Longer combination vehicles - Ohio

Combination: Truck tractor and 2 trailing units—LCV

LENGTH OF THE CARGO–CARRYING UNITS: 102 feet

MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE GROSS WEIGHT: 127,400 pounds

OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS: Long double combination vehicles are only allowed on that portion of Ohio’s Interstate System which is under the jurisdiction of the Ohio Turnpike Commission (OTC). These same vehicles are not allowed on any portion of the Interstate System under the jurisdiction of the Ohio DOT.

WEIGHT: The OTC has established the following provisions for operation:

Maximum Weight: Single axle = 21,000 pounds; tandem axle spaced 4 feet or less apart = 24,000 pounds; tandem axle spaced more than 4 feet but less than 8 feet apart = 34,000 pounds; gross weight for doubles 90 feet or less in length = 90,000 pounds; gross weight for doubles over 90 feet but less than 112 feet in length = 127,400 pounds.

DRIVER: The driver must have a commercial driver’s license with the appropriate endorsement, be over 26 years of age, in good health, and shall have not less than 5 years of experience driving tractor–trailer or tractor–short double trailer motor vehicles. Such driving experience shall include experience throughout the four seasons. Drivers must comply with the applicable current requirements of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, Federal Hazardous Materials Regulations, and the Economic and Safety regulations of the Ohio Public Utility Commission.

VEHICLE: Vehicles being operated under permit at night must be equipped with all lights and reflectors required by the Ohio Public Utilities Commission and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, except that the trailer shall be equipped with two red tail lights and two red or amber stop lights mounted with one set on each side. Trailer and semitrailer length for doubles cannot exceed 48 feet, and mixed trailer length combinations are not allowed for combination vehicles over 90 feet in length. Combined cargo–carrying length, including the trailer hitch, cannot be less than 80 feet or more than 102 feet. The number of axles on a double shall be a minimum of five and a maximum of nine. A tractor used in the operation of a double shall be capable of hauling the maximum weight at a speed of not less than 40 miles per hour on all portions of the Turnpike.

PERMIT: A special permit is required if the vehicle is over 102 inches wide, 14 feet high, or 65 feet in length including overhang. Tractor–semitrailer–semitrailer combinations require a permit if over 75 feet in length, excluding an allowed 3–foot front overhang and a 4–foot rear overhang. For vehicles over 120 inches wide, 14 feet high, or 80 feet long or if any unit of the combination vehicle is over 60 feet in length, travel is restricted to daylight hours Monday through noon Saturday, except holidays and the day before and after holidays. Operators are restricted to daylight driving if the load overhang is more than 4 feet. A “Long Double Trailer Permit” issued by the OTC is required for operation of doubles in excess of 90 feet in length. Towing units and coupling devices shall have sufficient structural strength to ensure safe operation. Vehicles and coupling devices shall be so designed, constructed, and installed in a double as to ensure that any towed vehicles when traveling on a level, smooth paved surface will follow in the path of the towing vehicle without shifting or swerving more than 3 inches to either side of the path of the towing vehicle when the latter is moving in a straight line. Vehicle coupling devices and brakes shall meet the requirements of the Ohio Public Utilities Commission and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. The distance between the rearmost axle of a semitrailer and the front axle of the next semitrailer in a coupled double unit shall not exceed 12 feet 6 inches. In no event shall the distance between the semitrailers coupled in a double exceed 9 feet. Double and triple trailer combinations must be equipped with adequate, properly maintained spray–suppressant mud flaps on all axles except the steering axle. In the event that the gross weights of the trailers vary by more than 20 percent, they shall be coupled according to their gross weights with the heavier trailer forward. A minimum distance of 500 feet shall be maintained between double units and/or triple units except when overtaking and passing another vehicle. A double shall remain in the right–hand, outside lane except when passing or when emergency or work–zone conditions exist. When, in the opinion of the OTC, the weather conditions are such that operation of a double is inadvisable, the OTC will notify the permittee that travel is prohibited for a certain period of time.

Class A and B explosives; Class A poisons; and Class 1, 2, and 3 radioactive material cannot be transported in double trailer combinations. Other hazardous materials may be transported in one trailer of a double. The hazardous materials should be placed in the front trailer unless doing so will result in the second trailer weighing more than the first trailer.

ACCESS: Tandem trailer units shall not leave the Turnpike right–of–way and shall be assembled and disassembled only in designated areas located at Exits 4, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, and 16.

ROUTES:

LEGAL CITATIONS: Statutory authority, as contained in Chapter 5537 of the Ohio Revised Code, to regulate the dimensions and weights of vehicles using the Turnpike.

Combination: Truck tractor and 3 trailing units—LCV

LENGTH OF THE CARGO–CARRYING UNITS: 95 feet

MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE GROSS WEIGHT: 115,000 pounds

OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS: Same as the OH–TT2 combination, except as follows:

WEIGHT: Gross weight for triples with an overall length greater than 90 feet but not over 105 feet in length = 115,000 pounds.

DRIVER: The driver must have a commercial driver’s license with the appropriate endorsement, be over 26 years of age, in good health, and shall have not less than 5 years of experience driving double trailer combination units. Such driving experience shall include experience throughout the four seasons. Each driver must have special training on triple combinations to be provided by the Permittee.

VEHICLE: Triple trailer combination vehicles are allowed to operate on the Turnpike provided the combination vehicle is at least 90 feet long but less than 105 feet long and each trailer is not more than 28.5 feet in length. The minimum number of axles on the triple shall be seven and the maximum is nine.

PERMIT: A triple trailer permit to operate on the Turnpike is required for triple trailer combinations in excess of 90 feet in length. There is an annual fee for the permit. Class A and B explosives; Class A poisons; and Class 1, 2, and 3 radioactive material cannot be transported in triple trailer combinations. Other hazardous materials may be transported in two trailers of a triple. The hazardous materials should be placed in the front two trailers unless doing so will result in the third trailer weighing more than either one of the lead trailers.

ACCESS: With two exceptions, triple trailer units shall not leave the Turnpike right–of–way and shall be assembled and disassembled only in designated areas located at Exits 4, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, and 16. The first exception is that triple trailer combinations are allowed on State Route 21 from I–80 Exit 11 (Ohio Turnpike) to a terminal located approximately 500 feet to the north in the town of Richfield. The second exception is for a segment of State Route 7 from Ohio Turnpike Exit 16 to 1 mile south.

ROUTES:

LEGAL CITATIONS: Same as the OH–TT2 combination.