New AG opinion from Drummond: Farmers don’t need highway escort to haul equipment

OKLAHOMA CITY (Aug. 24, 2026) – Attorney General Gentner Drummond today issued an opinion protecting farmers from being cited for not having a highway escort when they haul equipment between fields. The opinion, A.G. 2026-11, clarifies state law concerning oversized vehicles.

Oklahoma law generally requires a vehicle wider than 12 feet to be accompanied by an escort vehicle while traveling on state highways. The rule is meant to keep large loads like construction equipment, oversized machinery and manufactured homes safely visible to other drivers.

Drummond's opinion concludes that requirement does not apply to farm equipment. Oklahoma law defines equipment used exclusively for farming, such as swathers and balers, as an “implement of husbandry” rather than a “vehicle,” and specifically excludes implements of husbandry and the trailers used to haul them from the state's definition of “vehicle.” Because the escort law only applies to vehicles, it does not apply to farm equipment or the trailers hauling it.

The opinion was requested by state Rep. Dick Lowe after an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper cited a driver for hauling a swather on a trailer without an escort. 

“Oklahoma farm families move equipment between fields every day of the growing season, and our laws should reflect that reality,” Drummond said. “This opinion provides clarity for both farmers and law enforcement and makes clear that hauling a piece of farm equipment down a country road is exactly the kind of common-sense activity our laws were never meant to restrict.”

Farmers hauling equipment must still use proper lighting and take reasonable steps to reduce the equipment's width for the road, as required under separate state safety laws, and drivers remain responsible for operating with regard for the safety of others on the road.