05.20.2008
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| Senators want truck weights kept at 80,000 pounds
Senators want truck weights kept at 80,000 pounds Quote: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 – A pair of senators have introduced a bill intended to lock in the current weight limit of 80,000 pounds for trucks on U.S. roads.
In addition to keeping the maximum weight at 80,000 pounds, the bill, S3021, introduced by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-NJ, and Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-MO, also seeks to establish a maximum length of 53 feet for trailers.
The bill was introduced the day after a coalition calling for longer and heavier trucks staged a “fly-in” to Washington, DC, to lobby members of Congress.
The group, Americans for Safe and Efficient Transportation, lists as members a number of trucking companies and state affiliate programs of the American Trucking Association.
The group is pushing for a new minimum weight of 97,000 pounds. In the recent lobbying trip, members of the group tried to drum up support for pilot programs allowing the heavier trucks in five states – Maine, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Carolina and Georgia.
According to its Web site, the group met with “nearly every single congressional office in both the House and Senate” for those five states.
Regardless of whether the lobbying effort gains any support in Congress, it’s apparent that opponents to longer and heavier trucks had their message heard loud and clear. Those opponents did not let the members of the fly-in have sole say on the issue.
A number of groups voiced strong opposition to the group’s proposal. Among those speaking out against longer and heavier trucks was Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.
“OOIDA members know from firsthand experience that further increases in sizes and weights of commercial motor vehicles can endanger highway users and hasten the deterioration of our nation’s roads and bridges,” Spencer said in a prepared statement.
“Increasing allowable vehicle weights from 80,000 pounds to 97,000 pounds may be described by some as a minor change, but it could have a dramatic impact on the safety and structural integrity of some federal aid highways.”
Concern about the negative impact on the nation’s infrastructure was echoed in a press release issued by Lautenberg’s office announcing the bill.
More here............... http://www.landlinemag.com/Special_R...uck_weight.htm |  |
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