Implements of husbandry and agricultural commercial motor vehicles operated or transported on highways

An implement of husbandry may include a combination of vehicles. An agricultural CMV is a commercial motor vehicle that 1) is substantially designed or equipped, or materially altered from its original construction, for the purpose of agricultural use;

2) was designed and manufactured primarily for highway use and, with an exception, was manufactured to meet federal motor vehicle highway safety standards; and 3) is used exclusively in the conduct of agricultural operations and for specified agricultural purposes, including applying fertilizer, spray, or seeds to a farm field, assisting another vehicle harvesting farm products, or distributing feed to livestock. An agricultural CMV is not an implement of husbandry.

Current law imposes certain lighting and marking requirements for vehicles operated on highways, including requirements specifically applicable to implements of husbandry that are more than 15 feet wide or that partly extend over the center of the roadway (wide implements of husbandry). With an exception, a person may not operate on a highway a wide implement of husbandry manufactured before January 1, 2014, unless it is equipped with all of the following: 1) at least two amber flashing warning lamps, visible from both the front and rear; 2) red retroreflective conspicuity material, visible to the rear; 3) at least two strips of yellow retroreflective conspicuity material, visible to the front; and 4) at least two red tail lamps. The required lamps must be lighted and visible when the wide implement of husbandry is operated on a highway and the lamps and conspicuity material must generally be mounted so as to indicate the lateral extremities of the implement of husbandry.

Under the exception, if the wide implement of husbandry manufactured before January 1, 2014, is operated during daylight hours, it may be operated if it is accompanied by an escort vehicle with hazard lights activated and it has attached to the rear two orange or red flags marking the extreme left and extreme right of the implement of husbandry. A wide implement of husbandry manufactured before January 1, 2014, must also display on the rear a slow moving vehicle (SMV) emblem.

In addition, a self-propelled implement of husbandry manufactured before January 1, 2014, that is more than 12 feet wide may not be operated on a highway unless it is equipped with a yellow or amber strobe or beacon light, or two flashing amber lights, which are activated. An implement of husbandry manufactured on or after January 1, 2014, may not be operated on a highway unless it is equipped with all lighting and marking devices with which the implement of husbandry was originally equipped by the manufacturer and all such lighting and marking devices are in good working order and visible at the time of operation.

Under this bill, these lighting and marking requirements that currently apply to wide implements of husbandry manufactured before January 1, 2014, instead apply to all wide implements of husbandry, regardless of the date of manufacture.

Wide implements of husbandry manufactured on or after January 1, 2014, must still have all lighting and marking devices with which they were originally manufactured. The bill also requires the display of an SMV emblem on the rear of any implement of husbandry, not just a wide implement of husbandry, but only if the implement of husbandry usually travels at speeds of less than 25 miles per hour. The bill eliminates authorization to use an SMV emblem instead of a reflector or light on the side of certain agricultural vehicle trains.

Under current law, no person may operate on a highway any vehicle or combination of vehicles that exceeds certain statutory size or weight limits unless the person obtains a permit issued by the Department of Transportation (DOT) or a local highway authority or unless an exception applies. Statutory restrictions on vehicle size and weight generally apply to the vehicle as loaded.

Under current law, unless an exception applies, a person may not, without a permit, operate on a highway any vehicle having a total width in excess of eight feet six inches. Under one exception, there is no width limit for implements of husbandry operated on a highway, although wide implements of husbandry are subject to the lighting and marking requirements discussed above. Under another exception, an agricultural CMV may be operated without a permit if it does not exceed 10 feet in total width or 12 feet if it is operated for purposes of spraying pesticides or spreading lime or fertilizer and has extending tires, fenders, or fender flares.

Under this bill, this width exception for an agricultural CMV does not apply on an interstate highway, so the width limit on an interstate highway for an agricultural CMV is the standard limit of eight feet six inches.

Under another width exception in current law, there is no width limit for an implement of husbandry being operated or transported by an implement dealer or farmer for purposes of repair, servicing, or delivery if certain conditions are met, although wide implements of husbandry are subject to the lighting and marking requirements discussed above.

This bill modifies this exception for transported implements of husbandry.

Under the bill, this exception does not apply on an interstate highway if the implement of husbandry is being transported by trailer or semitrailer, but does apply if the implement of husbandry is being towed. Also, if the implement of husbandry is a wide implement of husbandry being transported by trailer or semitrailer, the bill provides that the lighting and marking requirements described above do not apply except the requirement that the wide implement of husbandry have at least two amber flashing warning lamps, lighted and visible from both the front and rear, and mounted to indicate the lateral extremities.

The bill also creates a new width exception for agricultural CMVs under which the 10 feet or 12 feet width limit for agricultural CMVs described above also applies to agricultural CMVs being operated or transported by trailer or semitrailer by an implement dealer or farmer for purposes of repair, servicing, or delivery if certain conditions are met. However, this exception does not apply to an agricultural CMV operated or transported on an interstate highway. Also, a person may not transport by trailer or semitrailer an agricultural CMV exceeding eight feet six inches in width unless the agricultural CMV has at least two amber flashing warning lamps, lighted and visible from both the front and rear, that are mounted to indicate the lateral extremities.

Under another width exception in current law, there is no width limit for implements of husbandry being transported by trailer or semitrailer on a highway from farm to field, from field to field, or from farm to farm, during daylight hours, although wide implements of husbandry are subject to the lighting and marking requirements described above and this authorization does not apply to interstate highways except a portion of I 39.

This bill modifies this exception in several ways. First, under the bill, this exception applies to an implement of husbandry being transported to or from a farm-related destination, instead of from farm to field, from field to field, or from farm to farm. The bill defines "to or from a farm-related destination" to mean movement between or among farms, fields, agricultural storage or processing facilities, locations where an implement of husbandry is stored, or any combination of these. Second, the bill specifies that this exception does not apply on any interstate highway, including I 39. Third, the bill provides that, if the implement of husbandry being transported is a wide implement of husbandry, the lighting and marking requirements described above do not apply except the requirement that the wide implement of husbandry have at least two amber flashing warning lamps, lighted and visible from both the front and rear, and mounted to indicate the lateral extremities.

The bill also creates a new width exception for agricultural CMVs under which the 10 feet or 12 feet width limit for agricultural CMVs described above also applies to agricultural CMVs being transported by trailer or semitrailer on a highway, except an interstate highway, to or from a farm-related destination, during daylight hours.

The bill defines "to or from a farm-related destination" to mean movement between or among farms, fields, agricultural storage or processing facilities, locations where an agricultural commercial motor vehicle is stored, or any combination of these.

However, if the agricultural CMV exceeds eight feet six inches in width, it must have at least two amber flashing warning lamps, lighted and visible from both the front and rear, and mounted to indicate the lateral extremities.

Under current law, DOT and local authorities issue annual or consecutive month permits, referred to as "no-fee permits," for implements of husbandry and agricultural CMVs that exceed statutory length or weight limits. These permits may also be issued for two-vehicle combinations transporting by trailer or semitrailer an implement of husbandry or agricultural CMV from farm to field, from field to field, or from farm to farm. Various provisions of current law relating to vehicle size or weight also apply to two-vehicle combinations transporting by trailer or semitrailer an implement of husbandry or agricultural CMV from farm to field, from field to field, or from farm to farm.

This bill replaces, in these provisions relating to vehicle size and weight and no-fee permits, the phrase "from farm to field, from field to field, or from farm to farm" with the phrase "to or from a farm-related destination," which the bill defines as described above. The bill also provides that a wide implement of husbandry being transported under a no-fee permit is required to be equipped with at least two amber flashing warning lamps, lighted and visible from both the front and rear, and mounted to indicate the lateral extremities, but is not otherwise required to comply with all of the lighting and marking requirements described above. In addition, an agricultural CMV exceeding eight feet six inches in width and being transported under a permit must have at least two amber flashing warning lamps, lighted and visible from both the front and rear, and mounted to indicate the lateral extremities.

The bill also provides for issuance of a single no-fee permit to identify multiple identical implements of husbandry or agricultural CMVs to be operated on the same highways under the permit. The permittee may make copies of the permit and carry a copy, in lieu of the original, on any implement of husbandry or agricultural CMV identified in the permit.

Under current law, with exceptions, no person in the business of selling a tractor or other machinery used in the business of farming (farm equipment) may sell farm equipment that can be operated on a highway unless, at the time of sale, the person who sells the farm equipment discloses to the buyer the gross vehicle weight and axle weights of the farm equipment.

This bill requires this disclosure to be in writing and specifies that the weights disclosed are the weights of the unladen farm equipment at the point of sale.

Under current law, a farm tractor is not required to be registered with DOT, even if it is operated on the highway, if the farm tractor is used exclusively in agricultural operations; used exclusively to provide power for other machinery; used for special occasions such as parades or vehicle club events; or used for occasional personal use, but not for regular daily transportation.

Under this bill, this registration exemption for a farm tractor operated on the highway applies to a farm tractor used for testing, maintenance, and storage purposes, but no longer applies to a farm tractor used for occasional personal use.

The bill also modifies the definition of farm tractor.