California Vehicle Code 35401.5 – (a) A combination of vehicles consisting of a truck tractor and …
(a) A combination of vehicles consisting of a truck tractor and semitrailer, or of a truck tractor, semitrailer, and trailer, is not subject to the limitations of Sections 35400 and 35401, when operating on the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways or when using those portions of federal-aid primary system highways that have been qualified by the United States Secretary of Transportation for that use, or when using routes appropriately identified by the Department of Transportation or local authorities as provided in subdivision (c) or (d), if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The length of the semitrailer in exclusive combination with a truck tractor does not exceed 48 feet. A semitrailer not more than 53 feet in length shall satisfy this requirement when configured with two or more rear axles, the rearmost of which is located 40 feet or less from the kingpin or when configured with a single axle which is located 38 feet or less from the kingpin. For purposes of this paragraph, a motortruck used in combination with a semitrailer, when that combination of vehicles is engaged solely in the transportation of motor vehicles, camper units, or boats, is considered to be a truck tractor.
Terms Used In California Vehicle Code 35401.5
- axle: is a structure or portion of a structure consisting of one or more shafts, spindles, or bearings in the same vertical transverse plane by means of which, in conjunction with wheels mounted on said shafts, spindles, or bearings, a portion of the weight of a vehicle and its load, if any, is continuously transmitted to the roadway when the vehicle is in motion. See California Vehicle Code 230
- camper: is a structure designed to be mounted upon a motor vehicle and to provide facilities for human habitation or camping purposes. See California Vehicle Code 243
- Department: means the Department of Motor Vehicles except, when used in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 2100) of Division 2 and in Divisions 11 (commencing with Section 21000), 12 (commencing with Section 24000), 13 (commencing with Section 29000), 14 (commencing with Section 31600), 14. See California Vehicle Code 290
- Highway: is a way or place of whatever nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See California Vehicle Code 360
- Local authorities: means the legislative body of every county or municipality having authority to adopt local police regulations. See California Vehicle Code 385
- motortruck: is a motor vehicle designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property. See California Vehicle Code 410
- Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
- Road: means any existing vehicle route established before January 1, 1979, with significant evidence of prior regular travel by vehicles subject to registration pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 4000) of Chapter 1 of Division 3. See California Vehicle Code 527
- semitrailer: is a vehicle designed for carrying persons or property, used in conjunction with a motor vehicle, and so constructed that some part of its weight and that of its load rests upon, or is carried by, another vehicle. See California Vehicle Code 550
- Terminal: is a place where a vehicle of a type listed in Section 34500 is regularly garaged or maintained, or from which the vehicle is operated or dispatched. See California Vehicle Code 595
- trailer: includes a semitrailer when used in conjunction with an auxiliary dolly, if the auxiliary dolly is of a type constructed to replace the function of the drawbar and the front axle or axles of a trailer. See California Vehicle Code 630
- truck tractor: is a motor vehicle designed and used primarily for drawing other vehicles and not so constructed as to carry a load, other than a part of the weight of the vehicle and the load so drawn. See California Vehicle Code 655
- vehicle: is a device by which any person or property may be propelled, moved, or drawn upon a highway, excepting a device moved exclusively by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See California Vehicle Code 670
(2) Neither the length of the semitrailer nor the length of the trailer when simultaneously in combination with a truck tractor exceeds 28 feet 6 inches.
(b) Subdivisions (b), (d), and (e) of Section 35402 do not apply to combinations of vehicles operated subject to the exemptions provided by this section.
(c) Combinations of vehicles operated pursuant to subdivision (a) may also use highways not specified in subdivision (a) that provide reasonable access to terminals and facilities for purposes limited to fuel, food, lodging, and repair when that access is consistent with the safe operation of the combinations of vehicles and when the facility is within one road mile of identified points of ingress and egress to or from highways specified in subdivision (a) for use by those combinations of vehicles.
(d) The Department of Transportation or local authorities may establish a process whereby access to terminals or services may be applied for upon a route not previously established as an access route. The denial of a request for access to terminals and services shall be only on the basis of safety and an engineering analysis of the proposed access route. If a written request for access has been properly submitted and has not been acted upon within 90 days of receipt by the department or the appropriate local agency, the access shall be deemed automatically approved. Thereafter, the route shall be deemed open for access by all other vehicles of the same type regardless of ownership. In lieu of processing an access application, the Department of Transportation or local authorities with respect to highways under their respective jurisdictions may provide signing, mapping, or a listing of highways as necessary to indicate the use of specific routes as terminal access routes. For purposes of this subdivision, “terminal” means either of the following:
(1) A facility where freight originates, terminates, or is handled in the transportation process.
(2) A facility where a motor carrier maintains operating facilities.
(e) Nothing in subdivision (c) or (d) authorizes state or local agencies to require permits of terminal operators or to charge terminal operators fees for the purpose of attaining access for vehicles described in this section.
(f) Notwithstanding subdivision (d), the limitations of access specified in that subdivision do not apply to licensed carriers of household goods when directly en route to or from a point of loading or unloading of household goods, if travel on highways other than those specified in subdivision (a) is necessary and incidental to the shipment of the household goods.
(g) (1) Notwithstanding Sections 35400 and 35401, a combination of vehicles consisting solely of a truck tractor semitrailer combination with a kingpin to rearmost axle measurement limit of not more than 46 feet, a trailer length of not more than 56 feet, and used exclusively or primarily in connection with motorsports, may operate on the routes identified in subdivision (a) as well as on any other routes authorized for that purpose by the Department of Transportation in consultation with the Department of the California Highway Patrol, when issued a permit as set forth in paragraph (3). As used in this subdivision, “motorsports” means an event, and all activities leading up to that event, including, but not limited to, administration, testing, practice, promotion, and merchandising, that is sanctioned under the auspices of the member organizations of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States.
(2) (A) The Department of Transportation shall conduct field tests of the truck tractor semitrailer combination authorized under paragraph (1) for motorsport trucks with a trailer length of not more than 56 feet to evaluate their performance on transition routes connecting to the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.
(B) (i) The Legislature finds and declares that the Department of Transportation established the existing transition routes described in subparagraph (A) based on records from the 1990s.
(ii) The Department of Transportation shall update the transition routes to reflect road projects completed since the 1990s and shall update the transition routes every five years thereafter.
(iii) The Department of Transportation shall develop new transition routes, as necessary, for the truck tractor semitrailer combination authorized under paragraph (1) for motorsport trucks with a trailer length of not more than 56 feet.
(C) The Department of Transportation shall, no later than January 1, 2017, submit a report to the Legislature, in compliance with § 9795 of the Government Code, that includes the results of the field tests for the Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, the Sonoma Raceway, and the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, an overview of the related roadway improvements identified and made, and, in consultation with the Department of the California Highway Patrol, a recommendation as to whether the maximum 56 foot trailer length should be reauthorized.
(D) Notwithstanding § 10231.5 of the Government Code, the requirement for submitting a report under this paragraph is inoperative on January 1, 2019.
(3) Permits for a combination of vehicles consisting solely of a truck tractor semitrailer combination with a kingpin to rearmost axle measurement limit of not more than 46 feet, a trailer length of not more than 56 feet, for use exclusively or primarily in connection with motorsports, to operate on the routes identified in subdivision (a) as well as on any other routes authorized for that purpose, as provided in paragraph (1), shall be issued by the Department of Transportation, pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 35780) of Chapter 5. The permit requirement for travel on a specific route to or from the Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, the Sonoma Raceway, or the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, shall apply only until field tests for each of those raceways by the Department of Transportation determine that no additional projects need to be performed on the specific route, or, if projects are required to be performed on the specific route, until those projects are completed.
(h) The Legislature finds and declares both of the following:
(1) In authorizing the use of 53-foot semitrailers, it is the intent of the Legislature to conform with Section 31111(b)(1)(C) of Title 49 of the United States Code by permitting the continued use of semitrailers of the dimensions as those that were in actual and legal use on December 1, 1982, and does not intend this action to be a precedent for future increases in the parameters of any of those vehicles that would adversely affect the turning maneuverability of vehicle combinations.
(2) In authorizing the department to issue special transportation permits for motorsports, it is the intent of the Legislature to conform with Section 31111(b)(1)(F) of Title 49 of the United States Code. It is also the intent of the Legislature that this action not be a precedent for future increases in the distance from the kingpin to the rearmost axle of semitrailers and trailers that would adversely affect the turning maneuverability of vehicle combinations.
(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 786, Sec. 1. (SB 1175) Effective January 1, 2015.)