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Crackdown on Unsafe Trucks

Recent inspections in Arizona, Nebraska, and Ontario uncovered hundreds of safety violations

📅 Published Jul 25, 2026

Commercial vehicle enforcement agencies across the U.S. and Canada are continuing to remove unsafe trucks and unqualified drivers from the road.

Recent inspection blitzes in Arizona, Nebraska, and Ontario uncovered hundreds of safety violations and placed dozens of commercial vehicles and drivers out of service.

In Arizona, troopers completed 96 commercial vehicle inspections and identified 350 violations, including drivers operating without a commercial driver’s license and vehicle equipment defects.

In Nebraska, the State Patrol’s Carrier Enforcement Division conducted targeted inspections and discovered 155 violations of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and state law.

This crackdown may impact oversize operators who must ensure their vehicles and drivers comply with safety regulations to avoid being placed out of service.

Source: FreightWaves

What Arizona actually requires

The story above is the enforcement. This is the rule it is enforcing — so you do not have to go looking for it.

Legal without a permit

Legal width (Above this you need a permit): 8'6"
Legal height (Above this you need a permit): 13'6"
Legal gross weight (Above this you need a permit): 80,000 lbs

When escorts kick in

Front escort required over (width): 14'
Rear escort required over (width): 11'
Escorts both ends over (width): 14'
Height escort / pole car over (height): 15'

When you may run — base envelope only, conditions below

Night travel: Allowed
Weekend travel: Allowed
Sunday travel: Allowed

Superload threshold

Superload over (width): 14'
Superload over (height): 16'
Superload over (length): 120'
Superload over (weight): 250,000 lbs

Arizona statewide default escort-by-dimension rule (A.A.C. R17-6-401/402/404): over 11 to 14 ft wide = REAR escort; over 14 to 16 ft wide = FRONT AND REAR escort; over 15 ft high = FRONT escort with a height pole. Overhang (R17-6-307): front overhang over 20 ft = front escort; rear overhang over 20 ft = rear escort; both = front and rear. No width-only 'front escort' tier exists (front escort by width triggered only within the front+rear pair at over 14 ft). Law-enforcement escorts required where R17-6-412 Table 4 specifies, or at Department discretion (R17-6-306); DPS must be contacted at least 12 hours before transport. Route-specific Table 4 rules frequently require escorts at LOWER widths than the statewide default, so the actual requirement is the greater of the statewide rule and any Table 4 route rule. Over 16 ft wide or high moves into Class C special-permit territory. Not weight-tied.
Loads within the continuous-travel envelope (<=10 ft wide, <=14'6" high, <=120 ft long, <=250,000 lbs, overhangs <=10 ft) may travel continuously incl. nights/weekends (R17-6-401.A). Loads EXCEEDING 10 ft width or 14'6" height must move DAYLIGHT ONLY (R17-6-401.B) unless granted night/weekend transport. Night & weekend transport (R17-6-402) allowed for loads over 10 to 16 ft wide or over 14'6" to 16 ft high on Department-authorized Table 4 routes on any non-holiday night/weekend, from no earlier than 3:00 a.m. until one-half hour after sunset. Metro curfews (Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma) apply Mon-Fri 7:00-9:00 a.m. and 4:00-6:00 p.m. on listed routes.
New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day.

Permit desk: 602-771-2960 · Apply online

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Official source · Checked 2026-07-16 · Confidence: high
Only limits we have confirmed are listed. A limit that is not shown is one we have not verified — never read a gap here as "no limit". Always confirm on the permit before you roll.

What Nebraska actually requires

The story above is the enforcement. This is the rule it is enforcing — so you do not have to go looking for it.

Legal without a permit

Legal width (Above this you need a permit): 8'6"
Legal height (Above this you need a permit): 14'6"
Legal gross weight (Above this you need a permit): 80,000 lbs

When escorts kick in

Front escort required over (width): 12'
Rear escort required over (width): 12'
Escorts both ends over (width): 16'
Height escort / pole car over (height): 14'6"

When you may run — base envelope only, conditions below

Night travel: Not allowed
Weekend travel: Allowed
Sunday travel: Allowed

Superload threshold

Superload over (width): 16'
Superload over (height): 15'11"
Superload over (length): 150'
Superload over (weight): 160,000 lbs

Per Title 408 NAC Ch. 3 (003.19): escort MAY be required when a load exceeds 8'6" width, 90' length, or 14'6" height. One escort is REQUIRED for 12-16' width (144-192 in) or 125-150' length. Two escorts (one front, one rear) are REQUIRED for greater than 16' width (over 192 in) or greater than 150' length. Escort position: front on all undivided highways, rear on divided highways (rear escort may be waived on freeways/expressways/rural divided if the trailer has rear-facing amber strobe visible 800'). Escorts stay within 300'. POLE CAR (front height-pole escort) may be required over 14'6" high; over 16' high requires a written pre-run route survey AND a front pole car.
Title 408 NAC Ch. 3 (003.14-003.15): overdimensional permit movement limited to 30 min before sunrise to 30 min after sunset; overweight-ONLY loads may move 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. Peak-hour restriction (003.13): no overdimensional travel Mon-Fri 7:00-9:00 am and 4:00-6:00 pm in the City of Lincoln (Hwys 2, 6, 34, 77 within city limits, excl. I-80) and the Omaha urban area (incl. I-80 Iowa border to MP 432 Gretna). Overdimensional travel prohibited on Holidays and Long Holidays.
Overdimensional travel prohibited on Holidays and Long Holidays as defined and dated on the NDOT website; specific holiday dates and restricted hours are shown on each permit. Exact holiday list not enumerated in the regulation text.

Permit desk: 1-402-479-4512 · Apply online

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What Ontario actually requires

The story above is the enforcement. This is the rule it is enforcing — so you do not have to go looking for it.

Legal without a permit

Legal width (Above this you need a permit): 8'6"
Legal height (Above this you need a permit): 13'7"
Legal gross weight (Above this you need a permit): 139,994 lbs

When escorts kick in

Front escort required over (width): 13'1"
Rear escort required over (width): 12'
Escorts both ends over (width): 15'1"
Height escort / pole car over (height): 16'

When you may run — base envelope only, conditions below

Night travel: Allowed
Weekend travel: Allowed
Sunday travel: Allowed

Superload threshold

Superload over (width): 16'5"
Superload over (length): 150'
Superload over (weight): 264,555 lbs

Per the Ontario MTO Guide to Oversize/Overweight Vehicles and Loads. Width: over 4.0 m (13.1 ft / 157 in) requires 1 private escort/warning vehicle (on 2-lane the escort precedes the load; on multi-lane it follows). Over 4.6 m (181 in) on 2-lane highways requires 2 escorts (one preceding, one following). Width of 5.0 m (16.4 ft) or more requires a Certified Superload Escort (CSE). Height: a load over 4.87 m (16.0 ft / 192 in) requires a height-pole ('pole car') escort preceding the load. Length: overall length 36.76 m or more requires 1 escort; rear overhang exceeding 4.65 m requires a rear escort. Weight over 120,000 kg (superload) requires a CSE per Weight & Load Engineer approval. Police escort is assigned as a permit/route condition, not a fixed dimensional threshold. Escort vehicles must carry a fire extinguisher, six 45 cm cones/reflectors, and spare bulbs.
Night moves permitted with added conspicuity (lights/signs): up to 3.05 m wide and 25 m long on multi-lane controlled-access highways with a median; overheight/overweight up to 4.26 m and 63,500 kg on all King's Highways. Night travel prohibited when visibility is 500 m or less, on snow-covered/icy roads, or when continuous wiper use is required. GTA congestion restrictions apply to loads exceeding 3.70 m (2-lane)/3.85 m (multi-lane) width, 25 m length, 4.26 m height, or 63,500 kg during weekday rush windows (~7:00-9:30 am and 3:30-6:30 pm) in defined Greater Toronto zones. Summer restrictions: no travel of larger loads Fridays 3:00 pm-midnight and Sundays noon-midnight (June-Aug Southern Ontario / July-Aug Northern Ontario). Annual/project permits void during the Reduced Load Period (March-April Southern / March-May Northern).
On statutory holidays, oversized moves are permitted only from 1/2 hour before sunrise to noon; loads exceeding 3.70 m (2-lane)/3.85 m (multi-lane) width, 25 m length, 4.26 m height or 63,500 kg are otherwise prohibited. On the day preceding a statutory holiday, oversized moves are limited to the same 1/2-hour-before-sunrise-to-noon window.

Permit desk: 1-800-387-7736 · Apply online

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Official source · Checked 2026-07-16 · Confidence: medium
Only limits we have confirmed are listed. A limit that is not shown is one we have not verified — never read a gap here as "no limit". Always confirm on the permit before you roll.

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