63-7-53 - Stopping ability of brakes; maintenance and adjustment of brakes.

§ 63-7-53. Stopping ability of brakes; maintenance and adjustment of brakes.
 

(1)  The service brakes upon any motor vehicle or combination of vehicles shall be adequate to stop such vehicle or vehicles when traveling twenty miles per hour within a distance of thirty feet when upon dry asphalt or concrete pavement surface free from loose material where the grade does not exceed one per cent. 

(2)  Under the above conditions the hand brake shall be adequate to stop such vehicle or vehicles within a distance of fifty-five feet and said hand brake shall be adequate to hold such vehicle or vehicles stationary on any grade upon which operated. 

(3)  Under the above conditions, the service brakes upon a motor vehicle equipped with two-wheel brakes only, and when permitted under Section 63-7-51, shall be adequate to stop the vehicle within a distance of forty feet and the hand brake adequate to stop the vehicle within a distance of fifty-five feet. 

(4)  All braking distances specified in this section shall apply to all vehicles mentioned, whether such vehicles are not loaded or are loaded to the maximum capacity permitted under law. 

(5)  All brakes shall be maintained in good working order and shall be so adjusted as to operate as equally as practicable with respect to the wheels on opposite sides of the vehicle. 
 

Sources: Codes, 1942, § 8249; Laws,  1938, ch. 200.