Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1992 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of "Application" the following definition:-

"Articulated bus", a bus consisting of two units, connected in such a way as to permit the safe and convenient passage of passengers while allowing the bus to bend and have some vertical movement at the pivot point, with the design capability of being locked at the pivot point.

SECTION 2. Said section 1 of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the definition of "Routes of reasonable access" the following definition:-

"Saddlemount combination", a combination of vehicles in which a truck tractor tows one or more trucks or truck tractors, each connected by a saddle to the frame or fifth wheel of the vehicle in front of it. The saddle is a mechanism which connects the front axle of the towed vehicle to the frame or fifth wheel of the vehicle in front and functions like a fifth wheel kingpin connection. When two vehicles are towed in this manner the combination is called a double saddlemount combination and when three vehicles are so towed the combination is called a triple saddlemount combination. Such combinations may include one fullmount.

SECTION 3. Said section 1 of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the definition of "Farming" the following definition:-

"Fullmount", a smaller vehicle mounted completely on the frame of either the first or last vehicle in a saddlemount combination.

SECTION 4. Section 19 of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

Except as otherwise provided in sections nineteen F and nineteen G, or when a vehicle has been authorized by permit to transport an irreducible load, the following provisions shall apply:

No motor vehicle or trailer, the outside width of which is more than one hundred and two inches or the extreme overall length of which is more than thirty-three feet, or in the case of a truck, auto home or house trailer, forty feet, or in the case of a moter bus, forty-five feet, or in the case of an articulated bus, sixty feet, or in the case of a traditional automobile transporter, a traditional boat transporter and a truck-trailer boat transporter, sixty-five feet not including load overhang which shall not exceed three feet beyond the foremost part of the front transporting vehicle or more than four feet beyond the rear bed of the body, or in the case of a stringer-steered automobile transporter or stringer-steered boat transporter, seventy-five feet not including load overhang which shall not exceed three feet beyond the foremost part of the front transporting vehicle or more than four feet beyond the rear bed of the body, or in the case of a semi-trailer in a semi-trailer unit or trailer in a tractor-trailer unit, forty-eight feet, or in the case of a semi-trailer or trailer in tandem unit, twenty-eight feet, or in the case of semi-trailers in a B-train assembly unit, twenty-eight feet, such a length being exclusive of the B-train assembly when being used between the first and second semi-trailer, but the B-train assembly is to be included in the length measure of the semi-trailer when no second semi-trailer is mounted on the B-train assembly with the length limitation of the semi-trailer to be forty-eight feet in that instance, or in the case of a driveaway saddlemount with fullmount vehicle transporter combination including double and triple saddlemount combinations conforming to safety regulations at 49 CFR 393.71, seventy-five feet, shall be operated on any way without a special permit so to operate from the board or officer having charge of such way, or in the case of a state highway or a way determined by the department of highways to be a through route, from said department. The lengths of semi-trailers or trailers operating under the provisions of this section shall be inclusive of load-holding devices and exclusive of safety devices without load-holding capacity. The overall length of any vehicle and trailer combination or semi-trailer combination or any driveaway saddlemount vehicle or fullmount vehicle transporter combination or of any house trailer and tow vehicle combination authorized to operate under this section shall not exceed sixty feet except as otherwise specifically authorized by this section or authorized by special permit as aforesaid; provided, however that no overall length limitation shall apply to semi-trailer units or tractor-trailer units when the trailer or semi-trailer in such units does not exceed forty-eight feet, or to tandem units or B-train assembly units when the trailer or semi-trailer in such units does not exceed twenty-eight feet. The one hundred and two inches width provided in this section shall be exclusive of load-induced tire bulge, rearview mirrors, turn signal lamps, hand-holds for cab entry and egress and splash and spray suppressant devices; provided, however, that such mirrors and other devices are mounted so as not to cause a hazard to pedestrians on or adjacent to any way. Other safety devices which the department determines are necessary for the safe and efficient operation of motor vehicles shall not be included in the calculation of the one hundred and two inches width specified in this section; provided, however, that such other safety devices may be so mounted and so extend beyond the permitted width only in such manner and to such extent as determined by the department, but in no event shall such safety device extend more than three inches beyond the maximum vehicle width on each side. For the purposes of this section, all appurtenances at the front or rear of a commercial motor vehicle, semi-trailer, or trailer, whose functions relate to the safe and efficient operation of such vehicle, semi-trailer, or trailer, shall be excluded from the length computation of such vehicle, semi-trailer or trailer; provided, however, that such appurtenances shall not be designed or used for carrying cargo. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section authorizing operation of vehicles on ways within the commonwealth, the department for specific safety reasons, may declare individual ways, unavailable for through-route travel by particular vehicles, provided signs are erected to indicate such vehicle exclusions.

Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, the combined overall length of a pole dolly or pole dickey and the load being carried thereon may, while being used for transportation of poles or single units of lumber or metal, exceed forty-eight feet, but the overall length when considered in combination with the motor vehicle accompanying it shall not exceed sixty-five feet or, in the case of an electric company as defined in chapter one hundred and sixty-four, seventy-five feet, without a special permit as provided for in this paragraph.

SECTION 5. The second paragraph of said section 19 of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the last sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- Unless otherwise specifically authorized by law, no motor vehicle shall be operated on any way to draw more than one trailer or other vehicle without a permit so to operate from the department of highways.

SECTION 6. Section nineteen C of said chapter ninety is hereby repealed.

SECTION 7. Section 19F of said chapter 90, as appearing in the 1992 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 7 and 8, the words "as designated by the department" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- authorized.

SECTION 8. Said section 19F of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word "nineteen G:", in line 8, the following words:- motor buses not exceeding forty-five feet in length; articulated buses not exceeding sixty feet in length;.

SECTION 9. Said section 19F of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 27, the words "the provisions of section nineteen C or".

SECTION 10. Said section 19F of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 34, the words "as designated by the department" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- authorized.

SECTION 11. Said section 19F of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word "box", in line 77, the following words:- , deck or plate.

SECTION 12. Said section 19F of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the last paragraph.

SECTION 13. Said chapter 90 is hereby further amended by striking out section 19G, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 19G. A motor vehicle authorized to operate on the National Network under the provisions of section nineteen F, and which is not authorized by section nineteen to operate without permit on ways within the commonwealth, may be authorized to operate on routes of reasonable access, as defined in section one, as follows:

the operator of any terminal, or the owner, lessee or operator of any vehicle, may request in writing to the department a specific route of reasonable access. Such requested route of reasonable access shall be deemed approved by the department if the department does not disapprove it in writing and for specific reasons of safety within ninety days of receipt of said request. Although a requested route may be established, it shall remain subject to disapproval or alteration in writing by the department at any time for specific safety reasons. A conclusive safety evaluation of a requested route shall be based on the application of templates to the route configurations for purposes of determining if such route is capable of safely accommodating the operating characteristics of the particular type of vehicle or, where a statistical record has been established, may be based on verifiable accident frequency.