR 393.40 and

 

 6  this act.

 

 7        (c) If the implement of husbandry being drawn does not

 

 8  exceed any other implement or component design maximum speed

 

 9  limitation, the combination of vehicles shall not exceed that

 

10  maximum speed limitation.

 

11        (4) Nothing in this act or rules promulgated under this act

 

12  requires a slasher saw table to be equipped with brakes.

 

13        (5) (4) All brakes shall be maintained in good working order

 

14  and shall be adjusted in a manner as to operate as equally as

 

15  practicable with respect to the wheels on the opposite side of

 

16  the vehicle.