Luxury Coach Lifestyles - View Single Post - California's length limit on motorcoaches?
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Old 07-10-2001, 05:33 PM   #2
TechTalk
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Join Date: Feb 2000
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California's length limit on motorcoaches - For many years, California has had a regulation on their books (we would call it obsolete, but we don't really have a say) that limits vehicle length, with certain exceptions (not including private motor homes or private buses) to 40 feet. When the luxury coach market started selling over-40 foot coaches several years ago, virtually no one (manufacturers, dealers, California law enforcement, etc.) was aware of this regulation. Several other states had similar (obsolete?) regulations, but there was no enforcement. Most of the other states revised the problems regulations, and those that did not have not been issuing citations. However, a couple of years ago, the California bureaucracy, to their horror, became aware that there were all these "illegal" over 40 foot vehicles traveling the highways of their fair state, endangering their citizens and creating carnage on the highways. It was as if the Red Menace of the '50s had returned. Great confusion ensued. However, the good news is that it quickly dawned on the enforcement side in California that, as a practical matter, issuing citations is not an answer. California citizens would be unfairly penalized, and lucrative out-of-state tourism would be discouraged. The motor home industry has been working hard to get the remedial legislation, AB67, through the California Assembly and signed by the governor. Last year, for reasons still unclear, after the Assembly passed AB67 unanimously, the governor vetoed it. This year, AB67 has again been working its way though the legislative committee structure and it is hoped that it will come to a vote and pass within the next few weeks. There is guarded optimism that the governor will sign the bill this time. In the meantime, 45 foot coaches are driving around California with only the very occasional ticket issued. We know of two Newells stopped this past year. One did not receive a citation. The other owner was ticketed and fined, so he wrote to the judge, who graciously suspended the fine. Bottom line: go to California with your 45 Newell, be careful not to be pulled over for speeding or some other infraction, but if you are stopped, smile sweetly and say "yes, sir/ yes ma'am," and "no, sir / no ma'am" to the officer. And enjoy the Golden State while you are there.
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