House Bill 2408*-First Edition

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2007

H 1

HOUSE BILL 2408*

Short Title: Vehicle Size and Weight Changes.		(Public)
Sponsors:	Representatives Cole, Spear, and E. Warren (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to:	Transportation.

May 26, 2008

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to authorize persons who hold a class c LICENSE to operate specified VEHICLE and boat trailer combinations; to provide direction for the OPERATION of semitrailers of not more than fifty-three feet on primary roads in this State; to increase the allowable axle and total weight of self-propelled, self-loading beds for cotton transport from farm to gin, REGARDLESS of axle weight; To remove the width restriction on farm equipment that is self-PROPELLED, hauled, or pulled on a public highway, and to INCREASE the width of boats that may be transported on the primary highway routes during the day and night with a permit and to increase the width of boats and trailers that may be transported or hauled on a primary highway route with a permit during the daylight hours only, as recommended by the joint legislative TRANSPORTATION oversight committee.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1. G.S. 20-7(a)(3) reads as rewritten:

"(3) Class C. - A Class C license authorizes the holder to drive any of the following:

a. A Class C motor vehicle that is not a commercial motor vehicle.

b. When operated by a volunteer member of a fire department, a rescue squad, or an emergency medical service (EMS) in the performance of duty, a Class A or Class B fire-fighting, rescue, or EMS motor vehicle or a combination of these vehicles.

c. A combination of motor vehicles that has a combined actual weight of less than 26,001 pounds, and includes as part of the combination a boat and boat trailer, or a boat trailer."

SECTION 2. G.S. 20-115.1(b) reads as rewritten:

"(b) Motor vehicle combinations consisting of a semitrailer of not more than 53 feet in length and a truck tractor may be operated on the interstate highways (except those exempted by the United States Secretary of Transportation pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 2311(i)) and federal-aid primary system highways designated by the United States Secretary of Transportation all primary highway routes of North Carolina provided that:

(1) Any semitrailer in excess of 48 feet in length shall not be permitted unless:

a. The distance between the kingpin of the trailer and the rearmost axle, or a point midway between the two rear axles, if the two rear axles are a tandem axle, does not exceed 41 feet; or

b. The semitrailer is used exclusively or primarily to transport vehicles in connection with motorsports competition events, and the distance between the kingpin of the trailer and the rearmost axle, or a point midway between the two rear axles, if the two rear axles are a tandem axle, does not exceed 46 feet; and

(2) Any semitrailer in excess of 48 feet is equipped with a rear underride guard of substantial construction consisting of a continuous lateral beam extending to within four inches of the lateral extremities of the semitrailer and located not more than 30 inches from the surface as measured with the vehicle empty and on a level surface."

SECTION 3. G.S. 20-116(e) reads as rewritten:

"(e) Except as provided by G.S. 20-115.1, no combination of vehicles coupled together shall consist of more than two units and no such combination of vehicles shall exceed a total length of 60 feet inclusive of front and rear bumpers, subject to the following exceptions: Motor vehicle combinations of one semitrailer of not more than 48 53 feet in length and a truck tractor (power unit) may exceed the 60-foot maximum length. Said length limitation shall not apply to vehicles operated in the daytime when transporting poles, pipe, machinery or other objects of a structural nature which cannot readily be dismembered, nor to such vehicles transporting such objects operated at nighttime by a public utility when required for emergency repair of public service facilities or properties, but in respect to such night transportation every such vehicle and the load thereon shall be equipped with a sufficient number of clearance lamps on both sides and marker lamps upon the extreme ends of said projecting load to clearly mark the dimensions of such load: Provided that vehicles designed and used exclusively for the transportation of motor vehicles shall be permitted an overhang tolerance front or rear not to exceed five feet. Provided, that wreckers may tow a truck, combination tractor and trailer, trailer, or any other disabled vehicle or combination of vehicles to a place for repair, parking, or storage within 50 miles of the point where the vehicle was disabled and may tow a truck, tractor, or other replacement vehicle to the site of the disabled vehicle. Provided, however, that a combination of a house trailer used as a mobile home, together with its towing vehicle, shall not exceed a total length of 55 feet exclusive of front and rear bumpers. Provided further, that the said limitation that no combination of vehicles coupled together shall consist of more than two units shall not apply to trailers not exceeding three in number drawn by a motor vehicle used by municipalities for the removal of domestic and commercial refuse and street rubbish, but such combination of vehicles shall not exceed a total length of 50 feet inclusive of front and rear bumpers. Provided further, that the said limitation that no combination of vehicles coupled together shall consist of more than two units shall not apply to a combination of vehicles coupled together by a saddle mount device used to transport motor vehicles in a driveway service when no more than three saddle mounts are used and provided further, that equipment used in said combination is approved by the safety regulations of the Federal Highway Administration and the safety rules of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety."

SECTION 4. G.S. 20-116(j) reads as rewritten:

"(j) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the operation of ~~Self-propelled~~ self-propelled grain combines or other farm equipment self-propelled, ~~pulled~~ pulled, hauled, or otherwise, ~~not exceeding 18 feet in width may be operated~~ on any highway, except a highway or section of highway that is a part of the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways. Farm equipment includes a vehicle that is designed exclusively to transport compressed seed cotton from a farm to a gin and has a self-loading bed. All such combines or equipment which exceed 10 feet in width may be so operated only under the following conditions:

(1) Said equipment may only be so operated during daylight hours.

(2) Said equipment must display a red flag on front and rear, said flags shall not be smaller than three feet wide and four feet long and be attached to a stick, pole, staff, etc., not less than four feet long and shall be so attached to said equipment as to be visible from both directions at all times while being operated on the public highway for not less than 300 feet.

(3) Equipment covered by this section, which by necessity must travel more than 10 miles or where by nature of the terrain or obstacles the flags referred to in subdivision (2) are not visible from both directions for 300 feet at any point along the proposed route, must be preceded at a distance of 300 feet and followed at a distance of 300 feet by a flagman in a vehicle having mounted thereon an appropriate warning light or flag. No flagman in a vehicle shall be required pursuant to this subdivision if the equipment is being moved under its own power or on a trailer from any field to another field, or from the normal place of storage of the vehicle to any field, for no more than ten miles and if visible from both directions for 300 feet at any point along the proposed route.

(4) Every such piece of equipment so operated shall operate to the right of the center line when meeting traffic coming from the opposite direction and at all other times when possible and practical.

(5) Violation of this section shall not constitute negligence per se.

(6) When said equipment is causing a delay in traffic, the operator of said equipment shall move the equipment off the paved portion of the highway at the nearest practical location until the vehicles following said equipment have passed."

SECTION 5. G.S. 20-116 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:

"§ 20-116. Size of vehicles and loads.

…

(m) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the towing of any boat or boat trailer in excess of 102 inches in width but less than 120 inches shall not require a permit to be issued pursuant to the requirements of G.S. 20-119 and may take place on any day of the week, including weekends and holidays, and may take place at night. With a properly issued permit, the towing of any boat or boat trailer of 120 inches or more in width may take place on any day of the week, including weekends and holidays, but shall not take place at night."

SECTION 6. G.S. 20-118(c)(12) reads as rewritten:

"(12) Subsections (b) and (e) of this section do not apply to a vehicle that (i) is hauling agricultural crops from the farm where they were grown to first market, (ii) is within 35 miles of that farm, (iii) does not operate on an interstate highway or posted bridge while hauling the crops, and meets one of the following descriptions:meets all of the conditions set out below:

a. Is a five-axle combination with a gross weight of no more than 90,000 pounds, a single-axle weight of no more than 22,000 pounds, a tandem-axle weight of no more than 42,000 pounds, and a length of at least 51 feet between the first and last axles of the combination.Is hauling agricultural crops from the farm where the crop is grown to the closest market.

b. Repealed by Session Laws 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 761, s. 13.

(b1) Does not operate on an interstate highway or exceed any posted bridge weight limits during transportation or hauling of agricultural products.

c. ~~Is a four-axle combination with a gross weight that does not exceed the limit set in subdivision (b)(3) of this section,~~Does not exceed a single-axle weight of ~~no more than~~ 22,000 pounds, ~~and~~ a tandem-axle weight of ~~no more than~~ 42,000 ~~pounds.~~pounds, or a gross weight of 90,000 pounds."

SECTION 7. G.S. 20-118(k) reads as rewritten:

"(k) From September 1 through March 1 of each year, a vehicle which is equipped with a self-loading bed and which is designed and used exclusively to transport compressed seed cotton from the farm to a cotton gin may operate on the highways of the State, except interstate highways, ~~with a tandem-axle weight not exceeding 44,000 pounds.~~not exceeding 64,000 pounds regardless of axel weight. Such vehicles shall be exempt from light-traffic road limitations only from point of origin on the light-traffic road to the nearest State-maintained road which is not posted to prohibit the transportation of statutory load limits. This exemption does not apply to restricted, posted bridge structures."

SECTION 8. This act is effective when it becomes law.