Colorado Pilot Car Requirements
When does an oversize or overweight load need a pilot car or escort in Colorado? Here are the width, height, length and weight thresholds that trigger an escort, a height pole, or a police escort.
Escort & pilot car requirements
- Police / law-enforcement escortover 18'0" width
Colorado State Patrol escort required for widths over 18' or as specified on the permit face (CRS §42-4-510).
- Height-pole escortover 16'0" height
Front pilot car must carry a height-clearance pole for loads exceeding 16' tall (2 CCR 601-11 §703).
- Chase (rear) pilot carover 110'0" length
Rear pilot added for overall lengths over 110'. Lead+chase both required on all route types (2 CCR 601-11 §703).
- Lead (front) pilot carover 100'0" length
Escort required for overall lengths over 100' on 2-lane highways. Lead+chase required over 110' on any highway (2 CCR 601-11 §703).
- Chase (rear) pilot carover 14'6" width
Rear pilot car required in addition to front escort when width exceeds 14'6" on any highway. Lead+chase required on all routes above this threshold (2 CCR 601-11 §703).
- Lead (front) pilot carover 14'0" width
Front pilot car required on 2-lane and undivided highways when width exceeds 14'. On divided/Interstate, permit conditions specify position (2 CCR 601-11 §703).
Travel restrictions
- Daylight-only travelover 14'0" width
Loads over 14' wide restricted to daylight-only movement. Night travel requires written CDOT authorization on permit face (2 CCR 601-11 §703).
- Weekend / holiday restrictionover 14'0" width
No oversize movement on Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day. Holiday window begins noon preceding day for loads over 14' wide (2 CCR 601-11 §703).
Driver & inspection requirements
- Certified escort driver requiredover 14'0" width
Colorado requires CDOT-certified escort vehicle operators for all oversize permitted moves. Reciprocal with AZ, OK, UT, WA, NC, FL, VA, MN, GA (2 CCR 601-11 §703).
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Informational only. These thresholds are compiled from published Colorado DOT references and are not legal or operational advice. Permit conditions can differ from the general tables, and rules change — always verify with the Colorado permit office before you move a load.
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