• In Iowa, truck drivers are required to carry a permit for oversize loads.Trucking image by JASON WINTER from Fotolia.com
  
  According to the Iowa Department of Transportation, you must obtain a permit for oversize truck loads. It is important that the truck driver takes precaution for the safety of lives and property while using this permit. You must also have adequate liability insurance. You can drive with the permit any day except times when there is abnormally high traffic, such as holidays and special events. You can travel one half hour after sunrise until one half hour before sunset.
  
  

Escort Vehicle Rules

• You are required to use a rear escort vehicle when the oversize load exceeds 120 feet, and when the width is over 16 feet 6 inches. The escort vehicle must be the size of a passenger car or pickup truck and it must have an amber revolving light on top of it. There must be red flags on each corner of the front bumper. A front escort vehicle is required when the width of the oversize load is up to 14 feet 6 inches and travel is on a 2-lane road. An amber revolving light is required for the rear of the escort vehicle.
  
  

Lighting Rules

• There must be an amber revolving light that is visible from the front and rear of the oversize load truck if the length is over 85 feet, the front projection is over 25 feet or the weight is over 80,000 pounds. The light must be at least 7 inches in diameter and 7 inches high.
  
  

Signs and Flags Rules

• You must use signs and flags when the truck is over 75 feet long, 8 feet 8 inches wide,14 feet 4 inches in height or when the rear projection is over 4 feet. The sign must read "Oversize Load" and be 18 inches high by 7 feet long. Flags must be 18 inches square and red or orange. You must place a flag on the front corner of a towing unit and the rear corner of the load.