(a)
(1) No single truck operated on the highways of this state, unladen or with load, shall have an overall length in excess of forty feet (40').
(2) Provided, any single truck, unladen or with load, utilized to transport compacted seed cotton from the farm to the first point at which the seed cotton shall first undergo any processing, preparation for processing, or transformation from its compacted state may be operated on the highways of this state with the exception of federal interstate highways with an overall length in excess of forty feet (40') but no more than fifty-five feet (55').
(b) No bus operated on the highways of this state shall have an overall length in excess of forty-five feet (45').
(c)
(1)
(A) No semitrailer or trailer operated on the highways of this state in a truck tractor-semitrailer combination or a truck tractor-trailer combination shall have an overall length, unladen or with load, greater than those lengths that were in actual and lawful use in this state on December 1, 1982.
(B) The state shall not establish or enforce any rule which imposes a semitrailer or trailer length limitation of less than fifty-three feet six inches (53' 6") on a semitrailer or trailer unit operating in combination with a truck tractor unit.
(2)
(A) No semitrailer or trailer operated on the highways of this state in a truck tractor-semitrailer-trailer combination shall have an overall length, unladen or with load, in excess of twenty-eight feet (28').
(B) Existing semitrailers or trailers of twenty-eight feet six inches (28' 6") that were in actual and lawful use on December 1, 1982, shall not be prohibited.
(3) The length limitations described in this subsection shall be exclusive of coupling devices, energy conservation devices, and safety devices as provided by federal regulations.
(d)
(1) These length limitations shall not apply to:
(A) Vehicles operated in the daytime when transporting poles, pipes, machinery, or other objects of a structural nature which cannot readily be dismembered; or
(B) Vehicles transporting objects operated at nighttime by a public utility or its agents or by electric or telephone cooperatives or their agents when required for emergency repair of public facilities or properties or when operated under special permit as provided by law.
(2) In respect to night transportation, every vehicle and the load thereon shall be equipped with a sufficient number of clearance lamps on both sides and marker lamps upon the extreme ends of any projecting load to clearly mark the dimensions of the load.
(e)
(1)
(A) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this subchapter, a combination of vehicles engaged in the transportation of automobiles or other motor vehicles shall be permitted a load extension of four feet (4') beyond the front and six feet (6') beyond the rear of the combination.
(B) This extension shall not be considered in determining the overall length of the combination of vehicles.
(C) The total length of a motor vehicle authorized under subdivision (e)(1)(A) of this section shall not exceed eighty feet (80').
(2) Clearance lights or reflectors on the transported vehicles shall be used to delineate the extension of the load when applicable.
(f) No motor vehicle shall be operated on the highways, roads, or streets of this state with more than two (2) trailing vehicles.
(g) Subsection (a) of this section does not apply to vehicles collecting garbage, rubbish, refuse, or recyclable materials which are equipped with front-end loading attachments and containers provided that the vehicle is actively engaged in the collection of garbage, rubbish, refuse, or recyclable materials. For the purposes of this subsection, the term “actively engaged” shall mean during the actual process of collecting garbage, rubbish, refuse, or recyclable materials with the front-end loading attachment or attachments in the downward position.
(h)
(1) The total length of a towaway trailer transporter combination shall not exceed eighty-two feet (82').
(2) As used in this subsection:
(A) “Towaway trailer transporter combination” means a combination of motor vehicles consisting of a trailer transporter towing unit and two (2) trailers or semitrailers that:
(i) Have a total weight that does not exceed twenty-six thousand pounds (26,000 lbs.); and
(ii) Carry no property and constitute inventory property of a manufacturer, distributor, or dealer of such trailers or semitrailers; and
(B) “Trailer transporter towing unit” means a power unit that is not used to carry property when operating in a towaway trailer transporter combination.