Western Governors Request LCV Study

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The Western Governors Association weighed in on the issue of bigger, heavier trucks last week but shied away from seeking federal approval for wider use of longer combination vehicles.

The governors voted June 15 to ask the Department of Transportation to study the operation of LCVs and other high-payload trucks in the West.

They also agreed to develop a regional policy on truck operating and highway issues. Based on the recommendations of a roundtable, the group may ask DOT and Congress to approve a pilot project in Western states interested in permitting more LCVs on their roads. Congress passed a law in 1991 requiring congressional approval of any new LCV routes.

The vote came at the association’s annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

A proposal by Montana Gov. Marc Racicot and South Dakota Gov. William Janklow to seek federal approval of the pilot project was rejected because of opposition from railroads, safety groups and the American Automobile Association.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad President Rob Krebs personally lobbied governors against the project. He was joined by representatives of Union Pacific Railroad, Association of American Railroads and the railroad-backed Coalition Against Bigger Trucks.

overnors were also lobbied by American Trucking Associations and several state trucking associations.

AAA President Robert L. Darbelnet urged the governors to oppose any efforts to increase truck sizes and weights.

“A resolution to harmonize truck sizes and weights for Western states is a step to overturn congressional action,” Darbelnet wrote in a letter to WGA Chairman Jim Geringer, governor of Wyoming.

“Such a step is premature at best, given the woeful lack of safety and infrastructure damage data. In the last six months, concerns about truck safety have promoted Congress, DOT and the National Transportation Safety Board to intensify scrutiny of the trucking industry,” Darbelnet wrote. “Until sufficient data are compiled and analyzed to determine the true impact of these large vehicles on our transportation system, allowing their expansion poses unacceptable risks.”