CapriRacer wrote:
Francesca Knowles wrote:
I think this interpretation incorrect, for the following reasons:
1) Many States do in fact allow passenger transportation in travel trailers, fifth wheels, or both.
According to this 2010 towing laws by State article, carrying passengers in travel trailers is allowed in eight States:Arizona, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnestota, Mississippi, Missouri, and Nebraska. The allowance includes fifth wheel trailers.
Nine other States allow passengers in fifth-wheel type trailers only: Montana, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, North Dakota, West Virginia, and Wisconsin........
As someone who has been involved with interpretting laws and regulations, I would be very careful about how this is stated. One needs to read the actual regulation to be sure what it says. For example: If a regulation doesn't address the issue of passengers in trailers, that's not the same as permitting it.
What I usually use when reading summaries of regulations is that there is usually some sort of qualifier - and in this case, I would think that passengers in trailer would be required to be belted in or that there would be a max speed. I know I have seen "bus" type trailers used on airport grounds, but I can't recall if I have ever seen these driven on highways - but I'll bet there is a regulation about it.
My best guess is that none of these regulations specifically address passengers. Besides, this doesn't sound like a very good idea - plus, the issue is whether or not that impacts how ST tires are rated for load - and my best guess there is that it is assumed by the tire standardizing organizations that ST tires AREN'T involved in carrying passengers.
A "best guess" isn't as accurate as asking the States directly, which is what the carefully researched article's author did. There were no inferences drawn in the article. Information is based solely on direct information received after inquiry to individual States. Only those States specifically addressing the issue of passengers are referenced.
And it's simply wrong to infer that ST tires are somehow less "safe" than LT's simply because their use is limited to trailers. I doubt very much if any tire's load-carrying capacity includes a qualifier such as "for/not for human transportation", though some tires DO carry "not for highway use" qualifiers. Every tire allowed on Public Highways must meet safety standards, not just for protection of vehicle occupants, but for other drivers on the road.
ST tires simply aren't designed for steer/drive axles, or for speeds above the recommended maximum safe towing speed of 65 mph. Those are the reasons that ST's aren't used on drive vehicles.
