Arizona pilot car regulations
Certification: required. Escort drivers must be 18+, hold a valid license, and finish training and certification from a program meeting the CVSA escort operator standard (or an equivalent program). Retrain and recertify at least every 4 years, and carry the certificate while escorting.
From Arizona's own rules and pages, checked 2026-10-24. Rules change: the state's page is the last word.
- Other states' cards
- A certificate issued by another state satisfies Arizona's certification rule, but does not by itself let the driver do traffic control except as ADOT rules allow.
- Minimum age
- 18
- Escort vehicle
- A passenger car or two-axle truck operating as a single unit, currently registered and insured as required by law.Source
- Sign
- "OVERSIZE LOAD" sign built as shown in R17-6-303 Illustration 2, mounted above the roofline, visible to approaching traffic from front and rear, concealed when not in use.
- Lights
- Headlights and overhead warning lights on continuously while in service (A.R.S. 28-947).
- Flags
- Two flags, one mounted on each side of the OVERSIZE LOAD sign; also carry emergency staff-mounted warning flags.
- Height pole
- Rules for night, weekend and holiday moves require a front escort with a height pole for loads over 15 feet high.
- Other equipment
- Same emergency equipment as a truck under A.R.S. 28-960 and 49 CFR 393.95: fire extinguisher(s), warning devices for stopped vehicles, staff-mounted warning flags. Two-way radio reaching at least 1/2 mile, compatible with the truck, police escorts and other escorts. Stay within about 1,500 feet on open highway or 250 feet in town.
- Insurance
- Escort operators who perform traffic control must carry commercial liability insurance of at least $500,000 (A.R.S. 28-1110(D)). The escort vehicle must otherwise meet insurance requirements as provided by law.Source