RouteAllTravel-Time and Curfew Restrictions by State
Last verified September 8, 2026 against the state rules linked in each table row.
Oversize load travel time restrictions start with one rule: most states allow movement in daylight only. Seven of the eight states here restrict you to roughly sunrise to sunset. On top of that sit rush-hour curfews and six national holidays that stop the load entirely.
Every row in the table below links to the state rule it was read from.
In one minute: your legal window is the daylight rule, minus the rush-hour curfew, minus the holiday shutdown. Georgia and New Mexico both run 30 minutes after sunrise to 30 minutes before sunset.
Whitney runs height pole for a living and names the curfews as the thing people get wrong most.
Daylight rule: when can you move?
Most states let you move only in daylight. Georgia and New Mexico both write the window as 30 minutes after sunrise to 30 minutes before sunset. New York prohibits the span from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise.
Virginia says sunrise to sunset, and Pennsylvania prohibits sunset to sunrise.
Read that carefully: the legal day is shorter than the daylight day. If you are still working out whether you need a permit at all, start with Do you need an oversize permit? The 4 numbers that decide.
"Unless continuous movement is specifically allowed on a special permit, there shall be no movement thirty minutes after sunset until thirty minutes before sunrise." — 18.19.8.24 NMAC. Verified September 8, 2026.
Two states in this guide are the exception. Utah restricts loads to daylight only once they pass 14 feet 6 inches high, 12 feet wide, 105 feet long, or 10 feet of overhang. Below those numbers, night travel is allowed. Florida allows movement all days and all hours for a load up to 14 feet 6 inches high and up to 10 feet wide.
Night movement: which states allow it?
Utah and Florida both allow night movement below a size threshold. Utah caps night loads at 12 feet wide on secondary highways and 14 feet wide on the interstate system. Florida allows movement at all hours below 14 feet 6 inches high and 10 feet wide.
New Mexico allows continuous movement only when the permit says so.
Utah adds an escort requirement after dark that surprises people. Loads over 12 feet wide, 105 feet long or with 10 feet of overhang need one certified pilot escort on the interstate and two on secondary highways.
- Utah night limit is 12 feet wide on secondary highways, 14 feet on the interstate system.
- Florida night travel is allowed up to 14 feet 6 inches high and 10 feet wide.
- New Mexico continuous movement caps at 10 feet wide, 14 feet 6 inches high, 120 feet long, 140,000 pounds.
- Pennsylvania urban nights require extra lighting visible from 1,000 feet plus a pilot car.
Night authorization never overrides weather. Utah writes that in directly, and every other state here restricts movement in fog, snow or ice regardless of the hour. Night travel usually adds an escort, and the thresholds are in Pilot car requirements by state.
Which states have rush-hour curfews?
Florida, New Mexico and Virginia all close 7 to 9 in the morning and 4 to 6 in the afternoon on weekdays. Each applies it to different roads. Pennsylvania instead opens three windows a day in urbanized areas. The table gives the daily window and the curfew for all eight states.
| State | Daily window | Weekday curfew | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | All hours up to 14 feet 6 inches high; daytime only above it | 7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. over 12 feet wide, seven counties | FDOT movement conditions (May 30, 2025) |
| Georgia | 30 minutes after sunrise to 30 minutes before sunset | None in the rule; posted dates apply | Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 672-2-.03(c) |
| New Mexico | 30 minutes after sunrise to 30 minutes before sunset | 7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m.; to 7 p.m. in Albuquerque | 18.19.8.24 and 18.19.8.26 NMAC |
| New York | Half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset | None statewide; Saturday ends at 12 noon | 17 NYCRR 154-1.2(a) |
| Pennsylvania | Sunrise to sunset; Sunday prohibited | Urban areas open only 3 to 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., 7 p.m. to sunset | 67 Pa. Code 179.10(7) |
| Texas | Daytime only unless overweight only, or under 10 feet wide on an interstate | Published curfew list; the permit names it | 43 TAC 219.11(l) |
| Utah | Night allowed under 12 feet wide secondary, 14 feet interstate | None in the rule; holiday and event closures apply | R909-2-14 and R909-2-15 |
| Virginia | Sunrise to sunset | 7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. inside city and town limits | 24VAC20-82-110(B) |
Virginia's curfew applies inside the corporate limits of cities and towns. It exempts loads that are overweight or overlength only.
New Mexico names its roads: Interstate 25 between Santa Fe and Los Lunas, U.S. 285 between Santa Fe and Espanola, and mile-marker ranges near Las Cruces.
A curfew does not pause your clock. You must plan a legal place to stop before it starts.
Weekend rules: Saturday and Sunday
Pennsylvania and New York both stop permitted movement after 12 noon on Saturday and all day Sunday. That is the strictest weekend rule in this guide, and it removes about a day and a half from every week. New York carves out one exception for smaller loads.
Loads within 12 feet wide and 85 feet long that can hold traffic speed may run until 12 noon Saturday in New York.
The other six states in this guide do not set a general weekend prohibition in the rules read here. Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and Virginia treat Saturday and Sunday like any other day, subject to the daylight rule and the holiday list.
Check the weekend rule before you take a Friday load. A Pennsylvania move that slips past noon Saturday sits until Monday morning.
Holiday shutdowns: which days stop the load?
Six holidays repeat in every state checked here: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Florida adds the day after Thanksgiving. The shutdown almost always starts before the holiday itself, and that early start is what catches drivers out.
- Utah closes earliest, at 2 p.m. the day before the holiday, running to sunrise the day after.
- Virginia and New York both void the permit from 12 noon on the preceding weekday.
- Monday holidays in Utah and Virginia start at noon on the preceding Friday.
- Pennsylvania prohibits the holiday and the day preceding it, unless the permit says otherwise.
- Florida applies its holiday rule only above 10 feet wide, 14 feet 6 inches high or 80 feet long.
Utah's Monday-holiday rule is worth reading twice. Movement stops at 2 p.m. Friday, resumes at sunrise Saturday through midnight Sunday, then stops again from 12:01 a.m. Monday to sunrise Tuesday.
That is two separate shutdowns around one Monday holiday.
Permit beats table: read the face of the permit
Your permit can be stricter or looser than the state rule. New Mexico writes that any exception is valid only if the special permit states it. Georgia's rule opens with "unless otherwise shown on the permit".
Texas prints its curfew condition on the permit and points to a published department list.
The table above tells you what to expect; the permit tells you what is legal.
"Send me the permit so I can look over the route."
Whitney S. Johnson, height pole escort
Whitney names the curfews as the thing drivers misread most. A pilot car that does not know the curfew cannot warn the truck about it.
Share the permit with your escort, not a pin. The case for that is in the RouteAll guide to escort subscriptions, and how RouteAll turns a permit into a route is on the RouteAll home page.
Leaving the permitted roads to wait out a curfew is its own violation. Read What happens if you leave your permitted route before you pick a place to sit.
Before you roll
Work out your legal window before the first mile, not at the on-ramp. Take the state's daylight rule, subtract the rush-hour curfew for your roads, then check the date against the six-holiday list. If the permit and this table disagree, the permit wins. RouteAll does not issue permits or guarantee compliance; the other RouteAll driver guides cover the rest.
Common questions
Can I run an oversize load at night?
Only where the state allows it. Utah permits night movement up to 12 feet wide on secondary highways and 14 feet on the interstate. Pennsylvania and New York prohibit it outright unless the permit says otherwise. Florida allows it under 14 feet 6 inches high.
Which holidays shut oversize movement down?
Six holidays repeat across every state checked here: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Florida adds the day after Thanksgiving. The shutdown starts before the holiday itself in Utah, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York.
What time does the Pennsylvania urban curfew lift?
Pennsylvania allows urbanized-area movement in three windows: 3 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and 7 p.m. to sunset. The Fort Pitt, Squirrel Hill and Liberty Tunnels in Allegheny County allow only the 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. window.
Does RouteAll know my curfew hours?
No. RouteAll reads the permit you already hold and turns the roads on it into navigation. It does not issue permits, calculate legal travel windows, or guarantee compliance. The permit and the state rule decide; the driver remains responsible for the load.
Further reading
Sources
- Florida DOT, Blanket Permit Movement Conditions and Restrictions, revised May 30, 2025.
- Georgia, Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 672-2-.03, subsection (c).
- New Mexico, 18.19.8 NMAC, sections 24, 25 and 26.
- New York, 17 NYCRR 154-1.2, subsection (a).
- New York, 17 NYCRR 154-1.11, wide mobile homes.
- Pennsylvania, 67 Pa. Code § 179.10, paragraph (7).
- Texas, 43 Tex. Admin. Code § 219.11, subsection (l).
- Utah, R909-2-13, R909-2-14 and R909-2-15.
- Virginia, 24VAC20-82-110.
RouteAll reads the permit you provide. It does not issue permits or guarantee compliance. The driver remains responsible for the load. Rules change; verify against the permit and the issuing state before every move.