At a recent conference hosted by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), truck industry experts from across the globe found that the US is lagging in several truck productivity and sustainability categories when compared with international counterparts. Current US truck size and weight regulations serve as a limiting factor, preventing trucks from utilizing the full potential of our infrastructure. Increasing truck size and weight standards to align more closely with international standards would improve truck productivity and the ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and carbon output.
'Existing restrictions on truck size and weight are unreasonably low and harm the US,' said Bill Graves, President and CEO of the American Trucking Associations (ATA). 'We must raise our standards to maximize the productivity of our transportation system if we're to remain competitive in global markets.'
ATA supports allowing States to authorize more productive vehicles to operate on the Nation's highways, consistent with sound engineering standards, improved safety and cost responsibility. To address the potential for greater productivity, ATA has proposed a program to allow 6-axle vehicles to carry 97,000 pounds in states that agree to permit them; allow states to permit 33-foot trailer combinations; harmonize the use of longer combination vehicles in western sates and expand their use where appropriate; and allow a 10 percent increase in auto-hauler weights to account for today's heavier vehicles.
Operating more productive vehicles would allow companies to deliver'goods'while making fewer trips, resulting in less traffic congestion, cleaner air, less costly freight transportation and safer highways. (ATA)