Posted April 25, 201114 yr This issue has been discussed on other threads, but may finally be due it's own dedicated thread, as the issue is bubbling up both in the Ohio General Assembly and in Congress... 4/25/2011 1:00:00 PM Survey Coalition survey cites opposition to heavier truck weight limits A national survey conducted by Hart Research Associations on behalf of the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT) found nearly three-quarters of registered American voters oppose proposals to raise the federal cap on truck weight limits on interstate highways to 97,000 pounds from the current limit of 80,000 pounds. Seventy-two percent of the respondents indicated they oppose increasing the weight limits and 49 percent said they “strongly oppose” higher weight limits...... Read more at: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/prdailynews/news.asp?id=26415 Link to Coalition Against Bigger Trucks: http://cabt.org/
November 28, 201113 yr Safety questions fly as highway trucks get heavier By CLARKE CANFIELD, Associated Press – 4 days ago PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Officially, the national weight limit for freight trucks on interstate highways is 40 tons. In reality, trucks are getting heavier in more states — legally — and advocates for highway safety and the trucking industry are sharply at odds about it. Trucks heavier than 80,000 pounds are allowed to operate on federal highways in at least 20 states. Congress added Maine and Vermont to the list last week, granting exceptions to allow trucks up to 100,000 pounds on interstates there for the next 20 years. The change went into effect Friday when President Barack Obama signed it. Critics say that heavier trucks make highways less safe because they're harder to control and stop, and that they leave taxpayers on the hook for damage to roads and bridges. Furthermore, they claim, the latest increases will spur the trucking industry to seek higher limits in other states. Read more at: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gE4K_JkJaI0cqTIbQfAPn6m-T5Dg?docId=b8172a6d7e4047019ca10e254d314e10
January 31, 201213 yr Trucks on federal highways could soon be heavier Posted Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012 Updated Friday, Jan. 27, 2012 23 Drivers could share the highways with much heavier trucks if Congress decides that the efficiencies of larger loads trump concerns about road damage and safety. The Safe and Efficient Transportation Act would raise the maximum weight for commercial trucks that routinely travel on highways to 97,000 pounds in Texas and most other states. The current threshold in most places is 80,000 pounds unless the truck has a permit to be overweight. Supporters of the proposal, including many companies that ship household goods in tractor-trailers, argue that it would reduce traffic, decrease fuel use and ultimately keep prices lower for consumers. Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/01/26/3691626/trucks-on-federal-highways-could.html#storylink=cpy
January 31, 201213 yr OK, the federal Highway Trust Fund is insolvent and propped up by $62 billion in bailouts and subsidies since 2008. So let's add heavier trucks to the mix that don't pay their share of highway maintenance expenses. On the other hand, this would bring us closer to my prediction of an Interstate-quality highway being closed in the next decade or two due to a lack of funds to keep it in a safe condition. That's a prediction we could do without. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 31, 201213 yr If only there was some sort of specialized road for carrying cargo across the country. Maybe we could design it to follow a fixed system of durable iron rails, to reduce friction and allow for tremendous shipping capacity for a single 'train' of cars, latched together...
January 31, 201213 yr If only there was some sort of specialized road for carrying cargo across the country. Maybe we could design it to follow a fixed system of durable iron rails, to reduce friction and allow for tremendous shipping capacity for a single 'train' of cars, latched together... Oh such 18th-century thinking! Next think you know you'll be suggesting that we ship stuff on buoyant water-borne conveyances or that we pave roads and make them really straight to link all corners of the empire.... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 2, 201213 yr Heavier trucks would cost taxpayers $40M By Steve Bennish and Lauren Pack, Staff Writers Updated 9:47 PM Wednesday, February 1, 2012 State and local bridges aren’t ready for pending moves by Congress that could allow heavier trucks on U.S. roads and quickly hit taxpayers with a $40 million bill, county engineers said. The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today is scheduled to vote to allow heavier trucks on the roads — up to 97,000 pounds for single-trailer trucks and 100,000 pounds for double- and triple-trailer trucks. It’s the biggest weight hike in memory, according to county engineers. The limit is now 80,000 pounds. County engineers would be required to retest all local bridges and post new load limits, racking up the millions in compliance costs, they said. Meanwhile, trucking firms would cut costs by fielding fewer drivers and trucks. Read more at: http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/heavier-trucks-would-cost-taxpayers-40m-1322142.html#.TyrarsrYwwo.email
February 2, 201213 yr "If we all cut back to 80,000 pounds, we'd probably have twice as many trucks on the road, so what are you accomplishing there?" said Haskell, who's been a trucker for 38 years. Um, um, who's going to tell Douglas that 97,000 /= 80,000 * 2 ? The anomaly now is that a state highway without an "interstate" designation can have a higher limit. So, big trucks with a huge amount of momentum are driving the two lane highways through their towns.
February 2, 201213 yr "If we all cut back to 80,000 pounds, we'd probably have twice as many trucks on the road, so what are you accomplishing there?" said Haskell, who's been a trucker for 38 years. Um, um, who's going to tell Douglas that 97,000 /= 80,000 * 2 ? The anomaly now is that a state highway without an "interstate" designation can have a higher limit. So, big trucks with a huge amount of momentum are driving the two lane highways through their towns. It's like a variation of the term "mission creep": chip away at the limits so that no one thinks it's all that serious. But what heavy truck advocates can't obscure is the impact of the current truck weights on both interstates, state highways and local roadways. They are taking a pounding and the cost of making repairs has done nothing but go up. And with ODOT and many other state DOT's facing funding shortfalls, where will those repair $$$$ come from if even the current truck weight limits are maintained... much less increased? And if you are an advocate for passenger rail, mass transit or bike/pedestrian improvements, don't think for a minute that this issue doesn't have an impact. The Transportation Bill being pushed by Republicans in the U.S. includes provisions that would eliminate special funding for "alternative modes" and throw all of the federal fuel tax revenues into a general fund.....and you can bet most of it will be "steered" into more highways.
February 4, 201213 yr House Panel Votes to Delay Expansion of 97,000-Pound Trucks By Jeff Plungis and Lisa Caruso - Feb 2, 2012 5:34 PM ET . A House panel voted to stop a measure written by its own chairman to allow 97,000-pound trucks on U.S. interstate highways and expand use of double- and triple- trailers in states that now allow them. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today voted 33-22 to delay any expansion in use of trucks weighing more than 80,000 pounds for three years, so the U.S. Transportation Department can study the potential effect on highway safety, roads and bridges. The vote was a victory for the U.S. railroad industry -- whose chief lobbyist yesterday called killing the provision his top priority -- and a defeat for trucking companies like Con-way Inc. (CNW) and Werner Enterprises Inc. (WERN), and shippers including Home Depot Inc. (HD) and International Paper Co. (IP) “Before we put the public safety at risk, we should do the study and make an informed decision,” said Representative Jerry Costello, an Illinois Democrat who offered the amendment to the bigger-truck language in a five-year, $260 billion surface transportation policy bill. Read more at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-02/house-panel-votes-to-delay-expansion-of-97-000-pound-trucks.html
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