Congressman Reid Ribble (R-WI), Wisconsin’s 8th congressional district representative since 2011, recently introduced a bill, “The Safe, Flexible, and Efficient (SAFE) Trucking Act,” which would allow trucks as heavy as four and a half tons (9,000 lbs.) on U.S. highways by permitting individual states to “increase the federal vehicle weight limit for tractor-trailers.” By increasing the Gross Combination Weight (GCW) limit by up to 11,000 lbs., according to Ribble, these trucks may operate more safely and transport more cargo in safer expeditions, as well as with fewer trucks. He first introduced and discussed the bill on September 10th, 2015.
Parts of the bill include mandated sixth axles to provide these heavier trucks with “stopping power equal to or better than that of a five-axle truck,” as well as further leverage for the Department of Transportation in setting requirements for safety equipment. The D.O.T. claims the bill will result in decreases in both fuel use and carbon dioxide/nitrogen oxide emissions.
The SAFE Trucking Act has drawn support from a range of major shipping associations and companies which move products by truck, as well as the Washington D.C.-based Coalition for Transportation Productivity (CTP). According to its website: “The Coalition for Transportation Productivity (CTP) is a coalition of shippers and allied associations dedicated to giving states the flexibility to safely confront highway capacity crisis issues by utilizing more productive, six-axle trucks on interstate highways within their borders.”
“Truck travel has grown 22 times faster than road capacity since the federal weight limit was last changed in 1982,” says John Runyan, the CTP’s executive director. “The SAFE Trucking Act safely improves the productivity of truck shipments so we can decrease the truckloads necessary to meet demand and make our entire transportation network more efficient.”
Some trucking lobbies and coalitions are not as keen on heavier trucks on the road, such as the D.C.-based Trucking Alliance. Managing Director Lane Kidd is quoted as saying “this legislation wasn’t written to benefit trucking companies, because it would drive up operating costs, drive down truck driver wages and curtail investments in safety technologies.”
However, Ribble plans to introduce the bill as an amendment to the current long-term highway bill – which would put the SAFE Act into effect two years after final publication – and that the bill’s language affects only single-trailer trucks.