When it comes to tractor-trailers hauling America’s freight, bigger isn’t necessarily better.
That’s the argument opponents of expanding the allowable length and weight of trucks on U.S. highways made at a recent “fly-in” on Capitol Hill, urging lawmakers to tap the brakes on legislation to put bigger trucks on the road.
Supporters of a pilot program to lift the federal limit of 80,000 pounds to 91,000 pounds say doing more with less — fewer trucks carrying more freight — will lower costs and address the shortage of drivers.
The Heavier Truck Pilot Project, which has been debated in several sessions of Congress, would allow the increased weight for 10 years, with the goal of gathering data to measure the effects of the policy.
Opponents argue that advocates overlook the damage to roads and bridges, or the increased risk to other drivers, citing previous studies.
“In 2016, the U.S. Department of Transportation did a study and basically came up with two conclusions about heavier trucks,” said Steve Casstevens, a retired police chief in Illinois and past president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. “Number one: 91,000-pound trucks would be 47 percent more likely to be involved in crashes than 80,000-pound trucks, and there is absolutely no data out there that says heavier trucks will be safer.”
Casstevens has been following the debate for years. From his perspective as a law enforcement officer, Casstevens said he learned that heavier trucks require longer stopping distances.
“Heavier truck weights overtax those trucks’ braking and suspension systems,” and all these things combined are why Casstevens thinks they are dangerous and lead to higher crash rates.
Then there are the costs of increased maintenance and repairs from highways and bridges affected by the daily burden of the additional weight.
A 2023 study released by the National Association of County Engineers and the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT) projected that 72,240 bridges would be affected by the heavier weights, with a replacement cost of $60.8 billion. Those costs would be paid by taxpayers and take money away from infrastructure improvements.
“Leaders are raising serious safety and infrastructure concerns about proposals that would increase truck size and weight limits — warning that local communities would be left to deal with the consequences,” said Emily DeLuca, the director of advocacy for CABT.
Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., doesn’t agree, noting that it has been 43 years since Congress updated its gross vehicle weight limits. “There is a severe truck driver shortage in America, and we need innovative ways to increase the capacity of our supply chains. To address this, I’ve introduced legislation to allow for a modest increase in weight only for the federal interstate system, and only in states that choose to participate.”
A group of 20 industry organizations, including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, opposes increasing the weight limit.
In a House subcommittee hearing on the proposed change, OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh warned lawmakers off the idea.
“Some shippers, large carriers and specific industries continue to claim increasing truck size and weight is good for trucking,” Pugh said. “Make no mistake, these are losing propositions for truckers and highway safety.”
Alexis Oberg, the deputy executive director of the Shippers Coalition, dismisses the concerns as fear-mongering. “I encourage them to actually look at the data, which shows that modestly increasing the GVW limit to 91,000 pounds with an extra axle would allow the vehicle to stop shorter, clearly enhancing roadway safety. Their same old talking points also fail to reflect that this is an opt-in pilot program, placing the decisions on what’s best for communities in the hands of their local governments, not dictated by Washington special interests.”
However, for Casstevens, it all comes down to safety. “If you look at 25 years of data from the federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on the 1,000,000 miles traveled by heavy trucks, it has increased every single year for 25 years,” he said. “We don’t think there should be any legislation passed that increases trunk size or weight in any way without a comprehensive study, and so far, there has not been a single study that says extra weight is safer.”
