Truck and trailer rules in Rhode Island: licence line, trailer brakes, size and weight limits

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The sources are sections of the Rhode Island General Laws published by the Rhode Island Legislature: chapter 31-10.3 on the Uniform Commercial Driver's License Act, chapter 31-23 on equipment and accessories and chapter 31-25 on size, weight and load limits. 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	Combination or vehicle rated 26,001 pounds or more; towed unit over 10,000 pounds; 16 or more passengers; hazardous materials
Licence classes	Set by state regulation or 49 CFR part 383, not listed in the chapter
Trailer brakes	Trailer or semi-trailer of 4,000 pounds gross or more; applied from the cab; automatic on breakaway
Width, height	102 inches wide; 162 inches high
Length	40 feet single vehicle; 53 feet semi-trailer; three units at most
Drawbar	Not more than 15 feet between towing and towed vehicle, with named exceptions
Weight	22,400 pounds on an axle; 36,000 pounds tandem; 80,000 pounds gross

The commercial vehicle line and licence classes

Section 31-10.3-3 defines a commercial motor vehicle as a motor vehicle or combination used to carry passengers or property that has a gross combination weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more with a towed unit rated over 10,000 pounds, or a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more, that is designed to carry 16 or more passengers including the driver, or that carries hazardous materials as the section defines them. Section 31-10.3-14 says the department must mark the licence with the class or type of vehicles the licensee may drive, with classifications, endorsements and restrictions defined by state regulation or 49 CFR part 383. It sets 21 as the minimum age, or 18 for intrastate operations other than school buses and placarded vehicles. Section 31-10.3-3 names the administrator as the chief executive of the Division of Motor Vehicles, an agency within the Department of Revenue. See section 31-10.3-3 on definitions and section 31-10.3-14 on classes and endorsements.

Brakes

Section 31-23-4 requires every motor vehicle other than a motorcycle to have brakes adequate to control, stop and hold it, with two separate means of applying them, each effective on at least two wheels. Every trailer or semi-trailer with a gross weight of 4,000 pounds or more must have brakes adequate to control, stop and hold it, designed to be applied by the driver of the towing vehicle from the driver's normal operating position, and connected so that the brakes apply automatically if the towed vehicle breaks away. A new motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer sold in the state must have service brakes on all wheels, except that a semi-trailer under 4,000 pounds gross need not have brakes. Every motor vehicle, trailer, semi-trailer and pole trailer, and any combination of them, needs parking brakes able to hold the vehicle on any grade where it is operated under all conditions of loading. See section 31-23-4 on brake equipment.

Width, height, length and the connection between vehicles

Section 31-25-3 limits the total outside width of a vehicle or its load to 102 inches, leaving out safety and non-cargo appurtenances on motorized campers and camping recreational vehicles, and fines a carrier US$100 per inch or portion over. Section 31-25-4 limits height with load to 162 inches, with a fine of US$500 per inch or portion over. Section 31-25-5 limits a single vehicle and its load to 40 feet overall, or 45 feet for a motor bus, motorized camper or camping recreational vehicle, with a fine of US$200 per foot or portion over.

Section 31-25-6 allows no more than three coupled units, a truck-tractor, semi-trailer and trailer, and allows three-unit combinations only on the interstate and on roads the director of transportation designates. A semi-trailer may not exceed 53 feet, the distance from kingpin to the centre of the rear axle may not exceed 41 feet, and 53 foot trailers need a rear-end protection device. When a truck-tractor, semi-trailer and trailer are used together, the trailer and the semi-trailer may each be no longer than 28 feet 6 inches. Section 31-25-11 says that when one vehicle tows another, the drawbar or other connection must be strong enough to pull all the weight towed and may not be longer than 15 feet between the vehicles, except for the connection between two vehicles carrying poles, pipe, machinery or other structural objects that cannot readily be taken apart. See section 31-25-3 on width, section 31-25-5 on length and section 31-25-6 on coupled vehicles.

Weight

Section 31-25-13 limits the gross weight imposed on the highway by the wheels of any one axle to 22,400 pounds, and defines an axle load as the load carried by all wheels whose centres lie between two vertical planes 40 inches apart. Section 31-25-14 makes it unlawful to run a tandem-axle vehicle whose axles weigh more than 36,000 pounds when the axle spacing is 8 feet or less. For a group of two or more consecutive axles the overall gross weight follows a bridge formula in the section, and the gross weight of a vehicle or combination may not exceed 80,000 pounds except as sections 31-25-1, 31-25-2 and 31-25-21 allow. The fine is US$125 per 100 pounds or portion over for a tandem or single axle limit. See section 31-25-13 on axle load and section 31-25-14 on maximum weight and tandem axles.