290 R.I. Code R. 290-RICR-40-00-1.8

Current through December 3, 2024

Section 290-RICR-40-00-1.8 - Rhode Island General Laws - Size, Weight and Load Limits

A. R.I. Gen Laws §§

1.31-25-1. Compliance with Chapter required.

2.31-25-2. Vehicles exempt from limitations.

3.31-25-3. Maximum width.

4.31-25-4. Maximum height.

5.31-25-5. Maximum length of single vehicle and load.

6.31-25-6. Maximum number and length of coupled vehicles.

7.31-25-7. Front and rear extensions of load.

8.31-25-8. Pole trailers.

9.31-25-9. Prevention of leakage of load.

10.31-25-10. Fastening of load and covering.

11.31-25-11. Connections between coupled vehicles.

12.31-25-12. Flags on tow chains.

13.31-25-12.1. Vehicles to be towed in right lane.

14.31-25-13. Axle load limit.

15.31-25-14. Maximum weight carried by multiple axle vehicles. (Effective until April 1, 1989) Maximum weight and tandem axles. (Effective April 1, 1989)

16.31-25-15. Investigations as to safety of buses, trucks and trailers.

17.31-25-16. Authorized weight shown in registration - Exceeding limit.

18.31-25-17. Identification of trucks and truck-tractors.

19.31-25-18. Weighing of suspected overweight vehicles.

20.31-25-19. Removal of excess from overweight vehicles.

21.31-25-20. Refusal to submit to weighing or removal of excess load.

22.31-25-21. Power to permit excess size or weight of loads.

23.31-25-22. Application for excess load permit.

24.31-25-23. Conditions and restrictions on excess load permit.

25.31-25-24. Carrying and inspection of excess load permits.

26.31-25-25. Seasonal weight restrictions by local authorities.

27.31-25-26. Prohibition of commercial vehicles by local authorities.

28.31-25-27. Weight restrictions on state highways.

29.31-25-27.1. Weight restrictions on Veterans Memorial Parkway - East Providence

30.31-25-28. Liability or damages from excess weight.

31.31-25-29. Refuse - hauling vehicles - Exemption from permit.

B. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-1. Compliance with chapter required. - (a) Except in reference to R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 31-25-16 and 31-25-27 where it shall be considered a violation, it is a misdemeanor for any carrier to drive or move or to cause or permit to be driven or moved on any highway any vehicle or vehicles of a size or weight exceeding the limitations stated in this chapter or otherwise in violation of this chapter and the maximum size and weight of vehicles herein specified shall be lawful throughout this state, and local authorities shall have no power or authority to alter said limitations except as express authority may be granted in this chapter. The term carrier shall include any company or person who furthers their commercial or private enterprise by use of the vehicle. (b) the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation shall promulgate rules and regulations and requirements consistent with this chapter for the application and issuance of permits for overweight and oversize vehicles or loads.

C. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-2. Vehicles exempt from limitations. - The provisions of this chapter governing size, weight, and load shall not apply to fire apparatus, road machinery, farm vehicles, including farm tractors, temporarily moved upon a highway, any vehicle owned and operated by the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority which is designed for carrying passengers and is comprised of two (2) sections permanently joined by a hinge mechanism or an articulated joint which allows vertical and horizontal movement and a passage for riders moving from one (1) section to the other, or to a vehicle operated under the terms of a special permit issued as herein provided.

D. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-3. Maximum width. - The total outside width of any vehicle or the load thereon shall not exceed one hundred two (102) inches.

E. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-4. Maximum height. - No vehicle including any load thereon shall exceed a height of one hundred sixty-two (162) inches.

F. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-5. Maximum length of single vehicle and load. - No vehicle including any load thereon, except Rhode Island Public Transit Authority articulated buses, shall exceed a length of forty feet (40') extreme overall dimension inclusive of front and rear bumpers.

G. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-6. Maximum number and length of coupled vehicles. - No combination of vehicles coupled together shall consist of more than three (3) units, a truck-tractor, semi-trailer and trailer, and such combination of vehicles shall not be restricted in overall length except that when a truck-tractor, semi-trailer and a trailer are used in combination, the trailer or semi-trailer each shall not exceed twenty-eight and a half feet (28'6"), excluding bumpers and accessories. Provided, however, that combinations of vehicles consisting of three (3) units shall be permitted to operate only on the Interstate Highway System and on those highways, streets and roads designated by the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation. Combinations of vehicles consisting of truck-tractor and semi-trailer coupled together shall not be restricted in overall length and semi-trailers shall not exceed forty eight and one half feet (48'6") in length, excluding bumpers and accessories, except as otherwise provided in respect to the use of a pole trailer and combinations designed to transport motor vehicles and/or automobiles as authorized in R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 31-25-7 and 31-25-8, provided, however, that the limitations that no combination of vehicles coupled together shall consist of more than three units shall not apply to 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, and provided further, that equipment used in said combination is approved by part 393.71 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and safety regulations of the Division of Motor Vehicles of the Department of Transportation of the state of Rhode Island. Any owner or operator found deviating from the approval permitted routes shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).

H. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-7. Front and rear extensions of load. - Subject to the foregoing provisions of this chapter limiting the length of vehicles and loads, 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 (3') feet beyond the foremost part of the vehicle, and the load upon any vehicle operated alone or the load upon the rear vehicle of a combination of vehicles shall not extend more than six (6') feet beyond the rear of the bed or body of such vehicle.

I. R.I Gen. Laws § 31-25-8. Pole trailers. - The limitations as to length of vehicles and loads heretofore stated in R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 31-25-5 and 31-25-6 shall not apply to any load upon a pole trailer as defined in of R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-1-5(e) when transporting poles or pipes or structural material which cannot be dismembered, provided that no pole or pipe or other material exceeding eighty (80') feet in length shall be so transported unless a permit has first been obtained as authorized in R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-21.

J. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-9. Prevention of leakage of load. - No vehicles shall be driven or moved on any highway unless such vehicle is so constructed or loaded as to prevent any of its load from dropping, shifting, leaking; or otherwise escaping therefrom, except that sand may be dropped for the purpose of securing traction, or water or other substance may be sprinkled on a roadway in cleaning or maintaining such roadway.

K. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-10. Fastening of load and covering. - No person shall operate on any highway any vehicle with any load unless said load and any covering thereon is securely fastened so as to prevent said covering or load from becoming loose, detached, or in any manner a hazard to other users of the highway.(a) No motor truck trailer or semi-trailer which is used for the purpose of hauling logs, pulpwood, lumber, or other materials which by their very nature may shift or roll so as to be likely to fall from such vehicle shall be operated or moved over any highway unless its load is securely fastened to the vehicle by chains, cables, or other approved devices as will effectively prevent the shifting or falling of such load or any part thereof from the vehicle. The ends of such chains, cables or other devices and any tire chains shall be tied securely, whether the vehicle is loaded or unloaded so that loose ends shall not endanger pedestrians or other vehicles encountered on the highway. (b) This section shall not be construed to include a truck transporting lumber, wood or sawmill wastes, when transported in a box type body with solid sides, provided that such truck is not loaded higher than its side-boards. (c) A person who violates the provisions of this section shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars ($100) for the first violation, and not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500) for any subsequent violations. (d) No person shall operate a motor truck or other vehicle carrying or transporting any rubbish, refuse or other debris on any highway without first securely fastening a covering thereon to prevent the contents from falling to said highway. No person shall operate on any highway any vehicle with any load unless said load and any covering thereon is securely fastened so as to prevent said covering or load from becoming loose, detached, or in any manner a hazard to other users of the highway. (e) No person shall operate an open motor truck or other similar vehicle while carrying or transporting any child under sixteen (16) years of age without securely fastening the same to prevent them from becoming loose or detached in any manner.

L. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-11. Connections between coupled vehicles. - When one (1) vehicle is towing another the drawbar or other connection shall be of sufficient strength to pull all weight towed thereby and said drawbar or other connection shall not exceed fifteen (15') feet from one (1) vehicle to the other except the connection between any two (2) vehicles transporting poles, pipe, machinery, or other objects of structural nature which cannot readily be dismembered.

M. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-12. Flags on tow chains. - When one (1) vehicle is towing another and the connection consists of a chain, rope, or cable, there shall be displayed upon such connection a white flag or cloth not less than twelve (12) inches square.

N. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-12.1. Vehicles to be towed in right lane. - When a tow truck or other vehicle is towing another vehicle, except those vehicles designed to be in combination, in this state upon any public highway divided into two or more clearly marked lanes for travel in the same direction, it shall be unlawful to tow except in the right lane of travel. Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall upon conviction, be fined twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for the first offense; the sum of fifty dollars ($50.00) for the second offense, and the sum of one hundred dollars ($100) for the third and each subsequent offense.

O. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-13. Axle load limit. - (a) the gross weight imposed on the highway by the wheels of any one (1) axle of a vehicle shall not exceed twenty-two thousand four hundred (22,400) pounds. (b) For the purposes of this chapter an axle load shall be defined as the total load transmitted to the road by all wheels whose centers are included between two (2) parallel transverse vertical planes forty (40") inches apart, extending across the full width of the vehicle.

P. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-14. Maximum weight carried by multiple axle vehicles. (Effective until April 1, 1989.) - It shall be unlawful to transport or operate over or upon any public highway in this state any vehicle equipped with two (2) axles the gross weight of which including its load exceeds thirty-two thousand (32,000) pounds when equipped with rubber tires if the front and rear axles are less than six (6) feet apart, or thirty-six thousand (36,000) pounds if such axle spacing is less than twelve (12) feet apart, or any single vehicle equipped with three (3) or more axles the gross weight of which including its load exceeds forty thousand (40,000) pounds if the front and rear axles are less than sixteen (16) feet apart, or forty- four thousand (44,000) pounds if such axle spacing is less than twenty (20) feet apart, or any vehicle of the tractor semi-trailer class equipped with three (3) or more axles the gross weight of which including its load exceeds forty-six thousand (46,000) pounds if the front and rear axles of the combined unit are less than twenty-two (22) feet apart, or fifty thousand (50,000) pounds if such axle spacing is less than twenty-seven (27) feet apart provided, however, that the weight of a tag-along trailer secured to such vehicle by a pin and pintel hook shall not be considered in determining the above loads, so long as said trailer, when loaded, does not exceed its manufacturer's weight limits, and as long as the vehicle towing said trailer and/or the trailer itself possesses the proper braking capacities for said trailers. Maximum weight and tandem axles. (Effective April 1, 1989) - It shall be unlawful to operate over or upon any public highway in this state any vehicle equipped with tandem axles, should the gross weight of said axles exceed forty-four thousand (44,000) pounds if such axle spacing does not exceed eight (8) feet. With respect to all public highways, the overall gross weight on a group of two or more consecutive axles of a vehicle or combination of vehicles, shall be determined by the following bridge gross weight formula: W = 500 ( (LN / (N-1)) + 12N + 36) where W = the overall gross weight on any group of two or more consecutive axles to the nearest 500 pounds; L = the distance in feet between the extremes of any group of two or more consecutive axles; and N = the number of axles in the group under consideration. Such overall gross weight of any vehicle or combination of vehicles may not exceed 80,000 pounds except as specified in R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 31-25-1, 31-25-2 and 31-25-21. In any calculation using the above formula in which the multiple axle limit is less than 44,000 pounds, 44,000 pounds shall be considered the legal limit. Single axle limits shall be as defined in R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-13. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to abrogate any of the "grandfather rights" in existence as of (April 1, 1989). The weight of a tag-along trailer secured to be operated any vehicle or combination of vehicles of a gross weight in excess of that registered by the registrar or permitted by the registrar or in excess of the limitations set forth in this chapter. For the purposes of this section the term carrier shall mean and include any company or person who furthers their commercial or private enterprise by use of the vehicle. Penalties for violations of this section will be calculated on the registered or permitted weight in comparison to the actual weight and shall be heard and adjudicated at the administrative adjudication division of the department of transportation.

(a) The overweight penalties for vehicles exceeding 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight shall be as follows. No fine for the first five hundred (500) pounds overweight; fifteen cents ($.15) per pound overweight between five hundred (500) pounds and five thousand (5,000) pounds; and one dollar ($1.00) per pound for each pound overweight in excess of five thousand (5,000) pounds.

(b) The overweight penalties for vehicles under 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight shall be twenty-five cents ($.25) per pound overweight.

(c) the overweight penalty for vehicles being operated in excess of one hundred four thousand, eight hundred (104,800) pounds gross vehicle weight shall be one thousand dollars ($1,000) in addition to the penalties enumerated in subdivision (a) hereof.

Q. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-17. Identification of trucks and truck-tractors. - Every motor truck and every truck-tractor exceeding a gross vehicle weight or gross combination weight of 10,000 pounds shall be identified with the name, trade name or company identifying logo and the city and state of the owner and operating carrier, or individual transporting property, when such transportation is for the furtherance of any commercial enterprise. However, in lieu of the city and state one (1) of the following may be displayed on the vehicle: The Interstate Commerce Commission number if a regulated interstate carrier, or An identifying number issued by an official state agency. The display of identification prescribed by this section shall be in letters in sharp color contrast to the background and be of such size, shape and color as to be readily legible, during daylight hours, from a distance of fifty (50') feet while the vehicle is not in motion. The display of identifying may be accomplished through the use of a removable device so prepared as to otherwise meet the identification requirements and legibility requirements of this section, if the vehicle is operated by any company or carrier. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the display of additional identification as may be required by other laws of the State or any other state, or agency or department of the federal government. Penalties for violations of this section shall be handled by the administrative adjudication division of the department of transportation and the fines shall be as follows: twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for the first offense; fifty dollars ($50.00) for the second offense; one hundred dollars ($100.00) for the third and subsequent offenses.

R. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-18. Weighing of suspected overweight vehicles. - Any proper officer having reason to believe that the weight of a vehicle and load is unlawful is authorized to require the driver to stop and submit to a weighing of the same by means of either portable or stationary scales, and may require that such vehicle be driven to the nearest available stationary scales.

S. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-19. Removal of excess from overweight vehicles. - Whenever a proper officer upon weighing a vehicle and load, as above provided, determines that the weight is unlawful, such officer may require the driver to stop the vehicle in a suitable place and remain standing until such portion of the load is removed as may be necessary to reduce the gross weight of such vehicle to such limit as permitted under this chapter. All material so unloaded shall be cared for by the owner or operate of such vehicle at the risk of such owner or operator.

T. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-20. Refusal to submit to weighing or removal of excess load. - Any driver of a vehicle who fails or refuses to stop and submit the vehicle and load to a weighing, or who fails or refuses when directed by a proper officer upon a weighing of the vehicle to stop the vehicle and otherwise comply with the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 31-25-18 and 31-25-19 shall upon conviction, be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100) and not more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250).

U. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-21. Power to permit excess size or weight of loads. - The State Department of Transportation with respect to highways under their jurisdiction may in their discretion upon application in writing and good cause being shown therefor, issue a special permit in writing authorizing the applicant to operate or move a vehicle or combination of vehicles of a size or weight of vehicle or load exceeding eight thousand pounds (80,000) or otherwise not in conformity with the provisions of R.I. Gen Laws Chapters 31-1 through 27, inclusive, of this title upon any highway under the jurisdiction of the party granting such permit and for the maintenance of which said party is responsible. Provided, however, that neither the State Department of Transportation nor the local authorities may issue permits for divisible loads weighing in excess of one hundred four thousand, eight hundred (104,800) pounds gross vehicle weight for five (5) axle vehicles and seventy-six thousand six hundred fifty (76,650) pounds, gross vehicle weight, for three (3) axle vehicles. The Director of the Department of Transportation may enter into agreements with other states, the District of Columbia and Canadian provinces providing for the reciprocal enforcement of the overweight or overdimensional vehicle permit laws of those jurisdictions entering into the agreement. TRIP PERMIT FEE. A fee of twenty dollars ($20.00) shall be paid to the Division of Motor Vehicles for the issuance of each non-reducible vehicle or load permit. ANNUAL FEE. A fee of one hundred dollars ($100), paid to the Division of Motor Vehicles shall exempt the payor from the necessity of paying trip permit fees as found in subsection (A) provided, however, that payment of such fee shall not be deemed to authorize noncompliance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the Department of Transportation entitled State of Rhode Island Manual for Overweight and Oversize Vehicle Permits. Revenue derived from the fees shall be used by the Department of Transportation for defraying the administrative cost of issuing non-reducible vehicle or load permits.

V. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-22. Application for excess load permit. - The application for any such permit shall specifically describe the vehicle or vehicles and load to be operated or moved and the particular highways for which permit to operate is requested and whether such permit is requested for a single trip or for continuous operation. For continuous operation of divisible loads, specifically described vehicle or vehicles must be certified originally by the manufacturer thereof to possess the braking and carrying capacity for the weight specified on the application.

W. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-23. Conditions and restrictions on excess load permits. - (a) The state department of transportation or local authority is authorized to issue or withhold such permit at its discretion; or, if such permit is issued, to limit the number of trips, or to establish seasonal or other time limitations within which the vehicles described may be operated on the highways indicated, otherwise to limit or prescribe conditions of operation of such vehicle or vehicles, when necessary to assure against undue damage to the road foundations, surfaces, or structures, and may require such undertaking or other security as may be deemed necessary to compensate for any injury to any roadway or road structure. Whenever a permit is issued by the state department of transportation or local authority for continuous operation, such permit shall not be issued for a period in excess of the registration date of the subject vehicle. Upon re-registration of the subject vehicle, permits shall be issued by the state department of transportation or local authority, upon the re-certification of the braking and carrying capacity of the subject vehicle as specified on the expired permit.

X. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-24. Carrying and inspection of excess load permits. - Every permit issued under R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-21 to 31-25-23, inclusive, shall be carried in the vehicle to which it refers and shall be open to inspection by any proper officer or authorized agent of any authority granting such permit, and no person shall violate any of the terms or conditions of such special permit.

Y. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-25. Seasonal weight restrictions by local authorities. - (a) Local authorities with respect to highways under their jurisdiction may by ordinance or resolution prohibit the operation of vehicles upon any such highway or impose restrictions as to the weight of vehicles to be operated upon any such highway, for a total period of not to exceed ninety (90) days in any one (1) calendar year, whenever any said highway by reason of deterioration, rain, snow, or other climatic conditions will be seriously damaged or destroyed unless the use of vehicles thereon is prohibited or the permissible weights thereof reduced. (b)The local authority enacting any such ordinance or resolution shall erect or cause to be erected and maintained signs designating the provisions of the ordinance or resolution at each end of that portion of any highway affected thereby, and the ordinance or resolution shall not be effective unless and until such signs are erected and maintained.

Z. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-26. Prohibition of commercial vehicles by local authorities. - Local authorities with respect to highways under their jurisdiction may, by ordinance or resolution, prohibit the operation of trucks or other commercial vehicles, or may impose limitations as to the weight thereof, on designated highways, which prohibitions and limitations shall be designated by appropriate signs placed on such highways. For the purpose aforesaid, a suburban vehicle, as defined in R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-1-3, shall not be deemed to be a truck or commercial vehicle.

AA. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-27. Weight restrictions on state highways. - The state traffic commission shall likewise have authority as hereinabove granted to local authorities to determine by resolution and to impose restrictions as to the weight of vehicles operated upon any highway under the jurisdiction of said commission and such restrictions shall be effective when signs giving notice thereof are erected upon the highway or portion of any highway affected by such resolution. Penalties for posted bridge weight violations shall be based on the fine schedule imposed within the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-16.

BB. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-27.1. Weight restrictions on the Veterans Memorial Parkway - East Providence - No motor vehicle with a gross weight exceeding two (2) tons except those listed herein shall be allowed to travel the Veterans Memorial Parkway in the city of East Providence. The director of the department of transportation is hereby directed to post signs to limit access as prescribed above. The following vehicles shall be exempt from the provisions of this section: Vehicles of a fire department, police vehicles, corrections vehicles, ambulances, emergency vehicles, state vehicles, municipal vehicles, vehicles of the Rhode Island public transit authority, marked school transportation vehicles, and delivery vehicles whose destination is addressed on said parkway. The state department of transportation or local authority is authorized in accordance with the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-23 to issue or withhold permits to all vehicles other than those enumerated in this section.

CC. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-28. Liability for damages from excess weight. - (a) Any person driving any vehicle, object, or contrivance upon any highway or highway structure shall be liable for all damage which said highway or structure may sustain as a result of any illegal operation, driving, or moving of such vehicle, object, or contrivance, or as a result of operating, driving, or moving any vehicle, object, or contrivance weighing in excess of the maximum weight in this chapter but authorized by a special permit issued as provided in this chapter. Whenever such driver is not the owner of such vehicle, object or contrivance, but is so operating, driving, or moving the same with the express or implied permission of said owner, then said owner and driver shall be jointly and severally liable for any such damage. Such damage may be recovered in a civil action brought by the authorities in control of such highway or highway structure.

DD. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-25-29. Refuse - hauling vehicles - Exemption from permit. - Notwithstanding any contrary provisions of this chapter, a motor vehicle designed and used for the hauling of refuse shall not be subject to State axle weight restrictions when hauling refuse. Nothing in this provision shall waive or modify existing State gross weight restrictions for refuse vehicles or other size and weight restrictions. To the extent that application of this section to highways which are part of the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways would cause this State to be deprived of any Federal funds for highway purposes, this section shall not be applicable to highways which are part of such system.

290 R.I. Code R. 290-RICR-40-00-1.8