Conditions for granting permit; local authorities; jurisdiction
Sec. 2. (a) The Indiana department of transportation may grant a
permit to operate a special tractor-mobile home rig on an Indiana
highway to a person upon the following conditions and in accordance
with the rules that the department prescribes:
(1) The special tractor-mobile home rig must be operated in a
manner that will not unduly impede traffic or increase the
hazard to traffic.
(2) The special tractor-mobile home rig may be operated only
over the highways in the state highway system, including,
except as provided in section 5 of this chapter, the routes
designated as federal highways and the state maintained routes
through cities and towns. However, the special tractor-mobile
home rig may not extend over the lines delineating highway
lanes into another lane except when passing.
(3) The special tractor-mobile home rig may be operated on the
roads and highways only after sunrise and before sunset.
However, the Indiana Department of Transportation may
restrict hours of operation in first and second class cities if the
department determines that rush hour traffic would cause an
undue hazard to the motoring public.
(4) The special tractor-mobile home rig may be operated only
on days other than Sunday and the legal holidays that the
Indiana Department of Transportation designates. The special
tractor-mobile home rig may be operated between one-half (1/2)
hour before sunrise and one-half (1/2) hour after sunset on any
weekday and between one-half (1/2) hour before sunrise and
noon on Saturday.
(5) The special tractor-mobile home rig may be accompanied by
a distinctively marked escort vehicle.
(6) The operator of the special tractor-mobile home rig must be
at least eighteen (18) years of age.
(7) The low beam headlights of the towing vehicle for which
the permit is granted must be on while the vehicle is in use as
a towing vehicle component of a special tractor-mobile home
rig.
(8) The special tractor-mobile home rig may not be operated
closer than one thousand (1,000) feet to any other special
tractor-mobile home rig traveling in the same direction.
(9) Whenever there may be a clear roadway ahead of the special
tractor-mobile home rig and more than three (3) vehicles
immediately behind the tractor-mobile home rig, the operator of
a special tractor-mobile home rig shall pull over to the right of
the traveled portion of the road or highway at the first
opportunity to do so safely, so as to allow following vehicles to
pass.
(10) The special tractor-mobile home rig may not be operated
at a speed in excess of fifty-five (55) miles per hour on roads
and highways, other than divided highways of at least four (4)
lanes, except as otherwise provided by law.
(11) The special tractor-mobile home rig may not be operated
as follows:
(A) During the existence of hazardous weather conditions
causing visibility to be less than five hundred (500) feet.
(B) During times when the steady wind velocity exceeds
twenty-five (25) miles per hour.
(C) At other times and under other conditions that the
Indiana Department of Transportation by rule or emergency
notice prescribes.
(12) The person to whom the permit is granted shall present
satisfactory evidence of the person's financial responsibility as
provided in IC 9-25 to the granting authority.
(13) When in use as a towing vehicle component of a special
tractor-mobile home rig, the towing vehicle for which the
permit is granted must have an overall length of not less than
twelve (12) feet.
(14) A permit granted for the towing vehicle component of a
special tractor-mobile home rig may be suspended or revoked
by the Indiana Department of Transportation for violation of
any of the conditions of the permit set forth in this section or for
violation of a rule or notice as provided for in this chapter.
(15) The special tractor-mobile home rig may be operated only
over roads or highways approved by the authority granting the
permits.
(16) The rules pertaining to special tractor-mobile home rigs do
not apply to other vehicles.
(b) This section may not be construed to prevent a local authority
with respect to highways and roads under the authority's jurisdiction
from granting permission to operate a special tractor-mobile home rig
on roads and highways under the authority's jurisdiction that are not
highways in the state highway system or state maintained routes
through cities and towns.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.8. Amended by P.L.125-1993, SEC.2;
P.L.119-1995, SEC.5; P.L.217-2003, SEC.4.
Last modified: May 27, 2006