August 5, 2004
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SUVs violate city ordinances?
Ok, I lied about skipping politics today, but this is too good not to post. From the Minneapolis city ordinances:
474.790. Definition. As used in this article, the word “truck” shall include trucks, trailers and semitrailers. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 441.010)
…474.810. Marking of routes. Truck routes shall be identified by appropriate signs erected and maintained by the city engineer. Further, the city engineer shall post at the city limits, upon all main traffic routes entering the city, signs notifying users of highways that trucks are only permitted to be driven on marked truck routes. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 441.030)
474.820. Duty to use routes. When any such truck route has been established and identified, any person driving a truck having a gross weight of three (3) tons or more shall drive such truck on such route or routes and none other, except when it is impracticable to do so or where necessary to traverse another street or streets to a destination for the purpose of loading or unloading commodities or for the purpose of towing a disabled or damaged motor vehicle to or from public or private property, and then only by such deviation from the nearest truck route as is reasonably necessary. A truck arriving at the end of any designated truck route may be driven over the most direct course to the nearest truck route which extends in the same general direction. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 414.020)
474.830. Permits for use of other routes. The city engineer shall have the authority, for cause or upon request, to issue temporary permits for
trucks to operate over routes not established as truck routes by the city council, or to otherwise deviate from the provisions of the traffic code. Such action by the city engineer shall be subject to review and modification, or cancellation, by the city council. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 414.030)474.840. Vehicles excepted. The provisions of this article shall not apply to emergency vehicles of the police department, fire department or
health department, nor to any public utility vehicles where actually engaged in the performance of emergency duties necessary to be performed by said public departments or public utilities, nor to any vehicle owned by or performing work for the United States of America, the State of Minnesota, the University of Minnesota, or the City of Minneapolis. (Code 1960, As
Amend., § 441.080)I seem to remember not so long ago, SUV manufacturers were advertising large tax breaks for any vehicles over 6000 lbs. Granted, this is not all SUVs, but ya gotta love the irony. Slate gets the credit for this scoop.
