Truck and trailer rules in West Virginia: licence classes, 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 West Virginia Code published by the West Virginia Legislature: article 1 of chapter 17E on commercial driver's licenses, article 15 of chapter 17C on vehicle equipment and article 17 of chapter 17C on size, weight and load. 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 rated 26,001 pounds or more with a towed unit over 10,000 pounds; vehicle rated 26,001 pounds or more; 16 or more passengers; any size carrying hazardous materials
Class A	Combination rated 26,001 pounds or more, towed vehicle over 10,000 pounds
Class B	Single vehicle rated 26,001 pounds or more, or towing a vehicle not over 10,000 pounds
Trailer brakes	Trailer or semitrailer of 3,000 pounds gross or more; applied from the cab; automatic on breakaway
Drawbar	Not over 15 feet between vehicles; white flag of 12 inches square on a chain, rope or cable
Width, height	96 inches wide; 13 feet 6 inches high
Length	40 feet motor vehicle; 55 feet combination of two units
Weight	20,000 pounds single axle; 60,000 pounds gross for a single unit truck with one steering axle and two axles in tandem, off the interstate; 80,000 pounds for five-axle combinations, with a 10 percent tolerance

The commercial vehicle line and licence classes

Section 17E-1-3 defines a commercial motor vehicle as one designed or used to carry passengers or property that has a gross combination weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more including a towed unit rated over 10,000 pounds, has a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more, is designed to carry 16 or more passengers including the driver, or is of any size and carries hazardous materials. Section 17E-1-12 sets the classes. Class A, the combination vehicle, is any combination with a gross combined vehicle weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more where the towed vehicle is rated over 10,000 pounds. Class B, the heavy straight vehicle, is any single vehicle rated 26,001 pounds or more and any vehicle towing a vehicle not over 10,000 pounds. Class C, the small vehicle, covers vehicles that fall under neither class but are built for 16 or more passengers or carry placarded hazardous materials. A driver who has passed the Class A knowledge and skills test may drive Class B and C vehicles with the required endorsements. See section 17E-1-3 on definitions and section 17E-1-12 on classifications.

Brakes and towed vehicles

Section 17C-15-31 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 semitrailer of a gross weight of 3,000 pounds or more must have brakes adequate to control, stop and hold it, made so the driver of the towing vehicle can apply them from its cab, and connected so that on an accidental breakaway the brakes apply automatically. A new motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer sold in the state needs service brakes on all wheels, with exceptions including a semitrailer under 1,500 pounds gross. Parking brakes must hold the vehicle on any grade where it is operated. The section also sets a stopping distance of 30 feet from 20 miles per hour for vehicles with brakes on all wheels, and 40 feet for those without. See section 17C-15-31 on brakes.

Section 17C-17-7 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 exceed 15 feet from one vehicle to the other, except the connection between two vehicles carrying poles, pipe, machinery or other structural objects that cannot readily be taken apart. When the connection is a chain, rope or cable, a white flag or cloth of not less than 12 inches square must be displayed on it. See section 17C-17-7 on trailers and towed vehicles.

Width, height and length

Section 17C-17-2 limits the total outside width of a vehicle or its load to 96 inches, leaving out safety equipment authorized by the United States Department of Transportation. A vehicle 102 inches wide may be operated on highways designated by the federal department or the commissioner of highways. Section 17C-17-4 limits height with load to 13 feet 6 inches, and makes the owner responsible for damage to a bridge, highway structure or traffic control device where clearance is less. A motor vehicle with its load may not exceed 40 feet overall, including bumpers. A combination may not have more than two units or exceed 55 feet, with listed exceptions such as saddle-mount drive-away combinations up to 75 feet, and the commissioner may designate a combination length up to 70 feet. Longer semitrailer lengths apply on the interstate and designated routes, where a semitrailer may reach 48 feet, or 53 feet with an axle spacing of not more than 37 feet. See section 17C-17-2 on width and section 17C-17-4 on height and length.

Weight

Section 17C-17-8 limits the gross weight imposed by the wheels of any one axle to 20,000 pounds, and defines an axle load as the load carried by wheels whose centres lie between two vertical planes 40 inches apart. Section 17C-17-8a sets a tandem-axle limit of 34,000 pounds on the interstate. Section 17C-17-9, headed as covering the national system of interstate and defense highways, gives a table of the maximum load on a group of two or more consecutive axles by the distance between the first and last axle, and says no vehicle or combination may exceed 65,000 pounds gross, except that vehicles on the interstate and on highways giving reasonable access to terminals and facilities for food, fuel, repairs and rest may not exceed 80,000 pounds. Two consecutive sets of tandem axles may carry 34,000 pounds each if the distance between the first and last axles is 36 feet or more. Section 17C-17-9a covers highways other than the interstate. Subject to the single-axle limit, it limits a single unit truck with one steering axle and two tandem axles to 60,000 pounds, one with three tridem axles to 70,000 pounds and one with four quadem axles to 73,000 pounds, and a five-axle tractor-semitrailer combination, or a combination of such a truck with a two-axle trailer, to 80,000 pounds, each with a tolerance of ten percent. Section 17C-17-11 covers permits for excess size and weight. See section 17C-17-8 on single-axle load, section 17C-17-9 on interstate gross weight and section 17C-17-9a on gross weight elsewhere.