Truck and trailer rules in Virginia: brakes, size limits and the commercial licence line

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 Code of Virginia, published by the Virginia General Assembly. 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
Licence line	Commercial motor vehicle at a weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more, or a combination of 26,001 pounds or more with a towed vehicle rated over 10,000 pounds
Trailer brake weight	Brakes operated by the driver of the towing vehicle on a trailer with an actual gross weight of 3,000 pounds or more
Stopping distance	40 feet from 20 miles per hour for trucks and for all combinations
Width	102 inches, mirror excluded
Length	40 feet for a motor vehicle; 65 feet for a coupled combination
Carrier number	Not published on the pages read

The commercial licence line

Section 46.2-341.4 is the definitions section for the state's commercial driver's licence article. It defines a commercial motor vehicle as a motor vehicle or combination of vehicles used to transport passengers or property that has a gross vehicle weight or weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more, whichever is greater. A combination is covered when its gross combination weight or rating is 26,001 pounds or more and it includes a towed vehicle with a gross vehicle weight or rating of more than 10,000 pounds. A vehicle designed to carry 16 or more passengers including the driver is covered, and so is a vehicle of any size used to transport hazardous materials as the section defines them. The section adds that such a vehicle counts whether or not it is used in a commercial or profit-making activity. Exclusions follow, including a vehicle an individual uses solely for personal purposes and certain farm vehicles. See section 46.2-341.4 on definitions.

Trailer brakes

Section 46.2-1070 says every semitrailer, trailer or separate vehicle attached by a drawbar, chain or coupling to a towing vehicle, with an actual gross weight of 3,000 pounds or more, must be equipped with brakes controlled or operated by the driver of the towing vehicle. The brakes must meet section 46.2-1067 and be of a type the Superintendent approves. Farm trailers hauling raw agricultural produce from farm to farm or to a packing shed within the normal growing area are exempt, as are trailers drawn by a properly licensed motor vehicle that are themselves exempt from registration. The section counts the vehicle plus the load on it as the gross weight. A vehicle towed for repairs, repossession or an emergency, or one moved by a tow truck with two wheels off the ground, is outside the section. See section 46.2-1070 on brakes on trailers.

Section 46.2-1067 sets how far the service brakes may take to stop. On a dry, hard, approximately level road free of loose material, at 20 miles per hour, the limits are 40 feet for buses, trucks and tractor trucks, 40 feet for all combinations of vehicles and 25 feet for passenger vehicles. See section 46.2-1067 on stopping distances. Section 46.2-1068 says every motor vehicle and combination, except motorcycles and autocycles, must have emergency or parking brakes adequate to hold on any grade where it is operated, under all conditions of loading, on a surface free from snow, ice or loose material. See section 46.2-1068 on parking brakes. The pages read do not mention a breakaway device or safety chains by those words.

Width and length

Section 46.2-1105 says no vehicle, including any load on it, may exceed a total outside width of 102 inches, excluding the required mirror and a warning device on a school bus. A travel trailer or motor home may pass 102 inches by an appurtenance that extends no more than six inches beyond the body. See section 46.2-1105 on vehicle width.

Section 46.2-1112 says no motor vehicle longer than 40 feet may be operated on a highway in the state, except buses and motor homes. The actual length of any combination of vehicles coupled together, with any load, may not exceed 65 feet. A tractor truck and semitrailer combination may be longer if the semitrailer is no more than 53 feet and the distance from the kingpin to the rearmost axle, or to a point midway between rear tandem axles, is no more than 41 feet. The section allows no tolerance over 12 inches. The Commissioner may issue a special permit for a combination over 65 feet, or where the object cannot be moved another way, and an engineering analysis of the proposed route comes first. See section 46.2-1112 on vehicle length.