A pilot car is a security vehicle that travels in front of and/or behind a shipment of large goods. Numerous factors determine how many pilot cars are needed for a given shipment, but their primary purpose is to warn drivers when they are near an oversized load.
Some types of cargo transported by pilot cars include telephone poles, bulldozer shipments, generator hauls, crane hauls, mobile homes, and more.
That said, it’s not the only thing they do. To ensure a smooth delivery, the pilot car drivers coordinate with each other and with the truck driver. For example, the main pilot car of a truck must warn the driver of any potential threats to the cargo along the route.
There is no hard and fast rule about how many or what type of pilot cars must accompany a given shipment. For example, to ensure visual height of the height of the load before the truck and load pass underneath, overhead shipments may in some cases require mast cars (a type of pilot car equipped with an extended pole at the front).
