Arizona Pilot Car Requirements

Front pilot car required for widths over 12' on Table 4 state routes (R17-6-412).

Rear pilot car required for widths over 14' on Table 4 routes. Also required for any night/weekend movement over 11' wide.

When more than 2 escorts are required (excess width/height/length/weight combined), Arizona requires 2 law enforcement escorts (R17-6-412 Table 4).

NIGHT AND WEEKEND TRANSPORT ONLY — this is the one codified Arizona height-pole trigger. A.A.C. R17-6-402(D)(3): over 15 feet in height requires a front escort with a height pole. It applies only from 3:00 a.m. until one-half hour before sunrise, and only within the 14'6"-to-16' band R17-6-402(A) admits. It is NOT a general daytime trigger — for that see the 17' entry on this state. Separately A.A.C. R17-6-308 requires utility owners to be notified when the load exceeds 16 feet.

GENERAL PRACTICE, NOT CODIFIED. Arizona sets no general statewide height-pole trigger — R17-6-305(A)(2) names no number and ADOT determines escort composition per permit. Over 17 feet is what ADOT writes into permit conditions in practice. Below this, a pole can still be required: the codified R17-6-402(D)(3) trigger fires over 15 ft for night and weekend moves, and utility owners must be notified above 16 ft (R17-6-308). Get the pole requirement written on the permit — ADOT Central Permits, (623) 932-2247.

Escort required for combos over 120' overall (front and rear escort case-by-case per ADOT Class C review).

Front escort required when front overhang exceeds 20' (independent of overall length).

Rear escort required when rear overhang exceeds 20' (independent of overall length).

Default operation is 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset. Loads exceeding 10'W / 14'6"H / 120'L / 250k lb / 10' overhang lose continuous-travel exemption and require daylight-only (or 3am weekend transport with escort accompaniment per R17-6-409).

No transport on 6 ADOT holidays (New Year's, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas) for loads exceeding 10'W / 14'6"H / 120'L / 3' front overhang / 10' rear overhang. Holiday windows extend to noon of preceding business day (R17-6-409).

Arizona escort vehicle operators must be CERTIFIED. A.A.C. R17-6-305(B)(2)(a) requires every non-law-enforcement escort operator to meet A.R.S. sec. 28-1110 and to maintain certification through a programme meeting Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) escort training and certification standards, or an equivalent programme in this or another state. The requirement attaches to any Arizona escort — width, height, length or overhang — not only to the 12' width trigger it is listed under. A list of reciprocal states and a 4-year retraining cycle are asserted by one secondary source only and were NOT found in the rule text; confirm reciprocity with ADOT Central Permits, (623) 932-2247.