Power and duties of the Director of Public Works.
Section 4
SEC. 4. Power and duties of the Director of Public Works.—The Director of Public Works shall be in charge of the administration of this Act and shall have in connection therewith the following powers and duties, in addition to those mentioned elsewhere in this Act: Within the approval of the Secretary of Commerce and Communications, to establish rules and regulations not in conflict with the provisions of this Act, prescribing the procedure of licensing and bonding chauffeurs, registration and re-registration of motor vehicles, transfer of ownership, change of status, replacement of lost certificates, licenses, badges, permits or number plates, allowable gross weight and passenger capacity, allowable length, width and height of motor vehicles, distribution of loads, allowable loads on tires, change of tire size, body design, or carrying capacity subsequent to registration, and all other special cases which may arise, for which no specific provision is otherwise made in this Act. Provided, That all motor vehicles now registered in accordance with the provisions of Act Numbered Three thousand and forty-five having a width greater than permitted by the rules and regulations to be issued shall be ordered changed and rebuilt by the Director of Public Works to conform with said rules and regulations within a period of three months from the date the owner of said vehicle or vehicles receives notice to make such change from the Director of Public Works. To the end that all the applications, certificates, permits, licenses, transfers, convictions, notifications, suspensions, revocations, and other documents or records herein contemplated, shall be arranged, noted, compiled, entered or recorded as the Director of Public Works shall prescribe with a view of making and keeping the same and each and all of them as accessible as possible to and for persons and officers properly interested in the same, to prescribe and provide from funds appropriated for the administration of this Act such index, files and other systems as will best accomplish the desired results, and to issue such reasonable regulations governing the search and examination of the documents and records above mentioned as will be consistent with their availability to the public and their safe and secure preservation. To give, in his discretion, public notice of the certificates. permits, licenses and badges issued, suspended or revoked of motor vehicles transferred and of chauffeurs bonded under the provisions of this Act. With the approval of the Secretary of Commerce and Communications, to designate as his agent and deputy any employee of the Bureau of Public Works, or such other persons as he may deem expedient to assist in carrying out the provisions of this Act. And each and every deputy so designated is hereby vested with all the power and authority which is conferred by this Act upon deputies of the Director of Public Works. And the Director is hereby authorized and empowered to formulate and issue with the approval of the Secretary of Commerce and Communications such administrative rules and regulations as may be found necessary to govern his agents and deputies and to give full effect to the provisions of this Act. To acquire from funds appropriated for the administration of this Act, and to designate and assign, with the approval of the Secretary of Commerce and Communications, such automobiles, motorcycles, equipment, or accessories, as may be deemed necessary to secure enforcement of the provisions of this Act. To appoint subject to the provisions of Act Numbered Twenty-eight hundred and three, section two, covering section seventy-nine (d) of the Administrative Code, and to employ from funds appropriated for the administration of this Act, such officers, clerks, and other employees as may be necessary to be included in the personnel of the bureau of Public Works to carry out the provisions and Purposes of this Act. The Director of Public Works and his deputies are hereby authorized to make arrest for violations of the provisions of this Act and of the Public Service Act (Numbered Thirty-one hundred and eight as amended) in so far as motor vehicles are concerned, and to use all reasonable means within their power to secure enforcement of the provisions of these Acts. Inspection of motor vehicles.—The Director of Public Works or his deputies are furthermore authorized at any time to examine and inspect any motor vehicle, in order to determine whether the same is unsightly, unsafe, overloaded, improperly marked or equipped, or otherwise unfit to be operated because of possible danger to the chauffeur, to the passengers, or the public; or because of possible excessive damage to the highways, bridges or culverts. The Director of Public Works may limit the gross weight and speed of any vehicle, whether motor or animal driven, when crossing a bridge or ferry, or operating on any designated section of a highway to a value consistent with the safety of the public and the preservation of such bridge or ferry or highway. Every Constabulary officer and every city or municipal police officer not lower than the rank of sergeant, is hereby given authority, and it is hereby made the duty of all such officers to prevent violations of this Act, and to any out the police provisions hereof within their respective jurisdictions. Whenever any deputy of the Director of Public Works, or any police or Constabulary officer apprehends a motor vehicle being operated in violation of a minor provision of this Act, or of the Public Service Acts, such that, in his opinion, action in court would result in merely a nominal fine, he may instead of taking judicial action issue a warning to the owner or operator at fault, and in all such cases shall notify the Director of Public Works, of the circumstances. Similar notification shall also be made to the Public Service Commission in all such cases involving violation of the Public Service Acts. Notation of all such warnings shall be entered in the records, and a copy shall be mailed to the owner and to the chauffeur at fault.