Truck and trailer rules in Kansas: commercial vehicle line, brakes, size and weight limits

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. All of the sources are sections of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, chapter 8 on automobiles and other vehicles, published by the Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Federal background and the other places are on the parent page, trucks and trailers for tree work.

At a glance

Item	What the sources say
Commercial motor vehicle	Gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more, or a lesser rating set by the secretary but no stricter than the federal rule
Brakes	Service brakes that stop a vehicle or combination within 40 feet from 20 miles per hour; parking brake that holds on any grade; no trailer weight line in the section read
Safety chain	Not published on the pages read
Width, height	8 1/2 feet wide; 14 feet high
Length	45 feet motor vehicle; 65 feet for a combination, with listed exceptions
Weight	10,000 pounds on a wheel; 20,000 pounds on an axle; 34,000 pounds on tandem axles; a table by axle spacing for longer groups
Penalty for size or weight	Fine not over US$500 for most size violations; a separate schedule for the weight sections

The commercial vehicle line

K.S.A. 8-2,128, in the Uniform Commercial Driver's License Act, defines a commercial motor vehicle as a motor vehicle designed or used to carry passengers or property that has a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds, or a lesser rating the secretary sets by rule but not stricter than the federal regulation. A vehicle designed to carry 16 or more passengers including the driver, and one carrying hazardous materials that must be placarded under 49 CFR part 172 subpart F, also count. The section read does not set out class letters. See K.S.A. 8-2,128 on definitions.

Brakes

K.S.A. 8-1734 says every motor vehicle and every combination must have a service brake system able to stop it within 40 feet from 20 miles per hour on a level, dry, smooth, hard surface, and a parking brake system able to hold it on any grade where it is operated, whatever the load. The secretary of transportation may require additional braking systems when necessary for the safe operation of a class of vehicles. The section read names no trailer weight at which separate trailer brakes begin. See K.S.A. 8-1734 on braking systems.

Width, height and length

K.S.A. 8-1902 says the total outside width of a vehicle or its load may not exceed 8 1/2 feet, with exceptions including bales of hay up to 12 feet wide and safety devices the secretary lists. K.S.A. 8-1904 says no vehicle including its load may exceed 14 feet in height, and no motor vehicle including its load may exceed 45 feet in length excluding bumpers. A combination of vehicles coupled together may not exceed 65 feet in total, apart from listed cases. The length limit for a motor vehicle does not apply to a truck tractor, and a semitrailer in a truck tractor combination may not exceed 59 1/2 feet. A semitrailer or trailer in a combination of truck tractor, semitrailer and trailer may not exceed 28 1/2 feet. Subsection (e) leaves the semitrailer and trailer length limits off for daytime transport of poles, pipe, machinery or other objects of structural nature that cannot readily be taken apart. See K.S.A. 8-1902 on width and 8-1904 on height and length.

Weight and penalties

K.S.A. 8-1908 says the gross weight on any wheel may not exceed 10,000 pounds, on any one axle 20,000 pounds, and on tandem axles 34,000 pounds. Tandem axles are two or more consecutive axles spaced not less than 40 inches and not more than 96 inches apart. K.S.A. 8-1909 sets the gross weight on a group of two or more consecutive axles by a table of maximum loads by the distance between the extremes of the group and the number of axles. K.S.A. 8-1901 makes it unlawful to move a vehicle over the size and weight limits of article 19, says most violations carry a fine not over US$500 and that a violation of 8-1908 or 8-1909 follows the fine schedules of K.S.A. 8-2118. See K.S.A. 8-1908 on wheel and axle weight.