New Hampshire Pilot Car Requirements

Length 100'0" or greater: 1 state police escort required, IN ADDITION to any non-police escort. Verbatim: "If the vehicle and load are 100 feet 0 inches or more in length, one state police escort vehicle, in addition to any non-police escort vehicle required under (c) or (d) above, shall be required, unless the state police determine that weather conditions, visibility, traffic flow, or other conditions do not compromise safe movement" (Tra 304.17(e)). The State Police may waive it on those conditions.

Width over 14': a TOTAL of 2 state police escort vehicles required — "If the overall width exceeds 14 feet 0 inches, a total of 2 state police escorts shall be required, INCLUDING any state police escorts already required under (e) above" (Tra 304.17(f)). The 2 is a total that ABSORBS the 100'-length trooper, not 2 on top of it. EXCLUSIVE ("exceeds") — verified 2026-09-14, threshold correct, do not lower.

Rear overhang 15'0" or greater: 1 civilian escort required — "There is a front or rear overhang of equal to or greater than 15 feet 0 inches" (Tra 304.17(c)(4)). A SECOND civilian escort (front + rear) is required only when that rear overhang is COMBINED with width 12'0" or greater (Tra 304.17(d)).

Rear overhang 15'0" or greater AND width 12'0" or greater: a SECOND civilian escort is required, one preceding and one following — "a combination of a rear overhang of 15 feet 0 inches or more and a width of 12 feet 0 inches or more" (Tra 304.17(d), (k)(4)). Below 12'0" wide only ONE civilian escort is required by rule, which PRECEDES the load on undivided highways and FOLLOWS it on divided highways (Tra 304.17(k)(3)). CAVEAT: this entry keys on rear overhang alone, so it over-fires on a narrow load — the width predicate is not modelled.

Front overhang 15'0" or greater: 1 civilian escort required — "There is a front or rear overhang of equal to or greater than 15 feet 0 inches" (Tra 304.17(c)(4)). With one escort it PRECEDES the load on undivided highways and FOLLOWS it on divided highways (Tra 304.17(k)(3)). A front overhang never escalates to two escorts by itself: Tra 304.17(d)'s 2-escort combination names REAR overhang only.

Overall length 90'0" or greater: 1 civilian escort required — "The overall length is equal to or greater than 90 feet 0 inches" (Tra 304.17(c)(2)). NOT necessarily a front escort: with one escort Tra 304.17(k)(3) puts it IN FRONT on undivided highways but BEHIND on divided highways.

Height greater than 14'0": 1 civilian escort required (Tra 304.17(c)(3)). Position per Tra 304.17(k)(3): in front on undivided highways, behind on divided. NOTE the manufactured-housing track uses a DIFFERENT height — "greater than 14 feet 6 inches" (Tra 304.13(g)(1)c.) — do not reuse this number there.

Width 12'0" or greater and less than 14'0": 1 civilian escort required — "The overall width is equal to or greater than 12 feet 0 inches and less than 14 feet 0 inches" (Tra 304.17(c)(1)). NOT necessarily a front escort: Tra 304.17(k)(3) puts a single escort in front on undivided highways, behind on divided.

Travel restricted to daylight hours, "which are 1/2 hour before sunrise and 1/2 hour after sunset" (Tra 304.14(i)). WARNING — this entry is keyed to 12' width, but the rule reads "Except as provided in (j) below or when otherwise provided for a supermove permit or a single-trip permit for a load consisting of buildings or structures upon an independent carriage assembly EXCEEDING 12 feet 0 inches in width, travel shall be restricted to daylight hours": the 12' figure is part of the EXCEPTION, not the trigger. Every oversize permit is daylight-restricted, so loads from 8'7" to 11'11" are silently cleared here when they should not be. Tra 304.14(j) exempts overweight-only loads that travel at normal traffic speeds.

No travel on weekend days: "Permits for oversize or oversize and overweight vehicles and loads shall not be valid on weekend days, except when otherwise provided for a supermove permit or a single-trip permit for a load consisting of buildings or structures upon an independent carriage assembly exceeding 12 feet 0 inches in width" (Tra 304.14(h)) — again the 12' figure is the EXCEPTION, not the trigger, so this entry under-fires below 12'. CORRECTED 2026-09-14: "the day following a legal holiday" is NOT a general rule — only THANKSGIVING carries its following day (Tra 304.14(g)(9)). Tra 304.14(f) handles weekend-adjacent holidays: a Sunday holiday also restricts Monday, a Saturday holiday also restricts the previous Friday. Tra 304.14(j) exempts overweight-only loads travelling at normal traffic speeds from date/time restriction entirely.