MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2001 Regular Session

To: Transportation

By: Representative Compretta (By Request)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 63-5-19, 63-5-21 AND 63-7-47, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY CERTAIN PROVISIONS WHICH RESTRICT THE MAXIMUM LENGTH THAT THE LOAD UPON THE REAR VEHICLE OF A COMBINATION OF VEHICLES MAY PROJECT BEYOND THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE AT NIGHT, WHICH PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS TO SUCH LENGTH LIMITATIONS FOR CERTAIN PUBLIC UTILITY VEHICLES IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS, AND WHICH REQUIRE VEHICLES WITH PROJECTING LOADS OF FOUR FEET OR MORE TO DISPLAY A RED FLAG AT THE REAR OF THE LOAD; TO EXEMPT CERTAIN VEHICLES DESIGNED FOR ON-FARM DELIVERY OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS FROM THE LENGTH LIMITATIONS ON PROJECTING LOADS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 63-5-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

63-5-19. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, no single vehicle, unladen or with load, shall have an overall length, inclusive of front and rear bumpers, in excess of forty (40) feet.

(2) No semitrailer operating in a truck tractor-semitrailer combination and no trailer drawn by a motor vehicle shall exceed a length of fifty (50) feet.

(3) No semitrailer or trailer operating in a truck tractor-semitrailer-trailer combination and no trailer operating in a double trailer combination drawn by a motor vehicle shall exceed a length of thirty (30) feet.

(4) No semitrailer or trailer combinations in excess of two (2) units, excluding the towing motor vehicle, shall be allowed to operate on the highways of this state.

(5) No motor home shall have an overall length exclusive of front and rear bumpers, in excess of forty-five (45) feet.

(6) The load upon the rear vehicle of a combination of vehicles transporting forest or agricultural products in their natural state shall not project more than twenty-eight (28) feet beyond the rear axle of the vehicle except in the special circumstance hereinafter prescribed. If such products project more than twenty-eight (28) feet beyond the rear axle and, due to the end use for which they are intended (such as tall utility poles or light poles or the like), such products cannot be shortened without rendering them useless for the finished product for which they have been cut, then such special circumstance may be considered good cause for the obtaining of a permit which shall be procured pursuant to Section 63-5-51 before vehicles transporting such products may operate. Except as otherwise provided in Section 63-5-21, any vehicle transporting projecting loads as described in this subsection that extend four (4) feet or more beyond the rear or body of the vehicle shall operate only during daylight hours, and the load on vehicles designed to transport forestry products shall be secured by at least two (2) chains, two (2) wire ropes, or two (2) nylon straps, one (1) positioned behind the front bolster and one (1) in front of the back bolster.

(7) Except as otherwise provided in Section 63-5-21, the rear projecting load of any vehicle operating during the period described under Section 63-7-11 may not extend four (4) feet or more beyond the rear or body of the vehicle.

(8) The length limitations on projecting loads prescribed in this section do not apply to a single vehicle or the rear vehicle of a combination of vehicles designed for on-farm delivery and unloading of any agricultural product, in its natural or manufactured form, which is fitted with an auger or similar unloading device permanently affixed to the vehicle that extends no more than eight (8) feet horizontally beyond the rear or body of the vehicle provided that no portion of such device which extends four (4) feet or more beyond the rear or body of the vehicle is less than seven (7) feet above the roadway surface. However, any such vehicle may not be operated on the public highways, roads or streets of this state during the period described under Section 63-7-11.

SECTION 2. Section 63-5-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

63-5-21. The length limitations provided in Section 63-5-19 shall not apply to vehicles * * * operated at nighttime by a public utility transporting poles, pipes, machinery or other objects of a structural nature which cannot readily be dismembered when required for emergency repair of public service facilities or properties * * *. However, in respect to such night transportation every such vehicle and the 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 such load.

SECTION 3. Section 63-7-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

63-7-47. Whenever the load upon any vehicle extends to the rear four (4) feet or more beyond the rear or body of such vehicle, there shall be displayed at the extreme rear end of the load * * * a red flag or cloth not less than sixteen (16) inches square.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2001.