(A) A vehicle, including any load thereon, may not exceed a height of 13 feet six inches, but the owner or owners of such vehicles shall be responsible for damage to any bridge or highway structure and to municipalities for any damage to traffic-control devices or other highway structures where such bridges, devices or structures have a vehicle clearance of less than 13 feet six inches.
(B) A motor vehicle, including any load thereon, may not exceed a length of 40 feet extreme overall dimension, inclusive of front and rear bumpers; except that, a motor home may not exceed a length of 45 feet, exclusive of front and rear bumpers.
(C) Except as hereinafter provided in this division (C) or in division (D) below, a combination of vehicles coupled together may not consist of more than two units and no combination of vehicles including any load thereon shall have an overall length, inclusive of front and rear bumpers, in excess of 55 feet, except as provided in W.Va. Code § 17C-17-11b, and except as otherwise provided in respect to the use of a pole trailer as authorized in W.Va. Code § 17C-17-5. The limitation that a combination of vehicles coupled together may not consist of more than two units may not apply to:
(1) A combination of vehicles coupled together by a saddle-mount device used to transport motor vehicles in a drive-away service when no more than three saddle mounts are used, if equipment used in the combination meets the requirements of the safety regulations of the United States Department of Transportation and may not exceed an overall length of more than 75 feet; or
(2) A combination of vehicles coupled together, one of which is a travel trailer or folding camping trailer having an overall length, exclusive of front and rear bumpers, not exceeding 65 feet.
(D) A combination of two vehicles coupled together, one of which is a motor home, or a combination of vehicles coupled together, one of which is a travel trailer or folding camping trailer, may not exceed an overall length, exclusive of front and rear bumpers of 65 feet.
(E) Notwithstanding the provisions of divisions (A), (B), (C) and (D) above, the Commissioner of Highways may designate, upon his or her own motion or upon the petition of an interested party, a combination vehicle length not to exceed 70 feet.
(F) The length limitations for truck tractor-semi-trailer combinations and truck tractor-semi- trailer-trailer combinations operating on the national system of interstate and defense highways and those classes of qualifying federal-aid primary system highways so designated by the United States Secretary of Transportation and those highways providing reasonable access to and from terminals, facilities for food, fuel, repairs and rest and points of loading and unloading for household goods carriers from such highways and further, as to other highways so designated by the state’s Commissioner of Highways, shall be as follows: the maximum length of a semi-trailer unit operating in a truck tractor-semi-trailer combination shall not exceed 48 feet in length, except where semi-trailers have an axle spacing of not more than 37 feet between the rear axle of the truck tractor and the front axle of the semi-trailer, such semi-trailer shall be allowed to be not more than 53 feet in length and the maximum length of any semi- trailer or trailer operating in a truck tractor-semi-trailer-trailer combination may not exceed 28 feet in length and in no event shall any combinations exceed three units, including the truck tractor; provided that, nothing herein contained shall impose an overall length limitation as to commercial motor vehicles operating in truck tractor-semi-trailer or truck tractor-semi-trailer-trailer combinations.
(G) The total outside width, exclusive of safety equipment authorized by the United States Department of Transportation, of any vehicle or the load thereon may not exceed 96 inches, except as otherwise provided in W.Va. Code Art. 17C-17; provided that, any vehicle with a total outside width of 102 inches, exclusive of safety equipment authorized by the United States Department of Transportation, may be operated on any street or highway designated by the United States Department of Transportation or the Commissioner of the Department of Highways or on any street or highway having a minimum lane width of ten feet.
(H) Motor homes, travel trailers, truck campers and motor buses with a total outside width of 102 inches, excluding safety equipment authorized by the United States Department of Transportation may operate on any street or highway.
(Prior Code, § 347.03) Penalty, see § 75.999
Statutory reference:
Related provisions, see W.Va. Code §§ 17C-17-2, 17C-17-4