Ohio Revised Code
Chapter 5577 | Load Limits on Highways
Section 5577.05 | Prohibition Against Violation.

Effective: July 1, 2013
Latest Legislation: House Bill 51 - 130th General Assembly
(A) No vehicle shall be operated upon the public highways, streets, bridges, and culverts within the state, whose dimensions exceed those specified in this section.
(B) No such vehicle shall have a width in excess of:
(1) One hundred four inches for passenger bus type vehicles operated exclusively within municipal corporations;
(2) One hundred two inches, excluding such safety devices as are required by law, for passenger bus type vehicles operated over freeways, and such other state roads with minimum pavement widths of twenty-two feet, except those roads or portions of roads over which operation of onehundredtwo-inch buses is prohibited by order of the director of transportation;
(3) One hundred thirty-two inches for traction engines;
(4) One hundred two inches for recreational vehicles, excluding safety devices and retracted awnings and other appurtenances of six inches or less in width and except that the director may prohibit the operation of onehundredtwoinch recreational vehicles on designated state highways or portions of highways;
(5) One hundred two inches, including load, for all other vehicles, except that the director may prohibit the operation of onehundredtwo-inch vehicles on such state highways or portions of state highways as the director designates.
(C) No such vehicle shall have a length in excess of:
(1) Sixty-six feet for passenger bus type vehicles and articulated passenger bus type vehicles operated by a regional transit authority pursuant to sections 306.30 to 306.54 of the Revised Code;
(2) Forty-five feet for all other passenger bus type vehicles;
(3) Fifty-three feet for any semitrailer when operated in a commercial tractor-semitrailer combination, with or without load, except that the director may prohibit the operation of any such commercial tractor-semitrailer combination on such state highways or portions of state highways as the director designates.
(4) Twenty-eight and one-half feet for any semitrailer or trailer when operated in a commercial tractor-semitrailer-trailer or commercial tractor-semitrailer-semitrailer combination, except that the director may prohibit the operation of any such commercial tractor-semitrailer-trailer or commercial tractor-semitrailer-semitrailer combination on such state highways or portions of state highways as the director designates;
(5)(a) Ninety-seven feet for drive-away saddlemount vehicle transporter combinations and drive-away saddlemount with fullmount vehicle transporter combinations when operated on any interstate, United States route, or state route, including reasonable access travel on all other roadways for a distance not to exceed one road mile from any interstate, United States route, or state route, not to exceed three saddlemounted vehicles, but which may include one fullmount;
(b) Seventy-five feet for drive-away saddlemount vehicle transporter combinations and drive-away saddlemount with fullmount vehicle transporter combinations, when operated on any roadway not designated as an interstate, United States route, or state route, not to exceed three saddlemounted vehicles, but which may include one fullmount;
(6) Sixty-five feet for any other combination of vehicles coupled together, with or without load, except as provided in divisions (C)(3) and (4), and in division (E) of this section;
(7) Forty-five feet for recreational vehicles;
(8) Fifty feet for all other vehicles except trailers and semitrailers, with or without load.
(D) No such vehicle shall have a height in excess of thirteen feet six inches, with or without load.
(E) An automobile transporter or boat transporter shall be allowed a length of sixty-five feet and a stinger-steered automobile transporter or stinger-steered boat transporter shall be allowed a length of seventy-five feet, except that the load thereon may extend no more than four feet beyond the rear of such vehicles and may extend no more than three feet beyond the front of such vehicles, and except further that the director may prohibit the operation of a stinger-steered automobile transporter, stinger-steered boat transporter, or a B-train assembly on any state highway or portion of any state highway that the director designates.
(F) The widths prescribed in division (B) of this section shall not include side mirrors, turn signal lamps, marker lamps, handholds for cab entry and egress, flexible fender extensions, mud flaps, splash and spray suppressant devices, and load-induced tire bulge.
The width prescribed in division (B)(5) of this section shall not include automatic covering devices, tarp and tarp hardware, and tiedown assemblies, provided these safety devices do not extend more than three inches from each side of the vehicle.
The lengths prescribed in divisions (C)(2) to (8) of this section shall not include safety devices, bumpers attached to the front or rear of such bus or combination, nonproperty carrying devices or components that do not extend more than twenty-four inches beyond the rear of the vehicle and are needed for loading or unloading, B-train assembly used between the first and second semitrailer of a commercial tractor-semitrailer-semitrailer combination, energy conservation devices as provided in any regulations adopted by the secretary of the United States department of transportation, or any noncargo-carrying refrigeration equipment attached to the front of trailers and semitrailers. In special cases, vehicles whose dimensions exceed those prescribed by this section may operate in accordance with rules adopted by the director.
(G) This section does not apply to fire engines, fire trucks, or other vehicles or apparatus belonging to any municipal corporation or to the volunteer fire department of any municipal corporation or used by such department in the discharge of its functions. This section does not apply to vehicles and pole trailers used in the transportation of wooden and metal poles, nor to the transportation of pipes or well-drilling equipment, nor to farm machinery and equipment.
The owner or operator of any vehicle, machinery, or equipment not specifically enumerated in this section but the dimensions of which exceed the dimensions provided by this section, when operating the same on the highways and streets of this state, shall comply with the rules of the director governing such movement that the director may adopt. Sections 119.01 to 119.13 of the Revised Code apply to any rules the director adopts under this section, or the amendment or rescission of the rules, and any person adversely affected shall have the same right of appeal as provided in those sections.
This section does not require the state, a municipal corporation, county, township, or any railroad or other private corporation to provide sufficient vertical clearance to permit the operation of such vehicle, or to make any changes in or about existing structures now crossing streets, roads, and other public thoroughfares in this state.
(H) As used in this section, "recreational vehicle" has the same meaning as in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code.