A. Unless otherwise provided for in this Chapter, no single vehicle, with or without load, other than a semitrailer that is not a house trailer, shall exceed an overall length of forty two feet (42').
B. Subject to the provisions of subsection F of this Section and unless otherwise provided in this Chapter, no truck tractor and semitrailer, unladen or with load, except a semitrailer other than a house trailer, shall exceed a length of fifty five feet (55') extreme overall dimension, except that such combination when specially designed to transport motor vehicles may have a length of sixty feet (60') extreme overall dimension, subject to those exceptions and special rules otherwise stated in this Chapter. No other combination of vehicles, unladen or with load, shall exceed a length of sixty feet (60') extreme overall dimension.
C. A truck tractor semitrailer may draw one trailer or may draw one vehicle which is special mobile equipment if the extreme length of such combination does not exceed sixty feet (60'), and a truck in transit may draw three (3) trucks in transit coupled together by the triple saddlemount method. Except as otherwise provided, no other combinations of vehicles coupled together shall consist of more than two (2) vehicles. For the purposes of this subsection, a tow-dolly or convertor dolly which merely serves as substitute wheels for another legally licensed vehicle will be considered part of the vehicle and not as a separate vehicle.
Vehicles in combination, whether being operated intrastate or interstate, shall be operated and towed in compliance with all requirements of Federal Highway Administration, title 49, CFR, Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, pertaining to coupling devices and towing methods and all other equipment safety requirements set forth in said regulations.
D. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Chapter, there is no overall length limitation on motor vehicles operating in truck tractor-semitrailer or truck tractor-semitrailer-trailer combinations, except that "maxi-cube" combinations as defined in this Section, a truck in transit transporting three (3) trucks coupled together by the triple saddlemount method, and a combination of vehicles specifically designed to transport motor vehicles or boats, shall not exceed sixty five feet (65') overall length, and provided that a stinger steered combination of vehicles specifically designed to transport motor vehicles or boats shall not exceed seventy five feet (75') overall length, with such length limitations inclusive of front and rear bumpers, but exclusive of the overhang of the transported vehicles, as provided in subsection I of this Section, upon the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways or any other highways in the system of State highways that have been designated Class I highways by the Illinois Department of Transportation or any street or highway designated by the City; provided that the length of the semitrailer unit unladen or with load, operated in a truck tractor-semitrailer combination shall not exceed fifty three feet (53') and the distance between the kingpin and the rear axle of a semitrailer longer than forty five feet six inches (45'6") shall not exceed forty five feet six inches (45'6"); and provided that the length of any semitrailer or trailer, unladen or with load, operated in a truck tractor-semitrailer- trailer combination shall net exceed twenty eight feet six inches (28'6").
The length limitations described in this subsection shall be exclusive of safety and energy conservation devices, such as rear view mirrors, turn signals, marker lamps, steps and handholds for entry and egress, flexible fender extensions, bumpers, mudflaps and splash and spray suppressant devices, load-induced tire bulge, refrigeration units or air compressors and other devices, which the Department may interpret as necessary for safe and efficient operation; except that no device excluded under this subsection shall have by design or use the capability to carry cargo.
Vehicles operating under this subsection shall have access for a distance of five (5) highway miles on a street or highway in the system of State highways, and upon any street or highway designated by the City, to points of loading and unloading and facilities for food, fuel, repairs and rest. Household goods carriers shall have access to points of loading and unloading.
For purposes of this Section, a "maxi-cube" vehicle shall be defined as a combination of vehicles consisting of a truck-tractor, upon which is mounted a separable cargo carrying semitrailer and a trailing unit which is attached by a pintle hook or similar connection with the separable cargo carrying semitrailer designed so as to be loaded and unloaded through the trailing unit, except that the entire combination shall not exceed sixty five feet (65') in length and that neither the semitrailer nor the trailing unit in such combination shall itself exceed thirty four feet (34') in length.
E. In addition to the designation of streets and highways under subsection D of this Section the Illinois Department of Transportation and the City may designate other streets or highways under their respective jurisdiction as streets and highways upon which a truck tractor-semitrailer-trailer combination may be operated provided that the wheelbase between the front axle and rear axle shall not exceed sixty five feet (65') and the length of any semitrailer or trailer unladen or with load, in such a combination shall not exceed twenty eight feet six inches (28'6").
A maxi-cube combination, a truck in transit transporting three (3) trucks coupled together by the triple saddlemount method, and a combination of vehicles specifically designed to transport motor vehicles or boats may operate on said designated streets or highways provided the overall length shall not exceed sixty five feet (65'), and provided that a stinger steered combination of vehicles specifically designed to transport motor vehicles or boats shall not exceed seventy five feet (75') overall length, with such length limitations inclusive of front and rear bumpers but exclusive of the overhang of the transported vehicles as provided for in subsection I of this Section.
The length limitations described in this subsection shall be exclusive of safety and energy conservation devices, such as rear view mirrors, turn signals, marker lamps, steps and handholds for entry and egress, flexible fender extensions, bumpers, mudflaps and splash and spray suppressant devices, load-induced tire bulge, refrigeration units or air compressors and other devices, which the Department may interpret as necessary for safe and efficient operation except that no device excluded under this subsection shall have by its design or use the capability to carry cargo.
Vehicles operating under this subsection shall have access for a distance of five (5) highway miles on a street or highway in the system of State highways, and upon any street or highway designated by the City, to points of loading and unloading and to facilities for food, fuel, repairs and rest. Household goods carriers shall have access to points of loading and unloading.
F. On any street or highway in the system of State highways or under the jurisdiction of the City that has not been designated by the Illinois Department of Transportation or the City under subsection D of this Section, or under the jurisdiction of the City, the wheelbase between the front axle and the rear axles in a truck tractor-semitrailer combination shall not exceed fifty five feet (55'), the length of the semitrailer, unladen or with load, shall not exceed fifty three feet (53') and the distance between the kingpin and the rear axles of a semitrailer longer than forty eight feet (48') shall not exceed forty feet (40'). On any street or highway in the State system of highways, or under the jurisdiction of the City, that has not been designated by the Illinois Department of Transportation or the City under subsection D or E, no truck tractor-semitrailer-trailer combination shall exceed a length of sixty feet (60') extreme overall dimension.
G. Length limitations in subsections A through F of this Section shall not apply to vehicles operated in the daytime, except on Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays, when transporting poles, pipes, machinery or other objects of a structural nature which cannot readily be dismembered, nor to vehicles transporting such objects operated on Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays or at nighttime by a public utility when required for emergency repair of public service facilities or properties, but in respect to such night operation 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, provided that the overall length of vehicle load shall not exceed one hundred feet (100') and no such object exceeding eighty feet (80') in length shall be so transported, except by a public utility when required for emergency repairs, unless a permit has first been obtained as authorized in Section 6-8-20 of this Chapter. A combination of vehicles, including tow truck and a disabled vehicle or disabled combination of vehicles, which exceeds the length restriction imposed by this Chapter, may be operated on a public highway or street in the City upon the following conditions:
1. The towing must be:
a. Specifically designed as a tow truck having a gross vehicle weight rating of at least eighteen thousand (18,000) pounds and equipped with air brakes;
b. Equipped with flashing, rotating or oscillating amber lights, visible for at least five hundred feet (500') in all directions; and
c. Capable of utilizing the lighting and braking systems of the disabled vehicle or combination of vehicles.
2. The towing of such vehicles on the streets and highways in the City shall not exceed fifty (50) miles from the initial point of wreck or disablement. Any additional movement of such vehicles shall only occur upon issuance of authorization for that movement pursuant to the provisions of Sections 6-8-20 through 6-8-32 of this Chapter.
For the purpose of this subsection G2, gross vehicle weight rating, or GVWR, shall mean the value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of the tow truck. Legal holidays referred to in this Section shall be specified as the day on which the following traditional holidays are celebrated:
New Year's Day;
Memorial Day;
Independence Day;
Labor Day;
Thanksgiving;
Christmas Day.
H. The load upon any vehicle operated alone, or the load upon the front vehicle of a combination of vehicles, shall not extend more than three feet (3') beyond the front wheels of such vehicle or the front bumper of such vehicle if it is equipped with such a bumper.
I. The load upon the front vehicle of a combination of vehicles specifically designed to transport motor vehicles shall not extend more than three feet (3') beyond the foremost part of the transporting vehicle and the load upon the rear transporting vehicle shall not extend more than four feet (4') beyond the rear of the bed or body of such vehicle. This subsection shall only be applicable upon highways and streets designated in subsections D and E of this Section.
J. Articulated vehicles comprised of two (2) sections, neither of which exceeds a length of forty two feet (42'), designed for the carrying of more than ten (10) persons, may be up to sixty feet (60') in length, not including energy absorbing bumpers, provided that such vehicles are:
1. Operated by or for any public body or motor carrier authorized by law to provide public transportation services; or
2. Operated in local public transportation service by any other person and the municipality in which such service is to be provided approved the operation of such vehicle.
K. Any person who is convicted of violating this Section is subject to the penalty as provided in subsection 6-8-13C of this Chapter. (Ord. O-01-98, 1-5-1998)