(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the total outside width of any vehicle, exclusive of required safety devices, or the load thereon shall not exceed eight and one-half (8-½) feet; provided, however, that appurtenances on recreational vehicles shall be allowed so long as they are inside the exterior rearview mirrors of the recreational vehicle or inside the exterior rearview mirrors of the vehicle towing the recreational vehicle, and such mirrors do not extend further than necessary to obtain the appropriate field of view.

(2) The total outside load width of any vehicle hauling unprocessed forest products on public roads, streets or highways, other than interstate highways, shall not exceed nine and one-half (9-½) feet if such products may not be shortened without rendering them useless for the end product for which they were cut; provided, however, the total outside vehicle width of such a vehicle, exclusive of required safety devices and the load of such vehicle, shall not exceed eight and one-half (8-½) feet.

(3) The total outside width of a farm tractor shall not exceed ten (10) feet, except that farm tractors shall not be operated upon the interstate highways without a special permit from the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

(4) A vehicle designed and especially constructed to transport raw cotton from harvest to the cotton gin may have a total outside width not to exceed nine (9) feet whenever any such vehicle is being operated within a radius of fifty (50) miles of the vehicle’s home base or its contractual customer.