S-3603               _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 6508

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State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1990 Regular Session

By Senators McCaslin, Barr, Sellar and Rasmussen

Read first time 1/17/90 and referred to Committee on  Transportation.

AN ACT Relating to authorized combinations of vehicles; and amending RCW 46.44.037.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

        Sec. 1.  Section 46.44.037, chapter 12, Laws of 1961 as last amended by section 2, chapter 351, Laws of 1985 and RCW 46.44.037 are each amended to read as follows:

          Notwithstanding the provisions of RCW 46.44.036 and subject to such rules and regulations governing their operation as may be adopted by the state department of transportation, operation of the following combinations is lawful:

          (1) A combination consisting of a truck tractor, a semitrailer, and another semitrailer or a full trailer.  In this combination a converter gear used to convert a semitrailer into a full trailer shall be considered to be a part of the full trailer and not a separate vehicle.  A converter gear being pulled without load and not used to convert a semitrailer into a full trailer may be substituted in lieu of a full trailer or a semitrailer in any lawful combination;

          (2) A combination consisting of three trucks or truck tractors used in driveaway service where two of the vehicles are towed by the third in double saddlemount position;

          (3) A combination consisting of a truck tractor carrying a freight compartment no longer than eight feet, a semitrailer, and another semitrailer or full trailer that meets the legal length requirement for a truck and trailer combination set forth in RCW 46.44.030;

(4) A combination consisting of a motor vehicle weighing more than four thousand pounds unladen, a travel trailer not exceeding twenty-two feet in length, and a trailer designed for hauling a boat with a gross weight of one thousand pounds.  The vehicles in combination shall not exceed sixty-five feet in length and must have a braking capacity in excess of the gross weight of the combination.  The trailers must be connected by hitches designed and attached in such a manner to be capable of towing the gross weight of the trailer(s) in tow.