Specialized Freight · Driver Training VideoWorking with Pilot / Escort Cars

Once your permit calls for an escort, that escort isn't just along for the ride — it's your early-warning system for everything the permit says your load can't handle on its own.

Start before the wheels ever move. Walk the route with your escort driver, or at minimum confirm it together: known low bridges, narrow lanes, tight turns, construction, and any timing restrictions — many permits ban oversize movement at night, in fog, or during rush hour.

A lead escort runs ahead to warn oncoming traffic and confirm the lane is clear at bridges, curves, and intersections. A chase escort — a rear escort — blocks traffic behind you so vehicles can't try to pass on a two-lane road where there's no room.

Never pass your own lead escort. If they're braking, slowing, or stopped, that means something ahead needs your full attention too — a signal to slow down, not a vehicle to get around.

Your company standard: every escort is booked and briefed before departure — route, timing restrictions, and communication channel confirmed out loud, not assumed.

Watch your following distance behind a lead escort the same way you'd watch it behind any vehicle at that speed — more room, not less, because you're heavier and slower to react to whatever they just flagged.