1548                             Laws of Maryland                       Ch. 534

of the provisions of this section oral proof of the existence of the
signboard posted as herein provided and its contents shall be accepted
as prima facie evidence of the validity of the regulation thereon
prescribed. The provision of this article shall apply regardless of
any public general or public local law to the contrary.

§ 14-113.1. Closing of bridges.

The State Roads Commission may prohibit the use of any highway
bridge in this State by any person or PERSONS, vehicle, or class of
vehicles, when necessary for safety.

§ 14-114. Liability for damage to highway or structure.

(a)    Any person driving any vehicle, object, or contrivance upon
any highway or highway structure shall be liable for all damage
which the highway or structure may sustain as a result of any
illegal operation, driving, or moving of the vehicle, object, or con-
trivance, or as a result of operating, driving or moving any vehicle,
object, or contrivance weighing in excess of the maximum weight
in this article but authorized by a special permit issued as provided
in this subtitle.

(b)    Whenever the driver is not the owner of the vehicle, object,
or contrivance, but is operating, driving or moving it with the ex-
press or implied permission of the owner, the owner and driver shall
be jointly and severally liable for the damage.

(c)    The damage may be recovered in a civil action brought by
the authorities in control of the highways or highway structures.

§ 14-115. Jurisdiction and appeals in offenses involving truck
weights.

In all complaints of the violation of any of the provisions of the
law relating to vehicle weights, the magistrate or judge before
whom the alleged offender is taken shall have jurisdiction to hear
and determine such complaint and impose the fine herein prescribed,
but if either party feels aggrieved by his judgment there shall be
a right of appeal within 10 days to the court of criminal jurisdic-
tion of any county if the trial is in the county or the Criminal
Court of Baltimore City if trial is in Baltimore City and the court
on appeal shall hear the case de novo. A written order of appeal
shall be filed with the trial magistrate or judge by whom the judg-
ment has been imposed. Upon the appeal being prayed as aforesaid,
it shall be the duty of the magistrate or judge to endorse upon the
papers "Appeal Prayed" and transmit the same to the proper court.

Subtitle 15

Respective Powers of State and Local Authorities
§ 15-101. Provisions are State-wide in effect.

(a) The provisions of this article are intended to be State-wide
in their effect, and except to the extent that they may be specifically
authorized by other provisions of this article or by public local laws
providing for the regulation of taxicabs and the operators thereof,