AN ACT to allow wreckers to take disabled vehicles up to fifty miles for repair, parking, or storage.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 20‑118 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑118.  Weight of vehicles and load.
(a)	For the purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)	Single‑axle weight. – The gross weight transmitted by all wheels whose centers may be included between two parallel transverse vertical planes 40 inches apart, extending across the full width of the vehicle.
(2)	Tandem‑axle weight. – The gross weight transmitted to the road by two or more consecutive axles whose centers may be included between parallel vertical planes spaced more than 40 inches and not more than 96 inches apart, extending across the full width of the vehicle.
(3)	Axle group. – Any two or more consecutive axles on a vehicle or combination of vehicles.
(4)	Gross weight. – The weight of any single axle, tandem axle, or axle group of a vehicle or combination of vehicles plus the weight of any load thereon.
(5)	Light‑traffic roads. – Any highway on the State Highway System, excepting routes designated I, U.S. or N.C., posted by the Department of Transportation to limit the axle weight below the statutory limits.
(b)	The following weight limitations shall apply to vehicles operating on the highways of the State:
(1)	The single‑axle weight of a vehicle or combination of vehicles shall not exceed 20,000 pounds.
(2)	The tandem‑axle weight of a vehicle or combination of vehicles shall not exceed 38,000 pounds.
(3)	The gross weight imposed upon the highway by any axle group of a vehicle or combination of vehicles shall not exceed the maximum weight given for the respective distance between the first and last axle of the group of axles measured longitudinally to the nearest foot as set forth in the following table:
Distance	Maximum Weight in Pounds for any Group of Two
Between	or More Consecutive Axles
Axles*	2 Axles	3 Axles	4 Axles	5 Axles	6 Axles	7 Axles
4	38000
5	38000
6	38000
7	38000
8 or less 	38000	38000
more than 8	38000	42000
9	39000	42500
10	40000	43500
11		44000
12		45000	50000
13		45500	50500
14		46500	51500
15		47000	52000
16		48000	52500	58000
17		48500	53500	58500
18		49500	54000	59000
19		50000	54500	60000
20		51000	55500	60500	66000
21		51500	56000	61000	66500
22		52500	56500	61500	67000
23		53000	57500	62500	68000
24		54000	58000	63000	68500	74000
25		54500	58500	63500	69000	74500
26		55500	59500	64000	69500	75000
27		56000	60000	65000	70000	75500
28		57000	60500	65500	71000	76500
29		57500	61500	66000	71500	77000
30		58500	62000	66500	72000	77500
31		59000	62500	67500	72500	78000
32		60000	63500	68000	73000	78500
33			64000	68500	74000	79000
34			64500	69000	74500	80000
35			65500	70000	75000
36			66000**	70500	75500
37			66500**	71000	76000
38			67500**	72000	77000
39			68000	72500	77500
40			68500	73000	78000
41			69500	73500	78500
42			70000	74000	79000
43			70500	75000	80000
44			71500	75500
45			72000	76000
46			72500	76500
47			73500	77500
48			74000	78000
49			74500	78500
50			75500	79000
51			76000	80000
52			76500
53			77500
54			78000
55			78500
56			79500
57			80000
* Distance in Feet Between the Extremes of any Group of Two or More Consecutive Axles.
** See exception in G.S. 20‑118(c)(1).
(4)	The Department of Transportation may establish light‑traffic roads and further restrict the axle weight limit on such light‑traffic roads lower than the statutory limits. The Department of Transportation shall have authority to designate any highway on the State Highway System, excluding routes designated by I, U.S. and N.C., as a light‑traffic road when in the opinion of the Department of Transportation, such road is inadequate to carry and will be injuriously affected by vehicles using the said road carrying the maximum axle weight. All such roads so designated shall be conspicuously posted as light‑traffic roads and the maximum axle weight authorized shall be displayed on proper signs erected thereon.
(c)	Exceptions. – The following exceptions apply to G.S. 20‑118(b) and 20‑118(e).
…
(7)	A wrecker may tow any disabled truck or other motor vehicle or combination of vehicles to a place for repairs, parking, or storage within 50 miles from the point that the vehicle was disabled and may tow a truck, tractor, or other replacement vehicle to the site of the disabled vehicle without being in violation of G.S. 20‑118 provided that the wrecker and towed vehicle or combination of vehicles otherwise meet all requirements of this section.
…."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 20‑116(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	Except as provided by G.S. 20‑115.1, no combination of vehicles coupled together shall consist of more than two units and no such combination of vehicles shall exceed a total length of 60 feet inclusive of front and rear bumpers, subject to the following exceptions: Said length limitation shall not apply to vehicles operated in the daytime when transporting poles, pipe, machinery or other objects of a structural nature which cannot readily be dismembered, nor to such vehicles transporting such objects operated at nighttime by a public utility when required for emergency repair of public service facilities or properties, but in respect to such night transportation every such 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 said projecting load to clearly mark the dimensions of such load: Provided that vehicles designed and used exclusively for the transportation of motor vehicles shall be permitted an overhang tolerance front or rear not to exceed five feet. Provided, that wreckers may tow a truck, combination tractor and trailer, trailer, or any other disabled vehicle or combination of vehicles to a place for repair, parking, or storage within 50 miles of the point where the vehicle was disabled and may tow a truck, tractor, or other replacement vehicle to the site of the disabled vehicle. Provided, however, that a combination of a house trailer used as a mobile home, together with its towing vehicle, shall not exceed a total length of 55 feet exclusive of front and rear bumpers. Provided further, that the said limitation that no combination of vehicles coupled together shall consist of more than two units shall not apply to trailers not exceeding three in number drawn by a motor vehicle used by municipalities for the removal of domestic and commercial refuse and street rubbish, but such combination of vehicles shall not exceed a total length of 50 feet inclusive of front and rear bumpers. Provided further, that the said limitation that no combination of vehicles coupled together shall consist of more than two units shall not apply to a combination of vehicles coupled together by a saddle mount device used to transport motor vehicles in a driveway service when no more than three saddle mounts are used and provided further, that equipment used in said combination is approved by the safety regulations of the Federal Highway Administration and the safety rules of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety."
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 28th day of July, 2005.

	___________________________________________
	 Marc Basnight
	 President Pro Tempore of the Senate

	___________________________________________
	 Richard T. Morgan
	 Speaker Pro Tempore of the House of Representatives

	___________________________________________
	 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved __________.m. this ______________ day of ___________________, 2005