8-1906. Securing loads on vehicles; requirements for hauling livestock; exceptions. (a) No vehicle shall be driven or moved on any highway unless such vehicle is so constructed or loaded as to prevent any of its load from dropping, sifting, leaking or otherwise escaping therefrom, except that:

(1) This section shall not prohibit the necessary spreading of any substance in highway maintenance or construction operations; and

(2) (A) subsections (a) and (c) shall not apply to:

(i) Trailers or semitrailers when hauling livestock if such trailers or semitrailers are properly equipped with a cleanout trap and such trap is operated in a closed position unless material is intentionally spilled when the trap is in a closed position;

(ii) trucks, trailers or semitrailers when hauling agricultural forage commodities intrastate from the place of production to a market or place of storage or from a place of storage to a place of use. The provisions of this clause shall not apply to trucks, trailers or semitrailers hauling:

(a) Hay bales; or

(b) other packaged or bundled forage commodities; or

(iii) trucks, trailers or semitrailers when hauling cotton bales transported by the producer intrastate from the place of production or storage to a market, place of storage or place of use if:

(a) Cotton bales are fully loaded from front to back on such truck, trailer or semitrailer in a single layer;

(b) the truck, trailer or semitrailer is equipped with cradles; and

(c) the truck, trailer or semitrailer is equipped with stakes, side boards or side posts that are not less than 12 inches high.

(B) Paragraph (2)(A)(i) shall not apply to trailers or semitrailers used for hauling livestock when livestock are not being hauled in such trailers or semitrailers.

(b) All trailers or semitrailers used for hauling livestock shall be cleaned out periodically.

(c) No person shall operate on any highway any vehicle with any load unless such load and any covering thereon is 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.

History: L. 1974, ch. 33, § 8-1906; L. 1984, ch. 41, § 1; L. 1989, ch. 45, § 1; L. 2021, ch. 49, § 1; L. 2023, ch. 30, § 1; July 1.