iA new piece of legislation, introduced by Representative Reid Ribble (R-WI), appears to ignore the findings of a recent U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) study and aims to increase the weight limits of large trucks. Opponents of the bill say that it will needlessly endanger the public and further damage our deteriorating transportation infrastructure, an argument that seems to be supported by the DOT study findings.
Representative Ribble’s bill, tagged by opponents as a “profits over people” measure, seeks to increase the federal weight limit for large trucks from 80,000-lbs to 91,000-lbs. In support of the bill, Representative Ribble appears to be relying on trucking industry-funded research that ignores the results of the DOT’s Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight Limits Study (Study), which concluded that there should not be an increase in truck size and weight due to a lack of data.
The Study revealed that there is very little national information on the use of six-axle, 91,000-lb. trucks, since heavier truck configurations are currently only in use in Washington State. In Washington, these heavier trucks experienced a 47% crash rate increase, compared to standard truck weights. Additionally, the Technical Report of the Study showed that trucks in excess of 80,000-lbs had 18% more brake violations and a higher number of brake violations per inspection. Heavier trucks also have longer stopping distances and, when a crash occurs, the forces involved are significantly greater. According to the DOT study, Representative Ripple’s assertion that heavier trucks are just as safe as 80,000-lb trucks is statistically, and logically, false, since appreciable data on heavier truck configurations is currently only available from Washington State.
Heavier trucks are not only generally unsafe, but can also be damaging to our nation’s deteriorating roadways and bridges. The proposed legislation ignores the fact that 91,000-lb. trucks will violate the 1975 Bridge Formula, which established the maximum weight any set of axles on a motor vehicle may carry on the Interstate highway system. Further, unbiased studies show that increasing the weight of a truck by 10% increases bridge damage by 33%. Representative Ripple’s assertion that increasing truck weight will not increase damage to our transportation infrastructure is not supported by any unbiased research.
Finally, Representative Ripple claims that heavier trucks equal fewer trucks on the roadway, but history would disagree. Increases in truck size and weight over the last 35 years have never resulted in fewer trucks on American roads. There is no scientific or practical reason to believe that this trend will change.
At face value, this piece legislation seems to benefit only the trucking industry and puts the profits of that industry over the safety of the American people, including truckers and innocent motorists. One would hope that Representative Ripple’s colleagues in the House will put the safety interests of their voters first and veto this potentially hazardous bill.
