PORTLAND, Maine — The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance asked Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to consider the safety effects of heavier weights on vehicle components such as axles and suspension and brake parts as part of a congressionally mandated truck size and weight study.

The Department of Transportation will seek assistance from state agencies in a study of the safety performance of overweight heavy trucks — those that run heavy both with permits and those that run overweight illegally.

Two items in your Feb. 20 issue were striking in their relevance. The first was an article about how fleets are finally realizing that one size doesn’t fit all applications and are spec’ing equipment to match operational challenges in urban environments.

American Trucking Associations and the Association of American Railroads jointly urged the House of Representatives to approve a proposed highway funding bill, while avoiding attempts to change truck size-and-weight limits provisions contained in the bill.

Trucks now limited to 80,000 pounds on interstate highways could run as heavy as 97,000 pounds under a proposal contained in the long-awaited transportation reauthorization bill set to be unveiled Tuesday by House Republicans.

Some shippers are pushing for higher truck weight limits, following moves by Maine and Vermont to allow oversize loads, Bloomberg reported.

The Senate passed a spending package last week that would fund transportation programs in 2012 and allow trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds on interstate highways in Maine and Vermont.

The Senate passed a spending measure Tuesday that would bring higher truck weights back to Maine and Vermont’s interstate highways on a permanent basis.

A coalition of Georgia businesses are pushing for higher truck weight limits, the Associated Press reported.

While it’s certainly hard to single out just one “most important” accomplishment at the recent ATA Management Conference & Exhibition, the new alliance with the Truckload Carriers Association on truck weights is certainly a contender.