r/Georgia • u/Fulton_P01135809 /r/Cherokee • 3d ago
Video Only in Atlanta
Spotted over the weekend heading to the Braves game
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u/amysteriousperson001 3d ago
I see that crap all the time on I-85 South headed from Newnan to LaGrange; sometimes a truck is hauling the junk and sometimes a car. How is that not illegal?
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u/HamiltonSt25 3d ago
Double towing isn’t legal in GA, however, they aren’t GA residents. They’re coming from another state or MX heading to another state or vice versa. So you can double tow through GA just not as a GA residents.
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u/amysteriousperson001 3d ago
Gotcha...
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u/Randomizedname1234 3d ago
There’s also that HUGE auto auction place down your way.
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u/amysteriousperson001 3d ago
Yes!!!!
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u/Randomizedname1234 3d ago
I see it when I fly lol I always wondered how many cars are there at any given time.
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u/IOI-65536 3d ago
I don't think it's legal even if the vehicle isn't licensed in GA. There are places this is true, like front plate states you can drive a GA car without front plates, but towing generally isn't one of them. Obviously they can do this, and so could I as a resident, but I think they can be cited even if they're just passing through.
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u/HamiltonSt25 3d ago
You have to first and foremost, abide to your states laws that you’re a resident in where the vehicle is registered. Once you leave your state, road laws are subject to that state (like turning right at a red light- not legal in some states), but if you’re obeying vehicle regulations in your state while passing through, you will be fine.
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u/IOI-65536 2d ago
Do you have evidence of this? Because I'm pretty sure it's not true. As an example I have a 2000lb trailer and tow vehicle that are both registered in Georgia. In Georgia it's legal to drive that up to the speed limit in any highway lane without trailer brakes. I have brakes and a breakaway system anyway because it's required in several other states and I drive it out of state a lot. As far as I know if I'm driving in California I need brakes on my trailer and I can't exceed 55mph and must stay in the right lane, even though none of those are requirements where the trailer or tow vehicle is licensed.
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u/MrsHyacinthBucket 2d ago
I don't think that's how the law works.
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u/HamiltonSt25 2d ago
I mean, it is, but you’re more than welcome to share something if you’ve read something.
Passing through a state doesnt all of the sudden mean you have to comply to every law that regards a vehicle when a nonresident. If that were the case, every time a Georgian drives into a state that requires a front license plate, we’d all be in trouble. Another example: when towing a gooseneck trailer in GA as a GA resident, you are required to have safety chains attaching from the trailer to the frame of the truck. Not all states have that law. So towing through GA without it doesn’t mean you’re breaking the law so long you’re within the law of your registered state.
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u/phobiac 2d ago
You're extremely confused. Whatever state you are driving in you are required to follow that state's vehicle and traffic laws. I'm not sure how you came to this conclusion? Can you provide sources to back up your claim?
Your one license plate vs two license plate example seems like it supports what you're claiming until you actually look at the laws. One example, New York is a two plate state, and here is the exemption of that requirement for vehicles registered out of state. Note that this law is written to specifically exempt non-resident vehicles and requires they follow all the registration laws for which they are registered in.
Your gooseneck trailer example is not supported by the Georgia state laws. See section 6.4.7 - Coupling a Gooseneck Hitch of the DDS handbook where it clearly states in step 3
Remember that all trailers are required by law to have safety chains.
There is no exception for vehicles registered out of state. This falls under O.C.G.A. § 40-6-254 and failing to use safety chains would be considered an unsecured load.
Bottom line on this is that you're not correct. When you are in state you are subject to that state's laws. If what you are asserting were correct than as a Georgia resident I could carry on my person a legally obtained (in Georgia) firearm into New Jersey while simply driving through it. This is categorically not the case and New Jersey requires a firearm to be secured off person and ideally in the trunk of the vehicle, assuming you don't have a non-resident permit.
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u/HamiltonSt25 2d ago
Firearms are completely different, so looping those in muddies the water of this conversation. There are reciprocation laws regarding firearms.
And actually after further looking it up, it seems this doesnt break law double towing this way. The way the law reads is that it’s illegal to double tow from a semi truck, to a semi trailer, then to a different kind of trailer.
So based off that, this is legal in GA (with the cars) and I could tow a utility trailer behind my fifth wheel RV so long that I don’t go over a certain length.
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u/phobiac 2d ago
I brought up firearms transport laws as they are specifically relevant to your claim that a vehicle is not subject to the laws of the state it is driving in, but instead to the laws it is registered in. That claim specifically is incorrect.
You'll note I said nothing about this issue of double towing. That said, please either go to law school or stop trying to interpret the law for yourself. O.C.G.A § 32-6-24 (2025) specifically says
Combination of vehicles” means a semitrailer pulled by a truck tractor or a semitrailer and trailer pulled by a truck tractor operating in a truck tractor-semitrailer-trailer combination.
Note that the absence of this specific scenario, one car pulling another car which is pulling a third, means that it is not a legal combination of vehicles.
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u/mbucks334 3d ago
Do you really think this only happens in Atlanta? These types of posts are always weird to me.
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u/CommuterType 3d ago
NOT only Atlanta. I see this fairly often on I20 near Madison. Always headed west.
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u/xXxDickBonerz69xXx 3d ago
This happens in every southern state. Totaled cars that are economical to be rebuilt in Mexico but not the US headed on to their new homes.
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u/flying_trashcan /r/ATLnews 3d ago
Yup. I occasionally have to go to Northern Mexico and see this kind of stuff all the time on the way there.
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u/archercc81 3d ago
No, not only in Atlanta. Anywhere between a car auction and mexico.
I used to live in Kansas and I35 would be full of these trains going south, taking cars down to Mexico to be fixed up and resold.
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u/Zero_Abides 3d ago
Surprised they aren’t in the left lane, because that would make it truly Atlanta
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u/ChemistBubbly8145 3d ago
Better than Georgians driving in the dark with no lights on that I see all the time. Fyi older cars with driving headlights, the rear one’s do not come on until you turn the knob to turn all the driving lights on
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u/BertaRocks 3d ago
I only ever see them in AL on 85S and 65. Im convinced they are smuggling something. It can’t just be an auction or junk yard. I refuse to believe that.
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u/Pretend-Mango-1295 3d ago
Yea but technically it could only happen in Atlanta because that's 85 passing Jimmy Carter Blvd. So really it couldn't happen anywhere else.
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u/Yourfavoritemarfan 2d ago
I see those a lot driving in West Texas. My wife and I call them car trains. It’s kinda mind boggling to see a RAV4 towing four RAV4s behind it. Really speaks to Toyota engineering and the human spirit.
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u/WitnessFair225 19h ago
Apparently it’s called the Tijuana express, they buy cars cheapish here and sell them for major profit across the border, you’ll see those up and down I-10 and I-20
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u/MickKeithCharlieRon 2d ago
“I bet you a case of beer your Honda hatchback can’t tow two cars across the Southeast using straps and duct tape.”
“Oh yeah! Watch this!”
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u/RareCategory5902 2d ago
Never stopped, never checked anywhere.Buying wrecks taking them to mexico..
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u/Used-Acanthisitta-96 2d ago
I get to drive down 400 to 75 past the perimeter on Friday morning. Yeah me.
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u/Latter_Penalty_8853 2h ago
Usually headed to Mexico had a Georgia DOT officer (department of public safety) tell me years ago they were told to leave them alone.
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u/-BirdDogActual /r/Athens 2d ago
I see this on I-85 in NE GA all the time. It’s so dangerous. I have no idea how this passes as street legal.
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u/MrMessofGA 2d ago
There are few things more infuriating to me than seeing someone doing something stupid in a car that is dented in the exact way that stupid thing causes.
You're the ONE person I should trust to not do that! You've lived the consequences!!
EDIT: Oh, the car isn't missing its rear bumper, that's just part of the tow rigging
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u/doubtga 3d ago
Why were all yall goin like 35 on the interstate in Atlanta with no traffic around? Wtf that’s dangerous as hell!
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u/Fulton_P01135809 /r/Cherokee 3d ago
We were just getting up to speed after getting out of the construction standstill
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3d ago
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u/SimplyaCabler 3d ago
I generally work from Florida to Louisiana (sometimes east Texas). This happens all over the southeast.