A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to allow tandem VEHICLE combinations to operate on all highways within the state.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 20‑115.1(b) reads as rewritten: 
"(b)	Motor vehicle combinations consisting of a semitrailer of not more than 53 feet in length and a truck tractor may be operated on  all highways of North Carolina provided that:
(1)	Any semitrailer in excess of 48 feet in length shall not be permitted unless:
a.	The distance between the kingpin of the trailer and the rearmost axle, or a point midway between the two rear axles, if the two rear axles are a tandem axle, does not exceed 41 feet; or
b.	The semitrailer is used exclusively or primarily to transport vehicles in connection with motorsports competition events, and the distance between the kingpin of the trailer and the rearmost axle, or a point midway between the two rear axles, if the two rear axles are a tandem axle, does not exceed 46 feet; and
(2)	Any semitrailer in excess of 48 feet is equipped with a rear underride guard of substantial construction consisting of a continuous lateral beam extending to within four inches of the lateral extremities of the semitrailer and located not more than 30 inches from the surface as measured with the vehicle empty and on a level surface."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.