A national lobbying group is asking Worcester County leaders to oppose proposed federal regulations that would allow heavier and longer tractor-trailers on the road.
The nonprofit Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT) is fighting two bills pending in the House of Representatives that would increase weight limits for commercial vehicles on interstate highways from 80,000 to 91,00 pounds.
The proposed federal regulatory changes are coming from national companies that rely on shipping, according to Rob Bielunas, Regional Field Director of CABT. He met with Worcester County staffers earlier this year to make his pitch for their support.
“This issue is really being pushed by your big shippers of the world, your Amazons, your UPSs. Your local mom and pop trucking company tends not to be in favor of these kinds of bills or these kinds of effort,” he said.
Just out of curiosity, won’t these oversized trucks also travel on county roads? You know like the chicken trucks that travel down Rum Ridge Road to turn on Dagsboro Road to Brown Road to skip the scales at RT- 13. These back roads aren’t built for those loads and that’s why there are so many roads tore up. Does anyone really care? No!
This is for interstate highways, not really for local highways.
Please research Coalition Against Bigger Trucks . They are a lobbying group.
Let’s look at some things here.
House of Representatives that would increase weight limits for commercial vehicles on interstate highways from 80,000 to 91,00 pounds. Key wording here is ” interstate highways.”
What defines an Interstate Highway?
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States.
Freeways are a specific type of highway with no direct access from adjacent properties, no at-grade crossings, and no traffic signals. Highways can be any major road, including freeways and roads with traffic signals and direct access.May 10, 2024. There are no interstate highways here on the eastern shore. Closest interstate highways around here are, to the south, interstate 64. To the north, interstate 95. To the west, interstate 97.
Rt.50 , Rt.13, Rt.113 are not part of the interstate highway system. Look at the definition above.
Really don’t see why or how this would affect Worcester County.
Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT) is a national, nonprofit grassroots organization that advocates for highway safety and sound transportation policies. Keep one thing in mind, Coalition Against Bigger Trucks is a lobbying organization just like many of the lobbing groups and lobbyist that surround the nations capitol.
Here are a couple of their talking points.
According to USDOT, heavier and longer trucks would have negative impacts on infrastructure. Increasing truck weight limits to 91,000 pounds would negatively affect more than 4,800 bridges, incurring up to $1.1 billion in additional federal investment (USDOT MAP-21 Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight Limits Final Report to Congress, 2016; pg. 10, Table 2). Further, 97,000-pound trucks would negatively affect more than 6,200 bridges, incurring up to $2.2 billion in additional funding (USDOT MAP-21 Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight Limits Final Report to Congress, 2016; pg. 10, Table 2).
USDOT found that longer double-trailer trucks would require nearly 2,500 Interstate and other National Highway System bridges to be posted or face further damage, costing up to $1.1 billion in immediate bridge strengthening or reinforcement (USDOT MAP-21 Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight Limits Final Report to Congress, 2016; pg. 11, Table 3).
Instead of a bridge bailout costing billions of dollars, why not preserve the bridges we already have?
Why not stop giving away tax payers money to other countries ( in the billion of dollars and reinvest in the United States of America )
Bigger trucks mean bigger spending, bigger deficits.
The most recent federal study to look at the issue showed that allowing 97,000-pound single-trailer trucks would result in trucks only paying for 50% of the damage they cause. Also, 110,000-pound triple-trailer trucks would only pay for 70% of their damage. While an EV pays absolutely nothing in supporting our nations highways and freeways. ( GAS TAX )
There were 59 fatalities in 2022 caused by 3,628 large-truck crashes in Maryland – a 44 percent increase over the prior year, data cited in the letter and attributed to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Bielunas was quick to mention that not every crash is the driver’s fault.
“Sometimes it’s, you know, a distracted driver. Someone cuts them off. Maybe it’s bad weather and they just can’t stop in time. But, you know, at the end of the day, it’s their vehicles that are the most dangerous ones on the road,” he said.
How many car crashes have there been that had fatalities ?
Statewide Crash Summary
2019 2022
Injury Crashes 32,938 28,025
Property Damage Crashes 82,583 79,894
Total Crashes 116,017 108,453
Total of All Fatalities 535 566
How many car accidents per day in Maryland?
On average in 2020, one person was killed every 15 hours, 100 people were injured each day (4 injured every hour), and 261 police-reported traffic crashes occurred every day. On average, crashes in the Baltimore and Washington metropolitan regions accounted for 90.0% of the state’s annual crashes.
Some of the “facts” that Coalition Against Bigger Trucks seems a bit skewed.
House of Representatives that would increase weight limits for commercial vehicles on interstate highways from 80,000 to 91,00 pounds. ( that is combined vehicle weight. Tractor, trailer and freight being carried. ) 11000 pound increase is equal to a Tesla model 3 ( 4054 pounds ) and a Tesla Cyber truck ( 6898 ).
That is why truck and trailer manufactures are trying to make lighter vehicle and trailers so they can carry more weight. 200 gallons of diesel fuel weighs approximately 1,420 pounds as a gallon of diesel weighs around 7.1 pounds. A heavy-duty electric truck battery can weigh up to 16,000 pounds, which can add up to 5,000 pounds to the vehicle’s total weight. This is nearly a quarter of the total weight of the truck.
The weight of the battery can impact the vehicle’s load capacity and the nation’s transportation infrastructure. For example, the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) says that load sizes must be decreased to compensate for the heavier weight of electric trucks.
Three trailers up to 28.5 feet each with a combined weight of up to 132,000 pounds. Eight Axle Twin Trailer: A combination of two trailers that can be up to 33 feet long with a total of eight axles. The combined weight is not to exceed 124,000 pounds.
Heavier truck weight limits would lead to a net increase of approximately 8 million more trucks on the highway, a 56 percent increase. Bigger trucks dramatically increase greenhouse gas emissions. Heavier and longer tractor-trailers endanger motorists, including the drivers operating them.
One truck pulling two trailers takes one truck off the road. A truck pulling three trailers takes two trucks off the road. Less trucks on the road means less green house gases. Less fuel being used.