Georgia truck size and weight limits

Wheel, axle and gross weight limits on non-interstate highways

Section 32-6-26(a) supplies the axle terms used in the Georgia truck size and weight limits. For truck drivers, under Section 32-6-26(a)(3), a single axle means "all the wheels whose centers may be included between two parallel transverse vertical planes 40 inches apart." Under Section 32-6-26(a)(5), a tandem axle means two or more consecutive axles, excluding the steering axle, that extend across the full width of the vehicle and whose centers may be included "between parallel vertical planes spaced more than 40 inches apart but not more than 216 inches apart."^[1]

Under Section 32-6-26(a)(2), a lift axle means "any axle on any vehicle manufactured after July 1, 1978, which axle may be raised or lowered with respect to the horizontal plane of the vehicle." Section 32-6-26(a)(4) defines the state bridge formula, in which W stands for "the maximum allowable gross weight of the vehicle or combination of vehicles to the nearest 500 pounds." In that formula, L is the distance in feet between the first and last axles of the vehicle or combination, and N is the number of axles on it. For truck drivers, Section 32-6-26(c)(1)(B) uses the state bridge formula on highways that are not interstate highways for gross weights between 73,280 and 80,000 pounds, while Section 32-6-26(d)(1)(A) uses the federal bridge formula for axle groups on interstate highways.^[1]

Except when authorized by a permit issued pursuant to Code Section 32-6-28 and except as otherwise provided in Section 32-6-26, Section 32-6-26(b)(1) bars a vehicle with "high pressure pneumatic, solid rubber, or cushion tires" on a public road of Georgia from carrying a wheel load that exceeds 8,000 pounds by more than 13 percent. Under that same subsection and subject to the same permit and section exceptions, the single axle load that truck drivers carry on such a vehicle may not exceed 16,000 pounds by more than 13 percent. Section 32-6-26(b)(2), subject to those same exceptions, sets the figures for truck drivers operating a vehicle with low pressure pneumatic tires at 9,000 pounds per wheel and 18,000 pounds per single axle, each of which may be exceeded by no more than 13 percent. A truck driver operating under a Section 32-6-28 permit may carry the loads that the permit authorizes.^[1]

Where a Georgia highway is not an interstate highway, Section 32-6-26(c)(1)(A) caps the maximum total gross weight for a vehicle and load at 80,000 pounds, subject to the commodity allowances of Section 32-6-26(g) and to a permit under Section 32-6-28. The same subparagraph sets the single axle maximum as provided in subsection (b) and fixes the tandem axle maximum for truck drivers on highways that are not interstate highways at 40,680 pounds. Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), it also sets the gross maximum as the maximum single axle load multiplied by the number of axles with which the vehicle is equipped. Under Section 32-6-26(c)(1)(B), where the highway is not an interstate highway and a vehicle and load have an actual total gross weight between 73,280 pounds and 80,000 pounds, the maximum is determined by applying the state bridge formula. For truck drivers on those highways, Section 32-6-26(c)(1)(C) caps a vehicle equipped with four axles at 70,000 pounds. Section 32-6-26(c)(3) excludes a lift axle from the computation of the maximum gross weight for the vehicle or load of a truck driver.^[1]

Weight limits on interstate highways

Section 32-6-26(a)(1) defines the federal bridge formula by reference to W, "the overall gross weight on any group of two or more consecutive axles to the nearest 500 pounds." In that formula, L is the distance in feet between the extreme of the axle group, and N is the number of axles in the group under consideration. On interstate highways in Georgia, Section 32-6-26(d)(1)(A) caps the maximum total gross weight for a vehicle and load at 80,000 pounds and sets the single axle maximum as provided in subsection (b). Except as provided in subparagraph (B), that subparagraph fixes the overall gross weight on a group of two or more consecutive axles by the federal bridge formula. In applying that formula, no lift axle is counted as an individual or additional axle, a rule that truck drivers on interstate routes encounter in each axle group calculation.^[1]

Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), Section 32-6-26(d)(1)(B) sets the tandem axle maximum on interstate highways at 34,000 pounds. Two consecutive sets of tandem axles that truck drivers operate on interstate highways may carry 34,000 pounds each if the overall distance between the first and last axles of those sets is 36 feet or more. The same subparagraph allows 40,680 pounds on a tandem axle for a vehicle or combination carrying a gross weight of less than 73,280 pounds, except for vehicles and combinations exceeding 55 feet in length. Under Section 32-6-26(d)(2), if federal law at any time authorizes a weight greater than subsection (d) allows, that greater weight is authorized on the interstate highways within Georgia. For a truck driver, the interstate tandem figures therefore depend on gross weight, axle spacing and vehicle length.^[1]

Subject to the provisions of the article, Section 32-6-26(e) authorizes the department, on behalf of the state, to enter into agreements with the United States Secretary of Transportation as provided in Section 127 of Title 23 of the United States Code, relating to control of vehicle weight and width limitations, and those agreements exempt certain vehicles from subsection (d). The department may also act in the name of the state to comply with such an agreement and may promulgate rules needed for compliance with federal laws and for issuing the special permits that Section 32-6-26 requires. Except as provided in subsections (f) and (h), Section 32-6-26(j) makes the weight limits and axle definitions "authorized by federal law governing interstate highways" the limits and definitions for a bimodal semitrailer, and for other semitrailers and trailers that truck drivers operate on highways and public roads within Georgia. Under Section 32-6-24(a)(1), a bimodal semitrailer means a detachable unit coupled to a truck tractor and "designed either with retractable flanged wheels or to attach to a detachable flanged wheel assembly for movement on the rails."^[1][2]

County road and posted bridge weight limits

Under Section 32-6-26(f), the maximum total gross weight on a public road of a county road system may not exceed 56,000 pounds unless the vehicle is making a pickup or delivery on that road. The subsection adds a second exception for truck drivers on a designated local truck route. If a county road is constructed to the same standards as Georgia interstate highways and is authorized as a designated local truck route by official resolution of the county, its maximum weight limits match those that Section 32-6-26(c)(1) sets for highways that are not interstate highways. Section 32-6-26(f) also requires the county to notify the department of roads it designates as a local truck route within 90 days of the designation. A truck driver on an undesignated county road without a pickup or delivery there remains under the county road limit unless a permit issued under Section 32-6-28 authorizes a greater weight.^[1]

Section 32-6-26(h) opens with "Notwithstanding any provision of this Code section to the contrary" and bars truck drivers from operating a vehicle or combination of vehicles over a bridge with a posted limit below the total gross weight of the vehicle and its load. Section 32-6-26(g)(1) excludes the limitations in subsections (f) and (h) from the commodity allowances it grants, and Section 32-6-26(j) likewise preserves subsections (f) and (h) when it adopts federal limits for trailers. Truck drivers crossing a posted bridge in Georgia are held to the posted figure under Section 32-6-26(h).^[1]

Commodity hauling weight allowances in O.C.G.A. 32-6-26(g)

Section 32-6-26(g)(1) allows the weight limitations of Section 32-6-26, apart from those in subsections (f) and (h), to be exceeded by truck drivers without a permit in two settings: on a public road that is not an interstate highway, or when making a pickup or delivery on a public road of a county road system. The allowance holds only while the single axle load stays at or below 23,000 pounds and the tandem axle load at or below 46,000 pounds, with total gross weight at or below 80,000 pounds off interstate highways, and only while a truck driver is hauling a listed commodity on its stated route. The listed hauls are forest products from the forest where cut to the first point of marketing or processing, live poultry or cotton from a farm to a processing plant, feed from a feed mill to a farm, and granite or another naturally occurring raw ore or mineral from the quarry or stockpile area to a processing plant in the same or an adjoining county. The list continues with construction aggregates hauled to any point unless otherwise prohibited, solid waste or recovered materials from points of generation to a solid waste handling facility or other processing facility, freshly mixed and unhardened concrete for delivery to a customer, and poultry waste from the point of origin to a farm. A lift axle is not counted when truck drivers compute gross weight under paragraph (1).^[1]

Under Section 32-6-26(g)(2), a vehicle that truck drivers use for hauling the products in subparagraphs (A) through (F), or for hauling another agricultural or farm product from a farm to the first point of marketing or processing, is permitted a 5 percent variance from the paragraph (1) limits within a 100 mile radius of the farm or point of origin. A person who violates those limits within the 100 mile area "by exceeding the 5 percent variance per single axle, tandem axle, or maximum total gross weight" is fined on the paragraph (1) limits, including that variance. For truck drivers hauling poultry waste under subparagraph (G), Section 32-6-26(g)(3) permits a 5 percent variance within a 250 mile radius of the farm or origin point. A truck driver who exceeds that poultry waste variance is fined on the paragraph (1) limits "and not on the basis of the variance allowed by this paragraph." Section 32-6-26(g)(4) requires a vehicle in which truck drivers carry a load authorized by subsection (g) at night to be equipped with lights clearly visible for not less than 300 feet from the front and rear.^[1]

Notwithstanding contrary provisions of Section 32-6-26, subsection (g)(5) covers vehicles hauling the commodities in subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (G), other agricultural or farm products from a farm to the first point of marketing or processing, agricultural finished goods for distribution or for retail sale and purchase by consumers, and recovered materials from points of generation to a processing facility. Such a vehicle is permitted a 10 percent variance from the paragraph (1) limits within a 150 mile radius of the farm or origin and outside a nonattainment area as of May 3, 2023, provided that the tractor and the trailer are each certified to meet or exceed the weight the variance allows. Truck drivers may not count a lift axle in computing gross weight under paragraph (5). A truck driver whose load exceeds the 10 percent variance available to certified equipment is fined on the paragraph (1) limits rather than on that variance. The notes on the official code page state that the 2023 amendment, effective May 3, 2023, added paragraph (g)(5). The same notes state that the 2025 amendment, effective July 1, 2025, deleted the sentence "This paragraph shall stand repealed on July 1, 2025."^[1]

Trailer and combination length limits in O.C.G.A. 32-6-24(b)

Section 32-6-24(a) supplies the vehicle terms for the length rules in Georgia truck size and weight limits. Under Section 32-6-24(a)(5), a semitrailer means "a detachable load-carrying unit designed to be attached to a coupling on the rear of a truck tractor by which it is partly supported." Under Section 32-6-24(a)(6), a trailer means a detachable unit attached at the rear of a semitrailer and "capable of support in operation without the truck tractor." Section 32-6-24(a)(7) describes a truck tractor as the noncargo-carrying power unit that operates with a semitrailer or trailer, though one engaged in transporting automobiles may carry motor vehicles on part of the power unit.^[2]

Under Section 32-6-24(a)(2), combination of vehicles means a semitrailer pulled by a truck tractor, or a semitrailer and trailer pulled by a truck tractor "operating in a truck tractor-semitrailer-trailer combination." Unless exempted in Code Section 32-6-25 or authorized by a permit issued pursuant to Code Section 32-6-28, Section 32-6-24(b) sets its length limits, and Section 32-6-25.1 separately lets certain port cargo vehicles exceed them without a permit. In truck tractor-semitrailer-trailer combinations that truck drivers operate, trailers and semitrailers may not exceed 28 feet in length. In truck tractor-semitrailer combinations, semitrailers may not exceed 53 feet in length unless signs are posted that indicate semitrailer length restrictions. Maxi-cube combinations are limited to a cargo box of 34 feet, with the pair of cargo boxes at no more than 60 feet and the overall length, including the power unit, at no more than 65 feet. Automobile and boat transporters are outside the trailer and semitrailer length requirements of paragraph (1), but no unit of such a vehicle may exceed 56 feet in length.^[2]

For truck drivers, under Section 32-6-24(b)(2), saddlemount and saddlemount with fullmount combinations may not exceed 97 feet overall. Other truck tractor combinations operated on roads other than interstate or the NHS, which Section 32-6-24(a)(4) identifies as the National Highway System, may not exceed 100 feet overall unless signs are posted that indicate length restrictions. That maximum includes the federal allowance for automobile and boat transporter loads to overhang up to three feet over the front of the vehicle and up to six feet over the rear. The notes on the official code page state that the 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, substituted "six feet" for "four feet" in the last sentence of subparagraph (b)(2)(C). Section 32-6-24(b)(1)(C) lets an extendable semitrailer carry a single-piece load past 53 feet with no pieces loaded end to end, up to 75 feet on interstate and NHS routes and up to 100 feet overall on roads other than the interstate and NHS routes. When extended, the rear of the load or semitrailer carries an amber strobe light and warning flags, and truck drivers hauling such loads follow those marking terms.^[2]

Permit, exemption and enforcement provisions in O.C.G.A. 32-6-25 through 32-6-28

Neighboring provisions on these subjects sit outside this entry. O.C.G.A. 32-6-25 sets width and length exemptions for farm and forest management equipment. O.C.G.A. 32-6-25.1 sets width and length exemptions for port vehicles used to transport cargo or containers. O.C.G.A. 32-6-28(a) provides for discretionary written permits for excess weight and dimensions. O.C.G.A. 32-6-26(i) addresses vehicles that comply after shifting the load, along with the basis for gross weight fines where the highway is not an interstate highway. O.C.G.A. 32-6-27(a) sets the per-pound damage schedule owed to the state for violating the load limits of Section 32-6-26. Each of these provisions affects truck drivers and is treated outside this entry.^{[3][4][5][1][6]}

See also: Flanagan Law truck accident practice

See also

On related publications

• Georgia truck-crash law notes (truckaccidentlawyer.wiki)
• Liability and comparative fault in Georgia (caraccidentlawyers.wiki)