mowermech
Billings, MT
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Joined: 06/28/2003
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"...it's against the law and if you get in an accident, your insurance doesn't have to cover you, even if it's not your fault."
Please give an example of this ever having happened.
IF your insurance doesn't have to cover you if you do something illegal, what about when you have an accident while illegally speeding? How about while doing anything that could be construed as illegal "Distracted Driving"? How about the catch-all laws like "Failure To Drive In A Careful And Prudent Manner"?
Unless it is written in the policy, I just don't believe the Insurance Company can deny coverage if you do something illegal!
Please, prove me wrong.
CM1, USN (RET)
'94 Dodge 3500 4X2 CTD, 5 speed, 4.10 LS diff., Jacobs Rambrake, 275,000 Miles
'95 Tioga 29H Ford-based Class C
Daily driver: 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Hemi
Toad: 2006 Jeep Rubicon LJ
"When seconds count, help is only minutes away!"
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vermilye
Oswego, NY, USA
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Joined: 08/11/2004
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You need to follow each state's requirements:
Towing World
NSA RV Products
Jon Vermilye Travel & Photo Web Pages ... My Collection of RV Blogs & Journals
My Travel Journal - Jon's Journeys
Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park, MT
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mowermech
Billings, MT
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Joined: 06/28/2003
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"Montana
* Max Vehicle Height: 14'
* Max Vehicle Width: 8 1/2'
* Combined Length: 75' (only applies when towing two trailers)
* Max Trailer Length: Not Specified. Total maximum combined length of 75 ft.
* Max Trailer Width: 8'6"
* Max Trailer Height: 13'6"
* Motor Home Length: 55'
* Two Vehicle Max Length75' (incorrect, it is 65 feet)
* Triple Tow Allowed: Yes Total maximum combined length of 70 ft. (incorrect, see above)
* Safety Chains Required: Yes
* Breakaway Required: Yes
* Fire Extinguisher: Not Stated
* Flares & Signs: Yes
* Trailer Brakes Required: 3000 (GVW, not unladen weight)
* Towed Cars: No laws regarding. (Performance standard, must be able to stop within a set distance from 20 MPH)
* Wipers: Not Stated
* Max Tow Speed: 65 (not on the freeways, where the speed limit is 75. 65 is the TRUCK speed limit there)
* Ride in 5th Wheel: Yes
* Ride Pickup Camper: Yes
* Ride Travel Trailer:
* Weight Limits for Towing without Auxiliary Brakes: 3000lbs. (not true, see the performance standard)
* Maximum Length - RV & Trailer Combo: 65ft. (applies to all towing units, not just RVs)
The notes in () are my notes about the validity of the list of laws, and they apply to BOTH of the referenced lists.
Here is the performance standard for brakes:
"61-9-312. Performance ability of brakes. On a dry, hard, approximately level stretch of highway free from loose material, a motor vehicle or combination of vehicles, upon application of the service brake, must be capable of stopping at a speed of 20 miles an hour within the following distances:
(1) 25 feet for passenger motor vehicles, except buses and pioneer vehicles;
(2) 40 feet for buses, trucks, and tractor trucks;
(3) 45 feet for motor vehicles registered or qualified to be registered as pioneer vehicles under 61-3-411(2)(a) when equipped with two-wheel brakes or 25 feet when equipped with four-wheel brakes;
(4) 40 feet for all combinations of vehicles; and
(5) 30 feet for motorcycles, quadricycles, and motor-driven cycles."
61-9-312 (4) applies to RVs towing anything.
The point being, it would be VERY foolish to trust ANY "list of laws" that may be found on the internet! If there are that many errors just on the Montana line, what about the other states?
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wny_pat
Western NYS
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Joined: 08/11/2007
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mowermech wrote:Reciprocity agreements only apply to driver's licensing, insurance requirements, and registration requirements, generally speaking.
"Vehicles registered outside New York State and operated within this state must conform with the New York State financial responsibility law."
http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/VAT/III/6/311
"(c) In the case of a vehicle lawfully registered in another state, or in both this state and another state, either a policy issued by an authorized insurer, or a policy issued by an unauthorized insurer authorized to transact business in another state if such unauthorized insurer files with the commissioner in form to be approved by him a statement consenting to service of process and declaring its policies shall be deemed to be varied to comply with the requirements of this article; and".......
Insurance coverage must be a minimum of $25,000/50,000 for injury, $50,000/100,000 for death, and $10,000 for property damage caused by any one accident. NYS Department of Financial Services required insurance companies operating in NYS to cover their customers to the requirements of what ever state, or Canadian Provence, they may be operating their vehicle in.
You will find that several of the eastern states have this requirement
Usually this is only discovered when involved in a motor vehicle accident
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wny_pat
Western NYS
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Joined: 08/11/2007
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mowermech wrote:"...it's against the law and if you get in an accident, your insurance doesn't have to cover you, even if it's not your fault."
Please give an example of this ever having happened.
IF your insurance doesn't have to cover you if you do something illegal, what about when you have an accident while illegally speeding?............................................................. Unless it is written in the policy, I just don't believe the Insurance Company can deny coverage if you do something illegal!
Please, prove me wrong.
"However, under most insurance policies, a person will be ineligible for No-Fault benefits, if:
driving while intoxicated or impaired by use of a drug that contributes to the accident. (Effective January 26, 2011, emergency health related services performed in a general hospital or by an ambulance worker outside of a general hospital will be a covered expense under your No-Fault insurance policy and those bills will be paid by the automobile insurance carrier. However, the No-Fault insurer has the right to recover from the intoxicated or impaired driver the full amount of those No-Fault payments made by the automobile insurer for the emergency services provided to the driver if the driver is convicted of driving while intoxicated or impaired through the use of alcohol or drugs.)
intentionally causing his or her own injuries;
riding an all terrain vehicle (ATV) or a motorcycle as operator or passenger (a pedestrian struck by a motorcycle or ATV is covered);
injured while committing a felony;
injured while in a vehicle known to be stolen; or
an owner of an uninsured vehicle."
http://www.dfs.ny.gov/insurance/auto/2011/auto1102.htm
They also have a clause about not wearing a seat belt in NYS. But it does not affect the liability part of the law.
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mowermech
Billings, MT
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Joined: 06/28/2003
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It would appear I had very good reasons to stay away from New York State, and didn't even know it!
I'm even glad my Mother had the foresight to remove us from Pennsylvania in 1948!
The second post seems to prove the loss of "No-Fault" benefits "if driving while intoxicated or impaired", or self-inflicted injuries, or injured while committing a felony, or in a stolen vehicle, or an owner of an uninsured vehicle, but I don't see where it denies coverage for a traffic violation such as over length, or speeding, or "failure to drive in a careful and prudent manner". Please find the clause that covers such incidents.
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tatest
Oklahoma Green Country
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Joined: 05/14/2005
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Don't just wing, plan your route and check the laws.
Pay attention also to local ordinances, when you get off the trunk highways. Rigs and combinations legal on the highway can be restricted from city streets by local ordinance. Though you might be allowed to pull your combo through Chicago on I-94, you may not be legal on Lakeshore Drive or allowed to pull it down State Street. That's why all the trucking terminals are on the city fringes, to break down highway legal loads to city legal loads, for going on in.
Tom Test
Itasca Spirit 29B
2001 Ranger Edge
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