In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation that amends Section 4962 of Title 75 (Vehicles), of the Consolidated Statutes, to help transport factory built housing more safely and cost effectively. The proposed revisions include:
- The first proposed change would clarify a change that was made in 2007 to allow the use of one pilot car for vehicles greater than 13 feet but 14 feet or less in body width, even if the total length of the vehicle or combination, including the load on the combination, exceeds 90 feet but is not in excess of 120 feet. The current law requires a pilot vehicle for any permitted vehicle more than 13 feet in width, and less than 14 feet in width, but a standard transport width is 14 feet, which is currently not permitted.
- The second, proposed change would exempt vehicles from the 1,000 feet restriction when the vehicle is travelling within 2,500 feet of a stop sign, traffic light or any other traffic signal or event that would cause either vehicle to come to a stop. Currently, PA regulations do not allow permitted oversize vehicles to travel within 1,000 feet of another permitted oversize vehicle traveling in the same direction. Due to increased repairs to our roads and bridges, oversized loads are forced off the major highways onto two lanes which pose additional challenges and costs to the industry. One such challenge is complying with convoy regulations. These loads originate from different locations and are transported by different companies, many times during their travel they find themselves travelling through the same location at the same time due to delays caused by road ways with slower speeds, traffic signals, additional construction or narrow roads and bridges. One option to avoid a convoying citation is to pull over. However, areas along the roadways are not built to accommodate 14 or 16 wide loads and these loads are not allowed to leave the permitted route without fear of further violations. Parking these loads on the side of roads presents more of a hazard than having them continue with the flow of traffic even if they are closer than 1000 feet from each other
- Finally, the third change would allow for the transport of multiple sections of homes or a home section and any and all components used to assemble homes to be transported on the same carrier. This is providing the total load does not exceed width, length or height limitations set forth in the permit. This change will allow manufacturers to reduce the amount of carriers needed to ship their homes while at the same time reducing the number of loads travelling the highways. The current law does not permit minor miscellaneous items to be loaded with the permitted load. These items are viewed as not authorized to accompany the load, as they are not authorized under the current law, and cannot be listed on the permit.
Please consider co-sponsoring this very important piece of legislation.
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