Rhode Island Pilot Car Requirements

Length over 90': 1 front + 1 rear escort required — "Two (2) escort vehicles are required for over ninety (90) feet" (290-RICR-40-00-1 sec. 1.5.4(A)(2)(a)).

Length over 90': 1 front + 1 rear escort required — "Two (2) escort vehicles are required for over ninety (90) feet" (290-RICR-40-00-1 sec. 1.5.4(A)(2)(a)).

Width over 14'6": 1 front + 1 rear escort required — "Two (2) escort vehicles are required for overall width over fourteen (14) feet, six (6) inches" (290-RICR-40-00-1 sec. 1.5.4(A)(1)(a)).

Width over 14'6": 1 front + 1 rear escort required — "Two (2) escort vehicles are required for overall width over fourteen (14) feet, six (6) inches" (290-RICR-40-00-1 sec. 1.5.4(A)(1)(a)).

UNVERIFIED — could not verify against 290-RICR-40-00-1; NO height-based escort trigger appears anywhere in the RI escort regulation. Sec. 1.5.4 has none, sec. 1.4.19 gives legal height as 13'6", and R.I. Gen. Laws sec. 31-25-4 caps at 162 inches. Retained only so the band is not silently empty. Confirm with the RIDOT permit office before relying.

Overhang of 15 feet or more: 1 escort vehicle required — "No escort vehicle is required if overhang is less than fifteen (15) feet with proper flags displayed. One (1) escort vehicle is required if the overhang is fifteen (15) feet or more." Placement is set by sec. 1.5.4(A), not by the overhang side: "When one (1) escort is required, it shall precede a load on undivided highways and follow the load on divided highways." TWO escorts if the overhang is 15' or more to the REAR on a 2-lane undivided highway AND the width is 12' or more. (290-RICR-40-00-1 sec. 1.5.4(A)(3)(a).) NOTE the reg's one-escort trigger is on OVERHANG generally, not rear overhang — a >=15' FRONT overhang is not caught by this entry.

Length 80'0"-90'0" ONLY (over 90' the two-escort rule governs): 1 escort required — "No escort vehicle is required for overlength of less than eighty (80) feet. One (1) escort is required for overlength between eighty (80) feet and ninety (90) feet. Two (2) escort vehicles are required for over ninety (90) feet." Because "less than 80" is the no-escort zone, exactly 80'0" DOES require an escort (band CORRECTED 2026-09-14 from "80'-95'"). PLACEMENT is set by road type, not by side: "When one (1) escort is required, it shall precede a load on undivided highways and follow the load on divided highways." (290-RICR-40-00-1 sec. 1.5.4(A)(2)(a).)

Width 12'0"-14'6" ONLY (over 14'6" the two-escort rule governs): 1 escort required — "No escort is required for overall width less than twelve (12) feet. One (1) escort vehicle is required for overall width of between twelve (12) feet and fourteen (14) feet, six (6) inches." The FT(11,11) encoding is correct and intentional: it makes the rule fire at exactly 12'0" (upper bound CORRECTED 2026-09-14 from 13'6"). PLACEMENT is set by road type, not by side: "When one (1) escort is required, it shall precede a load on undivided highways and follow the load on divided highways" — which is why this is kinded LEAD_OR_CHASE and not CHASE. (290-RICR-40-00-1 sec. 1.5.4(A)(1)(a).)

Travel permitted 1/2 hr before sunrise to 1/2 hr after sunset only. SCOPE WARNING — sec. 1.5.8 applies daylight travel to "Most permitted vehicles" generally, NOT at a 12' width trigger, so this entry under-fires below 12'. And sec. 1.5.8(B) imposes a NARROWER window (sunrise–7:00 AM and 9:00 AM–3:30 PM on specified Interstates) for mobile/modular homes over 12' wide, construction equipment over 13' wide, and cranes — that tighter window is not modelled here.

No weekend travel: "Permit travel is authorized during approved hours on Monday through Friday. No permit travel on Saturday or Sunday is authorized under the agreement" (sec. 1.5.7) — this applies to ALL permit travel, not only loads 12' or wider, so this entry under-fires below 12'. Holidays prohibited (sec. 1.4.15(A)): New Year's, MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.'S BIRTHDAY, Memorial Day, Victory Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, ELECTION DAY (Tuesday after the first Monday in November, EVEN YEARS ONLY), Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas. MLK Day and Election Day were missing before 2026-09-14.