Congress Considers Truck Weight and Length Limits
On July 9, 2008, the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure took testimony on the subject of truck weight and length regulations. Generally, federal regulations limit truck weight to a maximum of 20,000 pounds for single axles, 34,000 pounds for tandem axles, with a total Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) limit of 80,000 pounds. These limits have been in effect since 1974.
The issue of whether trucks of greater width and weight should be allowed on our highways has recently received greater attention. Generally, the trucking industry contends that larger trucks are needed to handle an ever increasing flow of cargo across the country. Safety advocates, on the other hand, claim that bigger trucks will increase to number of truck related crashes and damage our aging roads and bridges.
On behalf of the Teamster’s Union, truckers testified that larger trucks would be unsafe. Specifically, they argued that road widths, automobile traffic, and short highway entrance ramps all make bigger trucks too dangerous. Trucking industry representatives, on the other hand, claim that bigger trucks are needed to off-set increased fuel costs, address increased demand for freight transportation, and harmonize federal and state regulations.
A summary of the hearing subject matter, the written testimony of the witnesses, and a video of the hearing itself are all available at the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee website.
