Got a ticket in Maryland, REAR OVERHANG EXCEEDS 35%.

i deliver to 2 places in downtown Boston, each night. i too have a 53 footer, and by golly, my tandems are all the way forward, for ALL my night's worth of travel. state troopers pass me all night long, in each state. never been pulled over.

big difference in the city/areas i run i suppose.

 

Maryland is pretty strict on 53 foot trailers especially in the City. If spent all day driving around downtown with his tandems all the way forward he'd be in an accident quickly. Lots of old narrow streets and tons of moronic four wheelers.

"MARYLAND TRUCK ROUTE SYSTEM The following vehicle combinations, regardless of the allowable width, are required to operate on the Maryland National Network System of Highways (Refer to the next page for a listing of the System):

• Truck tractor pulling a semi-trailer that exceeds 48 feet in length up to a length not to exceed 53 feet*
• Truck or truck tractor-semi-trailer combination designed for and engaged exclusively in the transportation of automobiles or boats not exceeding 65 feet in length*
• Stinger-steer automobile/boat transporters*
• Saddle mount, or full-mount combinations*
• Maxi-cube combinations*
• Truck tractor-semi-trailer-trailer combinations (doubles)*

*Travel restrictions apply for these vehicle combinations.

Other roads may be used by these combinations only for access to the system provided that they are the shortest practical access route between a highway designated, and a truck terminal, point of origin or destination of cargo. Additionally, truck tractors pulling a semi-trailer exceeding 48’ in length up to a length not to exceed 53’ are restricted to a distance ½ mile off the system to obtain food, fuel, rest, or repairs. The other combinations listed are restricted to a distance of 1 mile off the system to obtain food, fuel, rest, or repairs. Drivers are responsible for complying with these requirements.

Violators will be ticketed and the minimum fine is $520.00. The segment of US 40 from Maryland Route 279 to Maryland Route 152 is a designated route which may be used by the above vehicles for local deliveries and they may not exceed those limitations set forth in “The Maryland TA.”

http://www.sha.maryland.gov/OOTS/motorcarrierhandbook.pdf

 

"3. SEMI-TRAILERS EXCEEDING 48 FEET IN LENGTH UP TO A LENGTH NOT TO EXCEED 53 FEET – OPERATING RESTRICTIONS A person may operate a truck tractor in combination with a semitrailer (single) that exceeds 48 feet in length up to a length not to exceed 53 feet, but travel for this combination is limited to specific routes. Additional restrictions apply. The following conditions apply:

• Travel is restricted to the Maryland National Network System of Highways and the shortest practical route between a designated highway and a truck terminal, port, or point of origin or destination. Refer to Chapter II for approved routes and additional restrictions.
• The wheelbase of the semi-trailer, measured as the distance from the kingpin to the center of the rear tandem axles, may not exceed 41 feet in length.
• The kingpin setback, measured as the distance from the kingpin to the front of the semi-trailer may not exceed 4 feet in length.
• The rear overhang, measured as the distance from the center of the rear tandem axles to the rear of the semitrailer, may not exceed 35 percent of the wheelbase of the semi-trailer.
• The width of the semi-trailer shall be at least 96 inches and not more than 102 inches. 48’– 53’ foot Trailer Length Limit 79
• The distance between the outside edges of the semitrailer’s tires shall be equal to the width of the semi-trailer. a. The semi-trailer shall be equipped with: (1) Vehicle lights which comply with or exceed federal standards; and (2) Reflective material that is consistent with the standards for conspicuity promulgated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration if manufactured after December 31, 1993; and (3) The semi-trailer shall be equipped with a rear under-ride guard of sufficient strength to prevent a motor vehicle from penetrating underneath the semi trailer. Federal Regulations require each trailer and semi-trailer with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more and manufactured after Jan 26, 1998, to meet more stringent standards. Rear underride guards may not be more than:
• 22” from the ground
• 4” from the side of the trailer
• 12” from the rear of the trailer"

 

^^The part bolded in the above post is not applicable to the citation issued. It only points out there is a very limited range to work with in regards to trailer tandem placement. You can be too long and you can be too short. You have to be "just right"

 

He cited him the violation mentioned above because he had his tandems too far forward (less than 41' from the kingpin). The 35 percent detail is directly below it in the manual. It's easy to be "just right". All that means is make sure your tandems are past the 41' mark.

 

Okay but you need to re-read the reg more carefully. The part cited in the ticket is complicated to figure and not related to the MAXIMUM length ("may not exceed")

 

You might heed your own advice. I live here. They do it all the time. I got burned once too by it.

 

same can be said for Boston..old, narrow streets, even Paul Revere on horseback had problems with.

but each area handles things differently

 

Indeed. Gotta love the Northeast! The four wheelers are more of a concern with the tandems too far forward. City cops could care less but the Troopers are trained for that stuff.

 

With a 53 foot trailer and a 4 foot kingpin, then the shortest you can be (KP to CA) is about 39.5 feet. I assume when the say wheel base, they mean King pin to center of trailer axle group.

A good example (53 feet - 4 feet king pin) - (KP to CA ("wheel base") of 39.5 ft) gives a 13.5 feet "overhang" which is 34% of the KP to CA wheel base distance. Any shorter tandem placement leads to more overhang which is a larger percentage of the "wheelbase".

39 feet wheelbase translates to 35.9%

Another bad example: (53 feet - 4 feet king pin) - (KP to CA ("wheel base") of 38.0 ft) gives a 15.0 feet "overhang" which is 39.5% of the KP to CA wheel base distance. I hope I formulated that out right.

And the longest you can be as stated in the other reg is 41.0 feet (KP to CSA)

Not a lot of lee way.