HIGHWAY SAFETY AND BIG TRUCKS: Correcting Inaccuracies Circulated by Special Interest Lobbyists
HIGHWAY SAFETY AND BIG TRUCKS: Correcting Inaccuracies Circulated by Special Interest Lobbyists Section 2 of H.R. 1799, the “Safe and Efficient Transportation Act”
The Fraternal Order of Police has examined one component of H.R. 1799, the “Safe and Efficient Transportation Act,” which would permit States to allow six-axled vehicles up to 97,000 pounds to operate on Interstate Systems routes within that State. Current limits allow five-axled vehicles to travel these routes carrying up to 80,000 pounds.
For the FOP and all law enforcement officers, this is an issue of officer and highway safety and it is in that vein that the FOP examined the issue. Large, heavy trucks operating at speed can pose a danger when incidents occur on our nation’s highways and there is scientific data available that suggests increasing the allowable weight of these vehicles will increase the hazard these vehicles pose. In addition, the increased weight will cause further stress on out nation’s infrastructure, meaning that the Interstate highways and bridges will deteriorate at a greater pace.
Law enforcement officers, agencies and organizations which support the increased weight limits and the addition of another axle correctly argue that current restrictions on weight forces these large trucks off the Interstates and onto local and State roads, where they pose a much greater hazard to local traffic and local law enforcement officers. Data supports the conclusion that trucks operating on Interstates have significantly less accidents than trucks operating on secondary roads. Additionally, trucks which are forced onto secondary roads have a much greater impact on infrastructure, the repair and maintenance of which comes from local and State budgets. Finally, scientific studies suggest that the additional breaking power of the sixth axle offsets the hazard presented by the additional weight.
Proponents of increasing the weight limit argue that this will reduce the number of truck miles traveled, but opponents of the heavier trucks counter that, over time, as more trucks are produced or retrofitted with the sixth axle, these vehicles will return to the highways in equal numbers.
The issue for the FOP is one of safety. However, this issue is clouded by special interests which all claim to have highway safety as their paramount concern. These special interests are spending significant amounts of money in this debate and their efforts have completely clouded reliable scientific data as to how any change in the weight limits would affect officer and highway safety.
While individual law enforcement leaders and local/State organizations may have taken different positions on this issue, responsible, national organizations like the National Troopers Coalition and the Fraternal Order of Police will not. No segment of our nation’s law enforcement officers will be more affected by this provision than State and Highway patrolmen and without greater consensus on this issue on the part of these officers, the FOP will continue to monitor and research, but will take no position at this time.
For more information on this issue, contact the National Legislative Office.
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