§ 47-14-103 — Width, height and length of vehicle and load.

Oklahoma § 47-14-103

• Jurisdiction: Oklahoma
• Title 47: Motor Vehicles

Text

A. Except as otherwise provided for by this chapter, no vehicle, with or without load, shall have a total outside width in excess of one hundred two (102) inches excluding: 1. Tire bulge; 2. Approved safety devices; 3. A retracted awning with a width of eight (8) inches or less or other appurtenance of four (4) inches or less which is attached to the side of a recreational vehicle, as defined in Section 1102 of this title; and 4. Pins used as a safety precaution or as a load-assisting device if the pins do not extend the overall width of the vehicle beyond nine (9) feet. The State of Oklahoma hereby declares it has determined, in accordance with 23 C.F.R., Section 658.15, that such pins are necessary for the safe and efficient operation of motor vehicles. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any person engaged in the hauling of round baled hay with a total outside width of eleven (11) feet or less when the hay is owned by such person and is being hauled for any purpose other than resale. The provisions of this subsection shall also not apply to any county official or employee engaged in the hauling or pulling of a trailer or equipment owned by the county on the county roads of such county. B. Except as otherwise provided for by this chapter: 1. No vehicle, with or without load, shall exceed a height of thirteen and one-half (13 1/2) feet on any county road, or fourteen (14) feet on any turnpike, interstate, U.S. or state highway, unless a greater height is authorized by a special permit issued by the Executive Director of the Department of Transportation or an authorized representative of the Department of Transportation specifying the highways to be used, consistent with public convenience and safety. The prohibitions on movement as prescribed in subsection F of Section 14-101 of this title and paragraph 1 of subsection G of Section 14-101 of this title shall not apply to vehicles operated pursuant to such permits; 2. An official state bridge vertical clearance map providing clearance heights as posted for bridges on the interstate, U.S. and state highway systems shall be available on the Oklahoma Department of Transportation website; and 3. Operators and owners of vehicles which exceed or have loads which exceed thirteen and one-half (13 1/2) feet shall be held liable for all damages to any part of structures spanning the highway or damages suffered by other affected parties caused by the vehicle or load exceeding the posted height. C. Except as otherwise provided for by this chapter: 1. No single truck, with or without load, shall have an overall length, inclusive of front and rear bumpers, in excess of forty-five (45) feet; 2. No single bus, with or without load, shall have an overall length, inclusive of front and rear bumpers, in excess of forty-five (45) feet; 3. a. On the National Network of Highways which includes the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways and four-lane divided Federal Aid Primary System Highways, no semitrailer operating in a truck- tractor/semitrailer combination shall have a length greater than fifty-three (53) feet, except as provided in subsection C of Section 14-118 of this title which shall apply to semitrailers exceeding fifty-three (53) feet but not exceeding fifty-nine (59) feet six (6) inches. On the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways and four-lane divided Federal Aid Primary System Highways, no semitrailer or trailer operating in a truck-tractor/semitrailer and trailer combination shall have a length greater than fifty- three (53) feet; b. On roads and highways not a part of the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways or four-lane divided Federal Aid Primary System Highways, no semitrailer operating in a truck-tractor/semitrailer combination shall have a length greater than fifty- three (53) feet and no semitrailer or trailer operating in a truck-tractor/semitrailer and trailer combination shall have a length greater than twenty- nine (29) feet. Except as provided for in subsection D of Section 14-118 of this title, no other combination of vehicles shall have an overall length, inclusive of front and rear bumpers, in excess of seventy (70) feet on all roads and highways. For the purposes of this paragraph, oil field rig-up trucks shall be considered to be truck-tractors, when towing a trailer or semitrailer; c. On the National Network of Highways the overall length limitation of a towaway trailer transporter combination may exceed length restrictions up to eighty-two (82) feet; d. As used in this section: (1) The term "trailer transporter towing unit" shall mean a power unit that is not used to carry property when operating in a towaway trailer transporter combination, and (2) The term "towaway trailer transporter combination" shall mean a combination of vehicles consisting of a trailer transporter towing unit and two (2) trailers or semitrailers with a total weight that does not exceed twenty-six thousand (26,000) pounds; and in which the trailers or semitrailers carry no property and constitute inventory property of a manufacturer, distributor or dealer of such trailers or semitrailers; 4. No combination of vehicles shall consist of more than two units, except: a. one truck and semitrailer or truck-tractor/semitrailer combination may tow one complete trailer or semitrailer, or b. vans, suburbans, blazers or other similar types of vehicles and self-propelled recreational vehicles with a three-quarter (3/4) ton or more rated capacity may tow a semitrailer and one complete trailer or semitrailer for recreational purposes only, provided the overall length, inclusive of the front and rear bumpers, does not exceed sixty-five (65) feet; 5. Poles and gas lines used to maintain public utility services, not to include new construction, may be moved during daylight hours, and during nighttime hours only in an emergency, subject to traffic and road restrictions promulgated by the Executive Director of the Department of Transportation, when the overall length does not exceed eighty (80) feet. When this length is exceeded, these loads are subject to the requirements of Section 14-118 of this title; 6. For the purposes of paragraphs 1, 3, and 4 of this subsection, the length of unitized equipment, which is defined to be equipment so constructed and attached to a rubber-tired vehicle that the vehicle and load become a unit and are for all practical purposes inseparable, shall be the length of the vehicle itself, and shall not include any protrusion of the equipment load so constructed or attached. The equipment shall not protrude for a distance greater than two-thirds (2/3) of the wheel base of the vehicle, shall not impair the driver's vision, and if less than seven (7) feet above the roadway, shall be safely marked, flagged or illuminated. Any such protruding structure shall be securely held in place to prevent dropping or swaying. Unitized equipment shall carry such safety equipment as shall be determined to be necessary for the safety, health, and welfare of the driving public by the Executive Director of the Department of Transportation; 7. For the purposes of paragraphs 1, 3, and 4 of this subsection, a truck-tractor, when being towed by another vehicle with the wheels of its steering axle raised off the roadway, shall be considered to be a semitrailer as defined in Section 1-162 of this title; 8. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 3 of this subsection shall not apply to any contractor or subcontractor, or agents or employees of any contractor or subcontractor, while engaged in transporting material to the site of a project being constructed by, for, or on behalf of this state or any city, town, county, or subdivision of this state; and 9. Special mobilized machinery, as defined in Section 1102 of this title, which exceeds the size provisions of this section shall only use the highways of this state by special permit issued by the Executive Director of the Department of Transportation or an authorized representative of the Executive Director of the Department of Transportation. Such special permit shall be: a. a single-trip permit issued under the provisions of Section 14-116 of this title, or b. a special annual oversize permit issued for one (1) calendar year period upon payment of a fee of Ten Dollars ($10.00) plus any amount as provided by subsection H of Section 14-118 of this title.

Legislative History

Added by Laws 1961, p. 413, § 14-103, eff. Sept. 1, 1961. Amended by Laws 1963, c. 124, § 1, emerg. eff. June 3, 1963; Laws 1965, c. 80, § 1, emerg. eff. May 3, 1965; Laws 1971, c. 199, § 1, emerg. eff. June 8, 1971; Laws 1972, c. 52, § 2, emerg. eff. March 15, 1972; Laws 1977, c. 55, § 2, emerg. eff. May 16, 1977; Laws 1983, c. 181, § 1, emerg. eff. June 9, 1983; Laws 1984, c. 64, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1984; Laws 1985, c. 290, § 2, operative July 1, 1985; Laws 1986, c. 47, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1986; Laws 1990, c. 315, § 3, eff. July 1, 1990; Laws 1991, c. 156, § 2, emerg. eff. May 6, 1991; Laws 1993, c. 252, § 2, emerg. eff. May 26, 1993; Laws 1995, c. 27, § 3, eff. July 1, 1995; Laws 2000, c. 189, § 5, eff. July 1, 2000; Laws 2000, c. 228, § 2, eff. July 1, 2000; Laws 2002, c. 286, § 1, eff. July 1, 2002; Laws 2003, c. 279, § 7, emerg. eff. May 26, 2003; Laws 2018, c. 8, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2018; Laws 2019, c. 277, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2019; Laws 2019, c. 335, § 1, eff. July 1, 2019; Laws 2022, c. 116, § 3, eff. July 1, 2022. NOTE: Laws 2000, c. 151, § 1 repealed by Laws 2000, c. 228, § 3, eff. July 1, 2000.