28-1095

28-1095. Vehicle length; exceptions; permits;
rules; definitions

A. A vehicle, including any load on the vehicle, shall not exceed a length of forty
feet extreme overall dimension, including front and rear bumpers. This subsection does
not apply to any of the following:

1. A semitrailer when used in combination with a truck tractor.

2. A truck that is equipped with a conveyor bed, that is used solely as a fiber and
forage module mover and that does not exceed forty-eight feet in length.

3. An articulated bus or articulated trolley coach that does not exceed a length of
sixty feet.

4. A bus that is not articulated and that does not exceed a length of forty-five
feet.

5. A recreational vehicle, a power unit, a farm vehicle, a horse trailer or wheeled
equipment as defined in section 28-2153 if used in combination with two units and if the
combination does not exceed sixty-five feet in length.

6. A recreational vehicle as defined in section 41-2142, paragraph 30, subdivision
(b) that does not exceed a length of forty-five feet.

B. A vehicle transporter may draw only one semitrailer. A combination of vehicles,
excluding a vehicle transporter and the semitrailer it draws, that is coupled together
shall not consist of more than two units, except that a truck or truck tractor and
semitrailer may draw either one trailer or a forklift.

C. The following restrictions apply:

1. The length of a semitrailer operating in a truck tractor-semitrailer combination
or a truck tractor-semitrailer-forklift combination shall not exceed fifty-seven feet six
inches.

2. The length of a semitrailer or trailer operating in a truck
tractor-semitrailer-trailer combination shall not exceed twenty-eight feet six inches.

3. The length of a trailer operating in a truck-trailer combination shall not
exceed twenty-eight feet six inches.

4. If the length of a semitrailer is more than fifty-three feet, the overall length
of a truck tractor-semitrailer combination shall not exceed sixty-five feet on all
highways, except for the national intercity truck route network designated by the United
States secretary of transportation as required by the surface transportation assistance
act of 1982 or on a system of highways that is designated by a local authority. In
designating the streets, the local authority shall consider any reasonable restriction
including such safety restrictions as structural hazards and street width and any other
safety factors identified by the local authority as a hazard to the motoring public.

5. A vehicle transporter and the semitrailer it draws shall not exceed a length of
seventy-five feet.

D. Subsection B and subsection C, paragraphs 1 through 4 of this section do not
apply to damaged, disabled or abandoned vehicles or combinations of vehicles while being
towed by a tow truck in compliance with section 28-1108.

E. Notwithstanding subsections B and C of this section, extensions of not more than
three feet beyond the foremost part and six feet beyond the rear bed or body of a vehicle
or combination of vehicles used to transport manufactured vehicles or fiber and forage
shall not be included in measuring the length of the vehicle or combination of vehicles
when loaded.

F. Pursuant to a permit issued pursuant to section 28-1103, a truck or a truck
tractor and semitrailer may draw not more than two trailers or semitrailers. The
department shall adopt rules governing the movement and safety of a combination of
vehicles under this subsection and authorizing the issuance in advance of prepaid
permits. The rules shall include the adoption of minimum speeds on grades, lighting,
signing, identification and braking requirements and any other rules the department deems
necessary. The permit issued pursuant to this subsection is limited to the following
highways:

1. An interstate highway that connects with two states if both states allow two
trailers or semitrailers and if the interstate highway does not exceed forty miles
between the connecting states.

2. Portions of an alternate state route that are located within four miles of and
extend to the border of this state and an adjacent state that allows two trailers or
semitrailers.

3. A state route that extends at least ten miles through an Indian reservation,
that does not cross the Colorado river and that is located within twenty miles of and
extends to the border of this state and an adjacent state that allows two trailers or
semitrailers.

G. Notwithstanding subsections B and C of this section:

1. A motor vehicle may draw one single axle tow dolly on which a motor vehicle may
be transported. A person shall secure the raised end of any motor vehicle being
transported pursuant to this paragraph to the tow dolly by two separate chains, cables or
equivalent devices adequate to prevent shifting or separation of the drawn vehicle and
the tow dolly. For the purposes of this paragraph, "single axle tow dolly" means a
vehicle drawn by a motor vehicle and designed and used exclusively to transport another
motor vehicle by which the front or rear wheels of the drawn motor vehicle are mounted on
the tow dolly while the other wheels of the drawn motor vehicle remain in contact with
the ground.

2. A truck or a truck tractor may draw a trailer or semitrailer that does not
exceed a length of fifty-seven feet only on an interstate highway or on a highway that is
within ten miles of an interstate highway if the trailer or semitrailer is manufactured
in this state and is traveling with or without a load from its place of manufacture to be
delivered for use outside this state.

3. A recreational vehicle may pull two units if all of the following conditions are
met:

(a) The middle unit is equipped with a fifth wheel and brakes. The middle unit may
be a farm vehicle or a horse trailer and shall have a weight equal to or greater than the
rear unit.

(b) If the rear unit has a gross weight of three thousand pounds or more, it is
equipped with brakes.

(c) The total combined gross weight of the towed units does not exceed the
manufacturer's stated gross vehicle weight of the towing unit.

H. For purposes of this section:

1. "Farm vehicle" has the same meaning prescribed in section 28-2514.

2. "Recreational vehicle" means a motor vehicle that is designed and customarily
used for private pleasure, including vehicles commonly called motor homes, pickup trucks
with campers and pickup trucks with a fifth wheel trailing device.