When hauling oversize and overweight loads there are times when a pilot car, commonly called an escort, is required. Most people have on occasion seen these pilot cars on the interstate driving near oversize loads. This article discusses the basics of understanding pilot cars, the various types, and when they are generally needed. These requirement vary on the states, counties, and cities the load travels, so it's important to check very carefully the route you will be taking.
When working with an oversize or overweight loads, you'll first want to review the states you're going to travel. Verify what permits and escorts are going to be required on the route through those states, cities, and counties based on the dimensions of the load.
Heavyhaul.net has has permit and escort information by state on their website.
More and more counties and cities are requiring permits and pilot car requirements as they see revenue potential. When you consider the number of counties and cities throughout the country, that can create a large database of information. Here is a map of counties alone in the US.
There are many companies out there that offer pilot car services. These companies are generally certified in the state they operate, but many states will accept a certification from another state allowing a pilot car to follow a load through all states that the load must travel. It has been discussed and likely will happen at some point, that pilot car certification will be a Federal requirement.
Like so many products and services, the cost of pilot cars can vary. The numbers provided here are estimated on the high side to cover unforeseen costs and overnights that may be required.
