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With all due respect to the race teams, they should know what the laws are before you buy something that will get you in trouble. Just because Indiana ignores their own laws, doesn't mean another state has too. I agree California is making it hard, but maybe the teams have been warned before and they have gotten tired of it.

Partially what is wrong with this country is selective enforcement of laws depending on who you are.

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With all due respect to the race teams, they should know what the laws are before you buy something that will get you in trouble. Just because Indiana ignores their own laws, doesn't mean another state has too. I agree California is making it hard, but maybe the teams have been warned before and they have gotten tired of it.

Partially what is wrong with this country is selective enforcement of laws depending on who you are.

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better yet just screw CA. just refuse to race there

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Why would any race team buy a trailer that is know to be illegal ?

This same problem has been going on for years, you figure by now they would all meat the law to the inch

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Why would any race team buy a trailer that is know to be illegal ?

This same problem has been going on for years, you figure by now they would all meat the law to the inch

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I really have to agree with Tom on this one. If you have a pro team and know you are going to be travelling all over the U.S. you need to have all your ducks in a row. I know some of these laws are crazy but laws are laws.

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I can't argue with that either. Except that there is a permit process. So give them the permit when they apply. And if someone gets busted for such a minor infraction, give them a fix it it ticket and let them go. Making them miss the race and tow there trailer out of the state on a trailer longer than the one that they are in trouble for is beyond rediculous. I seriously fear for the future of our country when I see stuff like this.

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Why would any race team buy a trailer that is know to be illegal ?

This same problem has been going on for years, you figure by now they would all meat the law to the inch

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I really have to agree with Tom on this one. If you have a pro team and know you are going to be travelling all over the U.S. you need to have all your ducks in a row. I know some of these laws are crazy but laws are laws.

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I can't argue with that either. Except that there is a permit process. So give them the permit when they apply. And if someone gets busted for such a minor infraction, give them a fix it it ticket and let them go. Making them miss the race and tow there trailer out of the state on a trailer longer than the one that they are in trouble for is beyond rediculous. I seriously fear for the future of our country when I see stuff like this.

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Why would any race team buy a trailer that is know to be illegal ?

This same problem has been going on for years, you figure by now they would all meat the law to the inch

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I really have to agree with Tom on this one. If you have a pro team and know you are going to be travelling all over the U.S. you need to have all your ducks in a row. I know some of these laws are crazy but laws are laws.

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I can't argue with that either. Except that there is a permit process. So give them the permit when they apply. And if someone gets busted for such a minor infraction, give them a fix it it ticket and let them go. Making them miss the race and tow there trailer out of the state on a trailer longer than the one that they are in trouble for is beyond rediculous. I seriously fear for the future of our country when I see stuff like this.

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I know it seems like a small thing to those that aren't familar with CalTrans (or any states DoT for that matter) and trucking, but it's actually a big deal. Even if your trailer is 53', your tandoms have to be positioned correctly as well.

I hate to say it, but if you contact CalTrans and they tell you there's no permit and not to come into the state with that trailer and you ignore them and come anyways you deserve what they do to you.

Racers all know this is a problem but choose to thumb their noses at DoT and buy overlength trailers that they know are illegal. I personally don't feel sorry for them and they need to be shown that they aren't above the law. There's enough room in a 53' trailer. This isn't about neccessity with the 56' trailers, it's about ego and keeping up with the jones.

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With all due respect to the race teams, they should know what the laws are before you buy something that will get you in trouble. Just because Indiana ignores their own laws, doesn't mean another state has too. I agree California is making it hard, but maybe the teams have been warned before and they have gotten tired of it.

Partially what is wrong with this country is selective enforcement of laws depending on who you are.

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better yet just screw CA. just refuse to race there

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CA,NY, and others just kill peeps with rules!

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With all due respect to the race teams, they should know what the laws are before you buy something that will get you in trouble. Just because Indiana ignores their own laws, doesn't mean another state has too. I agree California is making it hard, but maybe the teams have been warned before and they have gotten tired of it.

Partially what is wrong with this country is selective enforcement of laws depending on who you are.

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better yet just screw CA. just refuse to race there

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and 1 better just refuse to live there you couldn't pay me enough to live in that screwed up communist state. LOL

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Why would any race team buy a trailer that is know to be illegal ?

This same problem has been going on for years, you figure by now they would all meat the law to the inch

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With all due respect to the race teams, they should know what the laws are before you buy something that will get you in trouble. Just because Indiana ignores their own laws, doesn't mean another state has too. I agree California is making it hard, but maybe the teams have been warned before and they have gotten tired of it.

Partially what is wrong with this country is selective enforcement of laws depending on who you are.

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better yet just screw CA. just refuse to race there

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Your joking, right? The track where the last race of the season occurs, and you're going to tell your sponsors, "I ain't a gonna' go. Those gol' dang troopers can read a tape measure." Really?

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In the thread on YB about this there was a really good post from a guy who owns a trucking company in CA explaining the law and why Torrence couldn't get a permit. A lot of the issue was that the axles on the trailer are too far back from the kingpin, and overall length.

He would have been fine if he would have kept his mouth shut and hired a day cab to pull his trailer from the state line to Pomona.

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I am wondering why only one team was affected.

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With all due respect to the race teams, they should know what the laws are before you buy something that will get you in trouble.

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I am wondering why only one team was affected.

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READ the O/P:

The word I'm getting from the Left Coast is there are 67 trailers sitting at the Fairplex which are over-length. And the word is going around CalTrans will be sitting at the gates, Sunday afternoon. NHRA claims they have tried to find a work-around with CalTrans, but CalTrans says they are not going to adjust a long-standing law. If racers want to come to Cali with a 56' trailer, they're either going to have to transport it from the state line to race track on a lowboy, or they are going to have to haul everything in by rail. You can haul a 56' trailer around on the streets of Pomona, but you cannot haul it down the freeway.

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But isn't the lowboy over 56ft long and now it's over height , how do they get it out of the state ?

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That is what is so outragious and rediculous about it. So towing a 56 foot trailer is such a hazzard that it has to be stopped in its tracks and forcibly and immediatly removed from the state. On an even longer trailer.

The law is the law and must be obeyed to the letter? Come on, if that were true every single one of us would be serving life in prison. We all push the limits, because there are too many laws.

3' over-length. Thats 5%. If you were speeding by 5%, say 42 in a 40 zone, should they aprehend you and force you to leave the state?

With thousands of unsolved murders, assalts, robberies, burglaries, etc. happening every month, is this how law enforcement resources should be wasted?

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I am wondering why only one team was affected.

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READ the O/P:

The word I'm getting from the Left Coast is there are 67 trailers sitting at the Fairplex which are over-length. And the word is going around CalTrans will be sitting at the gates, Sunday afternoon. NHRA claims they have tried to find a work-around with CalTrans, but CalTrans says they are not going to adjust a long-standing law. If racers want to come to Cali with a 56' trailer, they're either going to have to transport it from the state line to race track on a lowboy, or they are going to have to haul everything in by rail. You can haul a 56' trailer around on the streets of Pomona, but you cannot haul it down the freeway.

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My question now is how did the other trailers get out of the state?

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I am wondering why only one team was affected.

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READ the O/P:

The word I'm getting from the Left Coast is there are 67 trailers sitting at the Fairplex which are over-length. And the word is going around CalTrans will be sitting at the gates, Sunday afternoon. NHRA claims they have tried to find a work-around with CalTrans, but CalTrans says they are not going to adjust a long-standing law. If racers want to come to Cali with a 56' trailer, they're either going to have to transport it from the state line to race track on a lowboy, or they are going to have to haul everything in by rail. You can haul a 56' trailer around on the streets of Pomona, but you cannot haul it down the freeway.

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My question now is how did the other trailers get out of the state?

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I am wondering why only one team was affected.

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READ the O/P:

The word I'm getting from the Left Coast is there are 67 trailers sitting at the Fairplex which are over-length. And the word is going around CalTrans will be sitting at the gates, Sunday afternoon. NHRA claims they have tried to find a work-around with CalTrans, but CalTrans says they are not going to adjust a long-standing law. If racers want to come to Cali with a 56' trailer, they're either going to have to transport it from the state line to race track on a lowboy, or they are going to have to haul everything in by rail. You can haul a 56' trailer around on the streets of Pomona, but you cannot haul it down the freeway.

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My question now is how did the other trailers get out of the state?

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I really don't see what is so hard to understand here. New 56' semi-trailers are not legal on the Interstate system ANYWHERE as far as federal rules go. A very few states will allow them on STATE highways only but AFAIK those are grandfathered trailers built before the Feds mandated length. The reason California or any other jurisdiction for that matter won't write a special permit for anything other than a specialized trailer (those haulers are seen as just a dry van)is because every freight company on the planet would be hauling 60' trailers around on permits.

It's pretty simple 53' max length, 41' max kingpin.

Kevin

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California even has a different law for this.. That's why they have a split axle..


Length - Combinations: Combination vehicles coupled together, such as a truck tractor and semi-trailer, or a truck tractor, semi-trailer and trailer, are limited to 65 feet, or 75 feet, or may be unlimited depending on the route. In addition, legal trucks in California must not exceed a kingpin-to-rear-axle (KPRA) length of 40 feet . Truck lengths are illustrated on this web page: "Truck Map Legend": http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/trucks/truckmap/truck-legend.pdf. Truck lengths and routes are discussed in more detail in the Caltrans web page: Truck Size & Routes.



Chris..

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They are just so cool!

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hear here!

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I really don't see what is so hard to understand here. New 56' semi-trailers are not legal on the Interstate system ANYWHERE as far as federal rules go. A very few states will allow them on STATE highways only but AFAIK those are grandfathered trailers built before the Feds mandated length. The reason California or any other jurisdiction for that matter won't write a special permit for anything other than a specialized trailer (those haulers are seen as just a dry van)is because every freight company on the planet would be hauling 60' trailers around on permits.

It's pretty simple 53' max length, 41' max kingpin.

Kevin

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(EDIT):


----- Original Message -----
From: Graham Light <glight@nhra.com>
Sent: Thu Oct 27 19:23:08 2011
Subject: California 56' trailer law

As most of you are aware, California Highway Patrol (CHP) has indicated they will actively be enforcing the maximum 53’ trailer law. The problem first surfaced when Bob Tasca’s transporter was cited in route from Sonoma to Seattle. At that time it was believed that an over-length permit could be obtained through Caltrans (California Department of Transportation). On September 28, Bob informed us of the following – “Our permit was rejected in writing and I was told that under no circumstance will they allow a 56 foot trailer into CA. They also made it clear to me that there is no permit available. The head of the DOT was very nice to me but made it clear that the Motorsports law would have to be amended. Since the NASCAR community uses 53 foot trailers they are unaffected. He told me that a trailer caught will be impounded at the scales and have to be loaded on a low boy trailer and truck out of the state.”

Since that time, V Gaines has been working with the National Truckers Association in a lobbying effort to seek a Federal exemption for motorsports. V has made some positive headway, however obtaining a Federal exemption can be a lengthy process, one that certainly will NOT be obtained prior to Pomona (or for that matter, probably not the 2012 Winternationals). Also, there are NO guarantees that obtaining an exemption is even possible.

NHRA has been in communication with the head of the Commercial Division for the CHP and Caltrans, plus has recruited assistance from Joe Sheehy Legislative Director for Congresswoman Grace Napoliano and the Southern California Auto Club (AAA). Congresswoman Napolitano is extremely supportive and has discussed with the Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner of the CHP. The Auto Club’s Tom McKernan, their transportation staff and their Sacramento lobbyist have been very helpful in communication with California legislators, the CHP and Caltrans. We have also solicited assistance from Infineon Raceway and Auto Club Speedway at Fontana in contacting the CHP, Caltrans and State Legislators expressing the importance of the issue as well as how these races benefit the local and state economy. Additionally, the Fairplex at Pomona has also been actively pursuing a resolution to this matter.

In a conference call Tuesday with the head of the CHP Commercial Division, three of his officers and myself, I was alarmed to learn how knowledgeable they are about our activities:

1. They are aware that the NHRA teams are currently in Las Vegas this weekend.

2. They are aware these teams will be travelling to Pomona for the event two weeks later.

3. They identified certain teams that use legal 53’ trailers, and also named others that have 56’ trailers.

4. They are aware that most teams are based in Indianapolis.

5. On Monday, they were on a conference call with the Indiana State Police regarding enforcement of over-length trailers in Indiana. ,



Our efforts to this point have been an attempt to arrive at a short term solution for the Auto Club NHRA Finals. Unfortunately, despite everyone’s efforts, a resolution to the matter has not yet been reached.

• Caltrans is the agency that creates and issues permits. They have made it very clear that permits do NOT exist for this purpose and, at this point, are unwilling to consider creating a permit.

• The CHP’s position is that it is their responsibility to “enforce the law” and the teams responsibility to “comply with the law”. Their opinion is that the law was revised in the late 90’s to accommodate motorsport transporters and there is little willingness on their part to further amend a long standing law (the same law that exists in most other states). They also expressed they are “not supportive of exempting longer trailers”. We do not have a sense as to how aggressively they plan on enforcing this law.

While there is no immediate resolution, the CHP suggested transporting race cars and support equipment in rented legal length trailers - then contract with a transport service to haul the 56’ trailer on a lowboy (permits do exist for this purpose). Another suggestion was to investigate the possibility of shipping the trailers and contents by rail from Las Vegas to Pomona area.

Anything your team could do to use your influence and/or connections to assist in this matter could be beneficial.

Thanks,

Graham

Making less sense..

Their own website says otherwise.. Trailer length... CA Legal---- No Limit

http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/trucks/truckmap/truck-legend.pdf

You CAN'T be over 65' without a permit. The 40' kingpin law.. The 2 things they ticket most.
There's a Motorsport exemption to 46' on the kingpin.


Billy will be talking to V. Gaines to find out more.





Chris..

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Why would any race team buy a trailer that is know to be illegal ?

This same problem has been going on for years, you figure by now they would all meat the law to the inch

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I really have to agree with Tom on this one. If you have a pro team and know you are going to be travelling all over the U.S. you need to have all your ducks in a row. I know some of these laws are crazy but laws are laws.

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I can't argue with that either. Except that there is a permit process. So give them the permit when they apply. And if someone gets busted for such a minor infraction, give them a fix it it ticket and let them go. Making them miss the race and tow there trailer out of the state on a trailer longer than the one that they are in trouble for is beyond rediculous. I seriously fear for the future of our country when I see stuff like this.

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I can't argue with that either. Except that there is a permit process. So give them the permit when they apply. And if someone gets busted for such a minor infraction, give them a fix it it ticket and let them go. Making them miss the race and tow there trailer out of the state on a trailer longer than the one that they are in trouble for is beyond rediculous. I seriously fear for the future of our country when I see stuff like this.

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but what the problem is read this from the first post they tried to get a permit a week before the race and was told no



Steve has reported the following on his Facebook page:

As we were all aware of, many trailers including mine are not in compliance with the laws of california because of length. I called CalTrans last week in efforts of obtaining a permit to avoid any problems with this issue and was notified that there “IS NOT and WILL NOT” be a permit given.

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The fact that he knew he had no permits and was illegal and chose to go anyways shows me that he deserved what he got. He probably couldn't
get permited for the bridge law, not the oal.

Your standard 53' frieght box has sliding tandoms that can be moved to change axle weights and kingpin lenghts. Most car haulers are double drop boxes with fixed tandoms that can't be moved. I'm unsure whether you can get a permit for kingpin lenght or not. I think that they were too long for the bridge law and couldn't get a permit and that may have been the problem.

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Time to bring back the ramp trucks!

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How about run what ya brung...

You want to haul a trailer? 53' pal. No exceptions. Over that requires a permit and escorts.
If you're in the trucking business and go ahead and order a fleet of 56 footers, you better get out because you ain't gonna continue in that business long. EVERONE knows that 53's are the limit.

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OR do it with a trailer that can be permitted, like those lowboys they are using to haul them out...

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The double drops they are using to haul the race haulers are actually extendable trailers either they slide apart or you add sections and bolt them together. It'd be impossible to make an extendable van unless you made it a conestoga and still it would be pretty tough.

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My only thought and/or question,,,,did the others make it out,,or,,are they still setting at the track???

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Why would any race team buy a trailer that is know to be illegal ?

This same problem has been going on for years, you figure by now they would all meat the law to the inch

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stupid question, why make a 56' trailer if they are not legal!?

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Why would any race team buy a trailer that is know to be illegal ?

This same problem has been going on for years, you figure by now they would all meat the law to the inch

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its probably not the trailer length. more so the tractor length.

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No.
There are OAL length laws and trailer length laws.
No limits on tractor size alone.

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Why would any race team buy a trailer that is know to be illegal ?

This same problem has been going on for years, you figure by now they would all meat the law to the inch

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its probably not the trailer length. more so the tractor length.

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No.
There are OAL length laws and trailer length laws.
No limits on tractor size alone.

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Why would any race team buy a trailer that is know to be illegal ?

This same problem has been going on for years, you figure by now they would all meat the law to the inch

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its probably not the trailer length. more so the tractor length.

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No.
There are OAL length laws and trailer length laws.
No limits on tractor size alone.

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I am a little rusty on the laws but as a former OTR driver and truck owner I think I remember a total length law here in Florida and other states?

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