Maine Pilot Car Requirements

Length 150' or greater: 2 police escorts PLUS 1 civilian pilot vehicle required. TABLE 1 verbatim: "2 Police Escorts + 1 Pilot Vehicle | Maine Only | ... Length | Greater than or equal to 150 feet (See Section 8)". (29-250 CMR ch. 157 sec. 16(1).)

Width 20' or greater: 2 police escorts PLUS 1 civilian pilot vehicle required. CORRECTED 2026-09-14 — the previous text said "no civilian pilots", which was flatly wrong; a pilot vehicle IS required at 20'+. TABLE 1 verbatim: "2 Police Escorts + 1 Pilot Vehicle | Maine Only | Width | Greater than or equal to 20 feet". (29-250 CMR ch. 157 sec. 16(1).)

Length 125' or greater (under 150'): 1 civilian pilot + 1 police escort required. Statute verbatim: "A person may not operate a single vehicle or a combination of vehicles of 125 feet or more in length or 16 feet or more in width on a public way unless the vehicle or combination of vehicles is accompanied by a police escort" (29-A M.R.S. sec. 2382(9-A)); TABLE 1 "Greater than or equal to 125 feet and less than 150 feet".

Length 125' or greater (under 150'): 1 civilian pilot + 1 police escort required (or 2 police escorts when the Maine State Police, MaineDOT or BMV deems necessary). Pilot position is rule-driven, not operator choice: "Pilot vehicles must travel in front of the overdimensional vehicle(s), unless traveling on a divided highway in which case, the pilot vehicle must follow" (29-250 CMR ch. 157 sec. 16(2)(a)).

Width 16' or greater (under 20'): 1 civilian pilot + 1 police escort required. Rule verbatim: "Police escorts are required for permits issued for widths of 16 feet or more" (29-250 CMR ch. 157 sec. 12(3)); statute 29-A M.R.S. sec. 2382(9-A) "...or 16 feet or more in width".

Width 16' or greater (under 20'): 1 civilian pilot + 1 police escort required. TABLE 1 verbatim: "1 Pilot Vehicle + 1 Police Escort ... | Maine Only | Width | Greater than or equal to 16 feet and less than 20 feet". (29-250 CMR ch. 157 sec. 16(1).)

Height over 15': 1 pole car (height-pole vehicle) required. Rule verbatim: "A pole car is required when overall height exceeds 15 feet" (29-250 CMR ch. 157 sec. 12(5)); TABLE 1 "1 Pole Car | Maine Only | ... Height | Greater than 15 feet", identically in TABLE 2 for manufactured/modular homes. EXCLUSIVE at 15'0".

Length 80'0" and up (under 125'): 1 civilian pilot car. INCLUSIVE on MULTI-STATE (NETC/NOOPA) permits — TABLE 1 reads "1 Pilot Vehicle | Multi-State | ... Greater than or equal to 80 feet" — so exactly 80'0" DOES require a pilot, and this entry fires there. EXCLUSIVE on MAINE-ONLY permits: "Greater than 80 feet and less than 125 feet", so on a Maine-only permit a load measuring exactly 80'0" needs no pilot and this entry is a false positive by one inch. CHECK YOUR PERMIT TYPE. Pilot position: in front, unless on a divided highway where it must follow (sec. 16(2)(a)). (29-250 CMR ch. 157 sec. 16(1) TABLE 1.)

Width 12'0" and up (under 16'): 1 civilian pilot car. INCLUSIVE on MULTI-STATE (NETC/NOOPA) permits — TABLE 1 reads "1 Pilot Vehicle | Multi-State | Greater than or equal to 12 feet" — so exactly 12'0" DOES require a pilot, and this entry fires there. EXCLUSIVE on MAINE-ONLY permits: "Greater than 12 feet and less than 16 feet", so on a Maine-only permit a load measuring exactly 12'0" needs no pilot and this entry is a false positive by one inch. CHECK YOUR PERMIT TYPE. Pilot position: in front, unless on a divided highway where it must follow (sec. 16(2)(a)). (29-250 CMR ch. 157 sec. 16(1) TABLE 1.)

Apr 22–Nov 18: travel "from 30 minutes prior to sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset Monday through Friday" (29-250 CMR ch. 157 sec. 11(A)). WARNING — this entry is keyed to 12' width, but sec. 11 applies to EVERY overdimensional permit, so a permitted load narrower than 12' is also daylight-restricted and this rule will not say so.

CORRECTED 2026-09-14 — the previous text ("July–August Sat/Sun restricted for loads 12' or wider or 80' or longer") was wrong on the season, the day and the trigger. Applies to ALL overdimensional permits, not just 12'+: "From January 1 to December 31 overdimensional travel is not authorized on holidays and holiday weekends, unless permission is obtained pursuant to Section 15: Emergency Off-Hour Moves." Apr 22–Nov 18 Saturday travel runs "from 30 minutes prior to sunrise until 12 PM"; Jun 3–Aug 26 Saturday travel is limited to "30 minutes prior to sunrise until 9 AM on I-95" and "until 12 PM on other roads". (29-250 CMR ch. 157 sec. 11(A)-(C).)