New law requires escort vehicle drivers to be registered

A new law passed by the Kansas Legislature went into effect on Jan. 1 that requires escort vehicle companies/service providers working with over-width/overweight vehicles to be registered with the Kansas Secretary of Transportation, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation.

The statute states that escort vehicle drivers must be registered, successfully complete an escort vehicle training course, and have a valid driver’s license. There is no fee to register or to renew a registration. Registration is valid for one year.

“This change has added requirements between the escorts and the oversize/ overweight vehicles, which will help improve safety and communication so there is a better understanding of the routes to be used and where everyone should be when moving these loads,” said Dominique Shannon, KDOT Bridge Evaluation Engineer.

KDOT worked with agency partners and law enforcement on the registration requirements for escort vehicle service providers. Starting this month, if an overwidth/overweight vehicle gets stopped for any reason by a law enforcement officer, the officer may verify that any driver escorting the overwidth/ overweight vehicle is registered to operate in Kansas.

“If a driver escorting an overwidth/overweight vehicle is not registered, the officer may require the load to stop until it has a registered escort driver,” Shannon said.