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ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 1118
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State of Washington 52nd Legislature 1991 Regular Session
By Representatives R. Fisher, R. Meyers, Schmidt and Prince.
Read first time January 21, 1991. Referred to Committee on Transportation.
AN ACT Relating to maximum lengths of vehicles; and amending RCW 46.44.030.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 46.44.030 and 1990 c 28 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
It is
unlawful for any person to operate upon the public highways of this state any
vehicle ((other than a municipal transit vehicle)) having an overall
length, with or without load, in excess of forty feet((: PROVIDED, That an
auto stage or school bus shall not exceed an overall length, inclusive of front
and rear bumpers, of forty feet: PROVIDED FURTHER, That the route of any auto
stage in excess of thirty-five feet or school bus in excess of thirty-six feet
six inches upon or across the public highways shall be limited as determined by
the department of transportation for state highways, or by the local
legislative authority for other public roads)). This restriction does
not apply to (1) a municipal transit vehicle or (2) an articulated auto stage
with an overall length not to exceed sixty-one feet.
It is unlawful for any person to operate on the highways of this state any combination of vehicles that contains a vehicle in excess of forty-eight feet, with or without load.
It is unlawful for any person to operate upon the public highways of this state any combination consisting of a tractor and semitrailer that has a semitrailer length in excess of forty-eight feet or a combination consisting of a tractor and two trailers in which the combined length of the trailers exceeds sixty feet, with or without load.
It is unlawful for any person to operate on the highways of this state any combination consisting of a truck and trailer with an overall length, with or without load, in excess of seventy-five feet. However, a combination of vehicles transporting automobiles or boats may have a front overhang of three feet and a rear overhang of four feet beyond this allowed length.
These length limitations do not apply to vehicles transporting poles, pipe, machinery, or other objects of a structural nature that cannot be dismembered and operated by a public utility when required for emergency repair of public service facilities or properties, but in respect to night transportation every such vehicle and load thereon shall be equipped with a sufficient number of clearance lamps on both sides and marker lamps upon the extreme ends of any projecting load to clearly mark the dimensions of the load.
The length limitations described in this section are exclusive of safety and energy conservation devices, such as mud flaps and splash and spray suppressant devices, refrigeration units or air compressors, and other devices that the department determines to be necessary for safe and efficient operation of commercial vehicles. No device excluded under this paragraph from the limitations of this section may have, by its design or use, the capability to carry cargo.