Trailer Towing and the Law

[emers382]

This might be a good site (click on state or province):

Towing World Official Website

Just be careful if using the info on this site as per their note - "While every attempt has been made to verify this information, Towing World cannot guarantee its accuracy, and assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Changes may have been made since this data was compiled. Call state and provincial Highway Safety offices for additional details"

Just checking this morning for triple towing found some poor references to their footnotes, when I clicked on AZ it referred to fifth wheel triple towing only and mentioned some other states/provinces including my own (M but on the MB page it does not refer to the fact it must be a fifth wheel.

Also on the Canadian provinces, there's a conversion from meters but note that they show 2.6 meters equals 81 feet Wow, 2.6 meters is the trailer width max an 81 foot trailer wouldn't even fit in my yard never mind trying to take it on the road. Think they meant 8.5 feet, not 81

Adrian

 

[gbaglo]

In B.C. a Class 5 license is the standard driving license. If you were towing / driving a large truck or semi, you require a different class license, with air brake certification etc.
That site states 80 kph speed limit. Not so. I wouldn't count on the information found there. Some is incomplete and some just wrong.

 

[mitsui]

If I read this site correctly, some states and provinces require a different license to tow (like Oregon and B.C.) but it would appear that reciprocity precludes someone like me (Washington State) getting a ticket for non-compliance.

In BC it says you need a class 5 licence which is the standard licence required for a car.

 

[Brian B-P]

Those compilations are useful starting point, but the only thing you can count on is that there will be errors... usually many of them.

Reciprocity usually applies to non-commercial driver licensing, and even to the vehicle licensing, but not to the vehicle itself. If a local can't tow it, you can't legally tow it either. Of course, enforcement varies.

B.C. recreational trailer towing (and motorhome driving) does require only the normal "car" license in most cases; however, if you convince Reace to put in enough axle capacity and load your Escape to over 4600 kg (10,140 pounds), you need a "House trailer endorsement for towing heavy RVs" (still of the same license class). You may laugh, but a loaded 5.0 TA will be halfway there, and many fifth-wheel RV trailers (and horse trailers) are well over 4600 kg; similarly, many motorhomes have air brakes (which require another endorsement). This kind of detail is often missed by the compiled lists.

 

[Donna D.]

Class C license in Oregon is just a plain, ole, run of the mill license for us. Doesn't mean folks know how to drive however!

 

[Pender Paul]

I can't say if parking and paying two meters is legal, only that I've done it in downtown Victoria on Pandora Avenue at Government Street. My truck and trailer where there for more than half an hour while I shopped at MEC. This is one of the most highly patrolled areas in the city and I wasn't ticketed. I've taken two spaces at Mayfair Mall and a mall in Astoria, Oregon--again, no problems. In the malls, I went to the far reaches, out of the way for the majority of drivers. Hope this helps, Paul

 

[MyronL]

Stay legal, my friends, stay legal. My last two trips into Colorado I screwed up and paid the price. First, outside Denver at dusk I was partly lost, my GPS had crashed, and I misread or was confused by the toll road I found myself on and a month later received a summons in the mail to pay a ten dollar fine. More recently, on I-25 in the granny lane I made the mistake of passing two trooper cars parked on the shoulder, lights flashing, "failing to give way to an emergency vehicle."

I was doing my usual 58 mph at the time but did not react to the troopers. Because... either I saw no evidence they were engaged with a problem, or, it simply happened too fast for me to think and change lanes. Not sure how or what happened. It is a dull stretch of road. Maybe it was during a moment of road hypnosis. Regardless, thought I would get a warning, but it cost me a $169 fine and 4 points! Quite a bite.

 

[Ron in BC]

Since I'm heading your way next month and it's nice to stay legal what exactly is the law? Does it require you to slow and also move out of the curb lane?

Ron

 

[MyronL]

In Colorado the law is every vehicle approaching an emergency vehicle must pass it the next lane away from where the emergency vehicle is standing. Of course, slow down. Perfectly logical considering whatever is going on with those personnel they need to feel safe from oncoming traffic. I thought in my case the application was a stretch but once stopped it is never wise to argue with authority. Later in the day I was overheard mentioning the incident and was subject to an unsolicited angry retort from a stranger. Evidently in Colorado there have been enough roadside injuries to emergency personnel to warrant the stiff penalty.

 

[cpaharley2008]

I believe you are supposed to change lanes if traffic allows, but slowing down is mandatory.
The bite will now be increased insurance rates. You may want to go to court, beg for mercy!!

 

[Donna D.]

Same law applies to emergency vehicles in Oregon. Slow down (mandatory) move over if it's safe and possible.

The other biggy in Oregon is called... Give them a Brake! In road construction zones the speeds are posted and often a lot less than non-construction zones. Fees and fines double if you're caught going over the construction zone speed and there's always at least one trooper ready for ya!

Be safe everyone.

 

[Ray N]

Same law applies to emergency vehicles in Oregon. Slow down (mandatory) move over if it's safe and possible.

The other biggy in Oregon is called... Give them a Brake! In road construction zones the speeds are posted and often a lot less than non-construction zones. Fees and fines double if you're caught going over the construction zone speed and there's always at least one trooper ready for ya!

Be safe everyone.

We have the same laws in Florida. And starting this year they finally made texting while driving illegal, (I have no idea what took them so long to pass that one).

 

[Brian B-P]

I was doing my usual 58 mph at the time but did not react to the troopers...
... it cost me a $169 fine and 4 points! Quite a bite.

It would be more expensive here, with the same demerits.

The RCMP provides a national overview, but in Alberta you could be fined double the normal amount for being 33 km/h (21 mph) over the speed limit (which is effectively 60 km/h when passing the police vehicles). That's $374 to $702 (if charged for the full speed), and it's not for failing to stop, it's for failing to slow down or move over, for the safety of the officers. In Alberta the same applies to any other emergency vehicle (ambulance, fire, even a tow truck).

The same Alberta laws cover the fines for speeding in construction zones, similar to what Donna described for Oregon.

We should be particularly aware of the risks that these laws address when driving RVs, since they are much wider than most of our typical vehicles, and it is really easy when towing a trailer to fail to allow for the extra width of the trailer when judging clearance to people at the roadside.

 

[azjack]

Trailer towing

To help me avoid unexpected requirement to move over or change lanes I watch for a semi that is going my way and driving at my speed (60 to 65 in LA) and I stick with him, usually in the 2nd lane of 4 to 6 lanes. They always try to change lanes for emergency vehicles and they can see them before I can and they also change lanes early for a merge. In AZ the speeds are higher but I still try to find someone to follow at a distance.
Jack

 

[NDNwmn]

Same law applies to emergency vehicles in Oregon. Slow down (mandatory) move over if it's safe and possible.

The other biggy in Oregon is called... Give them a Brake! In road construction zones the speeds are posted and often a lot less than non-construction zones. Fees and fines double if you're caught going over the construction zone speed and there's always at least one trooper ready for ya!

Be safe everyone.

Similar laws in Georgia, while I don't have a TT yet, I've hauled a variety of horse and boat trailers in the SE and have had to back into some "slim" spots. I dry sailed sail boats and had to hook up and back them down a ramp and back out and into parking spot. So my I think my backing skills are good to go. I've had to go through downtown Atlanta with both horse and boat trailers - not fun.

 

[ethanallen2]

I have been told by a southern California Highway Patrol office (I asked about towing an RV trailer in the HOV lanes) 6 axles is the limit! Besides, limited space and 55mph towing speed with traffic doing 70 is a big clue to stay out! A suggestion for getting a long rig turned around in a congested area: if it isn't church time, look for a steeple. Usually you will find a nice big empty parking lot...

 

[norskyooper]

Good advice! Never thought about trailer length and access options

 

[cpaharley2008]

To help me avoid unexpected requirement to move over or change lanes I watch for a semi that is going my way and driving at my speed (60 to 65 in LA) and I stick with him, usually in the 2nd lane of 4 to 6 lanes. They always try to change lanes for emergency vehicles and they can see them before I can and they also change lanes early for a merge. In AZ the speeds are higher but I still try to find someone to follow at a distance.
Jack

But Jack, then your whole trip will be remembered as a view of this.....

 

[escape artist]

Hi: All... You have to be really careful following a semi!!! They don't like to lose sight of you and if that happens to much they might just "Dust you off". Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

 

[gypsysouls]

I would never even have entertained the thought of entering an HOV-type lane with trailer in tow. I am strictly a right-lane driver with the trailer (and usually without it as well) with the exception mentioned by PADLIN earlier in the post. I stick to the next-to-right lane in heavy traffic. MOW does not know how to execute a proper highway merge, so I avoid the uninitiated whenever possible.