What Is Meant by “Overhang” on a Trailer?
Overhang is the amount of distance between the end of your trailer and the load. If the overhang is too great, as in sticking out more than the permitted length, it can be a disadvantage to the truck driver attempting to negotiated tight turns and other maneuvers. Because of their complex design and the fact that they have to travel into oncoming traffic to execute a proper turn, turning transports and some flatdeck equipment are extremely susceptible to trailer overhang . While most tractors only need the wheelbase to reach a rear axle on the trailer, any overhanging load will ride up on or over the wheels possibly causing a flip. Requiring that trailers not exceed a specific overhang requirement has been a staple of regulations since the beginning of regulation. Because of the way they rotate toward the inside of their turning radius, any overhanging load will be the primary cause of trailer rollovers due to anticipated lateral load shifts across the trailer. Too much overhang presents another potential for a load shift that could result in a rollover.
General Legal Overhang Limits
In addition to the the typical dimension requirements for trailer length, width, and height, there are also legal limits on the amount of overhang allowed. Overhanging refers to the part of the trailer or load that extends beyond the front, rear or sides of the trailer chassis. The applicable regulations in North America set maximum amount of overhanging for several circumstances.
Under the Federal Standards for Canada, the Maximum Width of a Trailer is 2.6 meters wide. However, the Allowable Width of Overhang from a trailer must not exceed 0.3m on each side of the trailer. While the Maximum Height of a trailer is not defined, the Allowable Height of Overhang must not exceed 0.3m above the height of the trailer however the overall "height" of any object cannot be more than 4.15m.
In the United States, the Federal Regulations state that the width of a Trailer could not be wider than 2.6 meters except where the width of the trailer extends 150 millimeters beyond the outer edge of the tractor’s fenders, the overhang must not exceed 400 mm on each side. But in some States, the Width of Overhang allowed may be greater up to 500 mm. Overhang on the rear of a Semi- Trailer is permitted to extend up to 4 feet. But the length of the Overhang should not exceed the length of the load. The US Federal Standards set the Maximum Length of a trailer at 12.2 meters. In some States this limit is less between 10.7 -11.6 meters.
According to the FMVSS rules in the United States, the allowed Standard Length of a Truck- Trailer is 25 meters while the Length of Trailer and Load combined is 18.5m.
The General Length of a Semi- trailer or Truck- trailer in Europe is 16.5 meters. The Standard Length of a Semi- trailer is 13.8 meters. In European standards as well, the Length of a Trailer and Load must not exceed 18.75m.
Reasons Why Overhang Laws Are Important
Overhang laws are a set of regulations that dictate the maximum extension of a vehicle beyond its wheelbase. These laws exist primarily for three reasons: safety, operational efficiency, and environmental protection.
Safety is the foremost concern. Overhanging trailers can pose significant risks to other motorists and pedestrians. Long overhangs can obscure visibility and present hazards in the event of a collision. Minimizing overhangs is an important way to reduce these risks. Moreover, overhanging trailers may obscure traffic signals or debris in the road, further increasing the likelihood of a crash.
Operational efficiency is another reason. Excessive overhang can push truckloads into suboptimal spaces when undergoing loading and unloading. Obstructed drives and aisles can lead to congestion and confusion. They can also lead to damage to goods in transit, which can be expensive for shippers and carriers alike.
Finally, environmental concerns are a major factor. Longer trailers create problems for roads and highways. By disrupting the flow of traffic, they can contribute to delays and congested roadways. Increased congestion leads to higher levels of pollution. Shorter trailers allow for more efficient use of roadways. This can lessen the environmental impact of the freight industry.
Overall, overhang laws exist primarily for reasons of safety and efficiency. Trailers that exceed legal allowances can pose a serious risk and impact a fleet’s bottom line. Compliance with these laws is essential for a safe and profitable operation.
Penalties for Overhang Law Violations
Navigating the labyrinth of legal requirements for trailers can be complex, but ignorance will not protect transport operators from the consequences of non-compliance. Here we consider in brief the potential liability to operators, and we will examine liability (as opposed to just legal?) in the next section.
Fines and Penalties:
Depending on which state or territory you operate in, if you are found to be driving your equipment in breach of any of the legal requirements pertaining to overhang, you may be issued an infringement notice from the local law enforcement. The penalty may be a fine or a demerit points penalty (or both). The varying amounts of these penalties is determined by each jurisdiction and sometimes vary even within each jurisdiction (for example, it may be more costly to drive without adequate brakes than to drive with excess overhang) .
Insurance Implications:
It is worth consulting with your legal team and insurance broker to clarify whether your insurance coverage extends to activities that breach the law, whether or not you are found to be negligent. Most insurance policies exempt the insurer from liability where property damage is incurred through an illegal activity. For example, should you lose your load whilst driving in breach of the overhang laws, and your commercial motor vehicle collides with another road user causing injury or property damage, you may not be covered under your goods in transit policy if your transportation activity was illegal. In other words, you may find yourself liable for the value of the load lost and any damage caused to the other road user as a result of the excessive overhang discovered by the police.
Overhang Compliance Tips
Measurement of trailer overhang begins at the most rear edge of a non-load bearing accessory. Non-load bearing accessories like spare tire racks, mud flaps and catwalks all allow the operator a few extra inches to the maximum legal length of a trailer. That amount of overhang is measured by determining the distance from the end of the non-load bearing accessory to the rear of the trailer. Prior to December 4th, 2018, operators were attempting to offset the load bearing accessories of their trailers to achieve longer overall lengths. That practice is now illegal.
Most transports out of compliance are easily identifiable by their excessive downwarp. If your trailer has significant downwarp at the tail, it’s likely that load bearing accessories, like the mid-ship tires or a catwalk, are contributing to legal overhang. Flatter trailers may still be overhanging the legal limit as well.
The best way to ensure your trailer does not exceed the limit for legal overhang is to measure very carefully the distance between the end of the trailer frame, which includes the tail lights, and the end of the non-load bearing accessory. In some cases a certification sticker on the trailer will provide a measurement that should be adjusted, or compensated, by the measurement of the load bearing accessory. However, a very careful measurement is the only way to determine whether the trailer is overhanging the legal limit.
In this new era of compliance enforcement transport operators should take great care to ensure their empty trailers do not exceed the minimum lengths under the Scale Weights and Dimensions Regulation as to avoid heavy handed enforcement from the Ministry of Transportation. Internal enforcement (i.e. loads shipped in excess of legal weight) is not currently an issue, but may soon be an enforcement focus by the Ministry.
Section 37 (3) 4 states:
(3) A vehicle combination may, in the aggregate, be (a) not more than 24.1 metres long if it has a semi-trailer or trailer consisting of a manufactured sleeper berth, other than king pin dollies, dollies, converter dollies, car haulers, boat haulers and pole dollies; (b) not more than 25.25 metres long if it has a semi-trailer or trailer consisting of a king pin dolly, car hauler trailer, boat hauler trailer or pole dolly; or (c) not more than 23 metres long in any other case. 2016, c. 36, Sched. 23, s. 4.
The regulation goes on to state at 37(4):
(4) For the purposes of section 37.3 (1) of the Act, if a trailer extends beyond the trailer’s frame and that frame has a cross-section with a constant or near-constant width, the length of the trailer exceeds the maximum dimensions permitted by the Act or this Regulation if the horizontal distance from the rear of the frame to the middle of the last axle of the trailer exceeds 4.25 metres.
There are a few tricks of the trade to ensuring that your trailer complies. First, the only trailer specific exemptions applied to the maximum length are trailer dollies. These trailers are: King pin dollies, converter dollies, car hauler trailers, boat hauler trailers or pole dollies.
Second, trailers can not exceed 5.2 metres at the rear of the trailer frame.
Careful measuring, on the other hand, is the best way to determine whether the trailer is exceeding the maximum lengths permitted.
Recent Overhang Law Changes
Transport operators should also be aware that whilst the overhang compliance/deflection requirements have not changed, compliance requirements for other aspects of trailers has. For example, the full width underrun protection as required by the European Directive (EU) 2003/102 requires that the trailer is fitted with an approved full width underrun protection to protect all road users in case of collision, and is free-moving, capable of deforming, is adjustable, and capable of being set at a specified horizontal angle. This is the EU Directive and the UK has already legislated for it as an approved standard for EU approved trailers (Directive 2003/20/EC – The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2009).
However, this year the EU has amended the Directive to tighten up on the requirements of the specification and make it clear that the barrier must be fitted completely over the full length of the trailer with no gaps so as to offer full protection . Furthermore trailers now need to have additional corner marking lights if they are more than 1.6m wide, and regulations have been further amended to require that trailers less than seven years old need to have a TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System) fitted.
Scottish Transport Minister Derek Mackay said "While overall road safety has improved significantly in the last 50 years, international research shows that collision between heavy goods vehicles and cyclists or pedestrians can result in up to 40% fatality rates, as compared to less than 1% for when the vehicles are in other classes. It is therefore essential that we continue to improve safety in Scotland, and that means we will continue to press for legislation at a European and local level to improve the overtaking experience for cyclists and pedestrians."
"By amending these regulations, we are helping to contribute to that aim and ensuring that travelling by cycle and foot remains safe and continues to encourage active travel, while supporting our Climate Change targets by reducing carbon emissions."