FHWA’s Turner Put Spotlight on Prototype For a Longer, Heavier Tractor-Trailer
The six-axle, 97,000-pound tractor-trailer that a group of shippers and truckers would like to run on Interstate highways closely resembles a 16-year-old concept called the Turner truck.
The Turner truck got its name from former Federal Highway Administrator Francis Turner, who described it in a 1984 speech to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
Responding to Turner’s suggestion, AASHTO asked the Transportation Research Board to undertake a study and advise the states whether the proposal should be put into effect.
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In his speech, Turner called for vehicles with lower axle weights but higher gross weights than were then common. He saw a way to reduce pavement wear by spreading the vehicle weight over one or more additional axle groupings while increasing cargo capacity and the carrier’s productivity.
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For the full story, see the Nov. 20 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
