Research Group Urges Heavier, Longer Trucks

A research committee working at the request of Congress Thursday recommended increases in the maximum allowable weight of tractor-trailer combinations and in the length of twin trailer trucks.

Under the proposal, the maximum allowable weight of tractor-trailer combination vehicles would be increased to 90,000 pounds from the current cap of 80,000 and 28-foot double-trailers — an equipment staple of the less-than-truckload sector of the industry — would be allowed to increase in size to 33 feet.

The committee, an arm of the Transportation Research Board, wants state governments to authorize tests of the longer or heavier trailers so the U.S. Department of Transportation will have an abundance of data to analyze in evaluating the suggested policy’s safety and economic efficiency implications.

Furthermore, the committee wants Congress to create a new institute within DOT to evaluate and monitor the state pilot programs and make policy recommendations to the Transportation secretary and the Congress.

The size and weight of trucks became an especially important federal issue in 1956 when Congress and the Eisenhower administration started the Interstate Highway System. There were major overhauls of the regulations in 1975 and 1983, according to the report, that raised the allowable maximum weight to 80,000 pounds, first at the pleasure of the states and then on a mandatory basis.

Some states, particularly in the West, allow vehicles of even greater weight and length to roll across their highways.

Congress asked TRB to study the issue in 1998 when it passed the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, or TEA-21. The committee of academics and state transportation department officials started their work the following year.

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