(On Behalf of the Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety)
January 29, 1997
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Referred to Committee on Transportation
SUMMARY--Exempts certain combinations of vehicles from provisions governing maximum lengths and loads. (BDR 43-465)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.
Effect on the State or on Industrial Insurance: No.
EXPLANATION - Matter in italics is new; matter in brackets [ ] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to traffic laws; exempting certain combinations of vehicles from provisions governing maximum lengths and loads; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
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Section 1 NRS 484.739 is hereby amended to read as follows:
484.739 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, the length of a bus may not exceed 45 feet and the length of a motortruck may not exceed 40 feet.
2. A passenger bus which has three or more axles and two sections joined together by an articulated joint with a trailer which is equipped with a mechanically steered rear axle may not exceed a length of 65 feet.
3. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 4 [and 7,] , 7 and 9, no combination of vehicles, including any attachments thereto coupled together, may exceed a length of 70 feet.
4. The department of transportation, by regulation, shall provide for the operation of combinations of vehicles in excess of 70 feet in length, but in no event exceeding 105 feet. The regulations must establish standards for the operation of such vehicles which must be consistent with their safe operation upon the public highways and must include:
(a) Types and number of vehicles to be permitted in combination;
(b) Horsepower of a motortruck;
(c) Operating speeds;
(d) Braking ability; and
(e) Driver qualifications.
The operation of such vehicles is not permitted on highways where, in the opinion of the department of transportation, their use would be inconsistent with the public safety because of a narrow roadway, excessive grades, extreme curvature or vehicular congestion.
5. Combinations of vehicles operated under the provisions of subsection 4 may, after obtaining a special permit issued at the discretion of, and in accordance with procedures established by, the department of transportation, carry loads not to exceed the values set forth in the following formula: W=500 [LN/(N-1) + 12N + 36], wherein:
(a) W equals the maximum load in pounds carried on any group of two or more consecutive axles;
(b) L equals the distance in feet between the extremes of any group of two or more consecutive axles; and
(c) N equals the number of axles in the group under consideration.
The distance between axles must be measured to the nearest foot. [When] If a fraction is exactly one-half foot , the next largest whole number must be used. The permits may be restricted in such manner as the department of transportation considers necessary and may, at the option of the department, be canceled without notice. No such permits may be issued for operation on any highway where that operation would prevent [the] this state from receiving federal money for highway purposes.
6. Upon approving an application for a permit to operate combinations of vehicles [under the provisions of] pursuant to subsection 5, the department of transportation shall withhold issuance of the permit until the applicant has furnished proof of compliance with the provisions of NRS 706.531.
7. The load upon any motor vehicle operated alone, or the load upon any combination of vehicles, must not extend beyond the front or the rear of the vehicle or combination of vehicles for a distance of more than 10 feet, or a total of 10 feet both to the front or the rear, and a combination of vehicles and load thereon may not exceed a total of 75 feet without having secured a permit pursuant to subsection 4 or [to] NRS 484.737. The provisions of this subsection do not apply to the booms or masts of shovels, cranes or water well drilling and servicing equipment carried upon a vehicle if:
(a) The booms or masts do not extend by a distance greater than two-thirds of the wheelbase beyond the front tires of the vehicle.
(b) The projecting structure or attachments thereto are securely held in place to prevent dropping or swaying.
(c) No part of the structure which extends beyond the front tires is less than 7 feet from the roadway.
(d) The driver's vision is not impaired by the projecting or supporting structure.
8. Lights and other warning devices which are required to be mounted on a vehicle [under] pursuant to this chapter must not be included in determining the length of a vehicle or combination of vehicles and the load thereon.
9. This section does not apply to:
(a) Vehicles used by a public utility for the transportation of poles;
(b) A combination of vehicles consisting of a truck tractor drawing a semitrailer that does not exceed [48] 53 feet in length; [or]
(c) A combination of vehicles consisting of a truck tractor drawing a semitrailer and a trailer, neither of which exceeds 28 1/2 feet in length [.] ; or
(d) A combination of vehicles consisting of a truck tractor drawing no more than three saddle-mounted vehicles and one full-mounted vehicle that does not exceed 75 feet in length.
10. As used in this section:
(a) "Full-mounted vehicle" means a smaller vehicle mounted completely on the frame of a saddle-mounted vehicle.
(b) "Saddle-mounted vehicle" means a vehicle forming part of a combination of vehicles used in a driveaway-towaway operation that is connected by a saddle mount to the frame or fifth-wheel coupling of the vehicle in front of it.