1. Pilot/Escort Vehicle Operators Training Materials Publications & Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Update
John Berg, FHWA
American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) – Subcommittee on Highway Transport
Houston, TX
August 1, 2017

2. Pilot Cars - Big Trucks Use These Roads
Source: Federal Highway Administration 2

3. I-5 Mount Vernon, WA
Source: National Transportation Safety Board 3

4. New Publications
Source: FHWA Pilot Car Publications 4

5. New Publications - Continued
Source: FHWA Pilot Car Publications 5

6. New Publications - Continued
Source: FHWA Pilot Car Publications 6

7. Civilian Escort Certification Required
Source: Federal Highway Administration 7

8. 2017 Training Materials/Guidelines Updates
New Chapters for:
Traffic Control (including flagging).
Special Challenges.
Railroad Crossings.
Tall Loads and Overhead Obstructions.
Steerable Trailers/Tillerman Operations.
Emergency Procedures. 8

9. 2017 Training Materials Updates
Height Pole Operation.
Bridge Height Clearance Data.
New information included on driver behavior and performance.
Route Surveys. 9

10. 2017 Training Materials Updates
Pilot Escort Industry Background.
Pilot Escort Operator and Vehicle Requirements.
Revised the law enforcement guide to reflect practices nationwide.
Developed materials that could support NTSB recommendation H to support a model training and certification process. 10

11. Publications That Have Been Made Available
Stakeholders that contributed to the 2016 updates.
AASHTO – To provide to State Approved Trainers.
Private Vendors including RSA network, Evergreen and the California Pilot Car Association.
FHWA Outreach on material content and availability at workshops and conferences.
FHWA’s Website.
Specialize Carriers & Riggers Association and Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. 11

12. Publications That Can be Found on Our Website
Some hard copies are being printed.
Additional Information on Oversize/Overweight (OS/OW) Permitting.
NHCRP Report # . 12

13. FHWA Update Federal Limits. FAST ACT. OS/OW Permitting Best Practices.
Annual Evaluation of the Truck Size and Weight program for (due to the Division Offices on Oct. 1).
State Enforcement Plans and Certifications.
Overview of Federal Truck Size and Weight Limits. 13

14. Current Federal Weight Regulations
20,000 lbs. single axles.
34,000 lbs. tandem axles.
80,000 lbs. GVW, except where grandfather provisions apply.
Loads must conform to Federal Bridge Formula (FBF). 14

15. Current Federal Size Regulations
102 in. vehicle width on the National Network (NN).
Not less than 48 ft. for semi-trailers in Truck tractor - Semitrailer (TST) combination.
Not less than 28 ft. for trailers in twin-trailer combination.
GVW = _________lbs. 15

16. 16

17. Federal Size Regulations (continued)
Maximum width on NN is 102 inches.
Does not apply to specialized equipment.
Safety device exclusions.
No federal height limit. 17
Source: Federal Highway Administration

18. Federal Length Requirements
Tractor-semi-trailer combinations.
Minimum allowable length is 48 feet.
States allowed grandfather semi-trailer length.
No overall federal length limit. 18

19. Federal Length Requirements (cont.)
Twin trailer combinations.
Minimum semi-trailer/trailer length is 28 feet.*
No overall length limit.
*Except Grandfathered lengths. 19

20. FAST ACT Changes Truck Size and Weight Provisions
Milk Products (Section 1409).
Interstate Weight Limits (Section 1410).
Emergency Route Working Group (Section 5502).
Additional State Authority (Section 5516).
Automobile Transporter (Section 5520).
Commercial Delivery of Light and Medium-Duty Trailers (Sec. 5523).
Report to Congress (Section 5525) relating to the safety and enforcement impacts of several commercial motor vehicle provisions. 20

21. FAST ACT Changes
The effective date of the amendments made in the FAST Act is October 1, 2015 unless otherwise specified.
FHWA issued guidance on February 24, 2016 outlining Truck Size & Weight changes provided in the FAST Act.
Truck size and weight provisions of the FAST Act may affect States' compliance with 23 CFR 650 Subpart C, the National Bridge Inspection Standards including:
Bridge load rating.
Bridge posting requirements. 21

22. OS/OW Vehicle Permitting Project Objective
GAO Report on the Skagit River Bridge accident:
To improve stewardship over the nation’s highways and bridges, we recommend that the Secretary of Transportation direct the FHWA Administrator to take the following action:
Conduct a study on State oversize- and overweight-permitting practices, including automated vehicle routing and escort driver certification, to identify areas of best practice and share the results with States.
Source:
GAO Report: “TRANSPORTATION SAFETY: Federal Highway Administration Should Conduct Research to Determine Best Practices in Permitting Oversize Vehicles”, p. 24 February 22

23. OS/OW Vehicle Permitting
Project Started in September 2016.
Literature review, Best Practice Criteria completed.
Interviewing some States.
Webinar on Best Practices in October 2017.
Final Publication in September 2017. 23

24. Vehicle Size & Weight (VSW) Evaluation Process
Plans submitted to FHWA Division Office on or before July 1.
FHWA Division Office shall review by preparing an Evaluation Report (23 CFR (b)).
States advised of the results.
FHWA Division Evaluation Report and Approval of State Enforcement Plan (SEP) completed by October 1. . 24

25. 2017 Emphasis Annual Evaluation of the Truck Size and Weight program Area – FAST Act
We encourage the FHWA Division Offices to have a face to face meeting with the State DOT, Patrol, Permit Office, FHWA Division Bridge Engineer and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Division during your review.
In the Division Offices 2017 Evaluation Report, they will ask the following FAST ACT questions:
1. For the State Patrol: What were the enforcement impacts of implementing Section “Automobile Transporters,” please describe:
How did you verify the Auto Transporter was on a backhaul when carrying cargo?
Did you observe more violations for Auto Transporters?
What other enforcement impacts did you observe?
2. For the State Patrol: What were the Safety Impacts of implementing Section 5520?
3. For the State DOT: What were the Safety Impacts of implementing Sec 5520? . 25

26. 2017 Emphasis Area – FAST Act (continued)
4. For the State Patrol: What were the enforcement impacts of implementing Section 5523 “Light and medium-duty trailers,” pleased describe:
Did you observe more violations with these vehicles?
What other enforcement impacts did you observe?
5. For the State Patrol: What were the Safety Impacts of implementing Section 5523?
6. For the State DOT: What were the Safety Impacts of implementing Section 5523?
The Adoption Checklist will be filled out by the Division Office. 26

27. State Enforcement Plans and Certifications
Federal – Define limits and ensure compliance; document annually in an Evaluation Report.
State – Create enforcement plan/ certify accomplishment of regulation activities. 27

28. State Enforcement Plan
23 CFR 657
State’s Enforcement Plan and Certification.
Institutional knowledge of the State’s highway program and operations. 28

29. The Objective of the SEP
A process to identify overweight and over- dimension vehicles.
A systematic approach to eliminate violations.
Should lead to an adequate certification of enforcement. 29

30. Key Elements of the SEP Facilities and Equipment. Resources.
Practices.
Goals.
Evaluation.
Source: Federal Highway Administration 30

31. Certification 23 CFR 657 State’s Enforcement Plan and Certification.
Institutional knowledge of the State’s highway program and operations. 31

32. Annual Certification Requirements
States must certify:
Before January 1 each year.
Enforcing federal maximum size and weight.
Compliance with ISTEA – Long Combination Vehicle (LCV) freeze.
Reflects enforcement activities in previous federal fiscal year. 32

33. Certification Submittal
Annual Certification to FHWA Division Offices prior to January 1.
S&W web application used for certification submittal.
Division Office reviews comments.
FHWA Division Contacts can be found at: .htm#fhwa 33

34. Certification and SEP Timelines
SEP looks ahead 12 months.
Certification looks back at the SEP submitted 15 months prior.
Year 1
Year 2
Month J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D
Description
States Submit SEP
SEP Evaluation
SEP in effect
(12 mo from Oct 1)
Certification
Submitted 34

35. Questions ? John Berg – Office of Freight Management and Operations 35