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“TRUCK SIZES AND WEIGHTS” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H11592 on Oct. 30, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRUCK SIZES AND WEIGHTS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk to my colleagues about the issue of bigger and heavier trucks on America's highways. As many of my colleagues know, I am a strong proponent of keeping the current truck size and weight limitations in place. Last year, the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella) and I sent a letter to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster), chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, signed by 60 other Members of Congress from districts along Interstate 95. The letter urged the chairman to reject any effort to increase the 80,000-pound weight limit for trucks traveling on any part of I-95.
Earlier this year, I introduced House Concurrent Resolution 306, the safe highways resolution, along with the gentleman from California (Mr. Horn), the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), and the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella). House Concurrent Resolution 306 expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal freeze on triple tractor trailer trucks and other longer combination vehicle, LCVs, should not be lifted and the current Federal limits on heavy truck weight should remain in place.
Now since April, this legislation has gained over 135 House cosponsors. Additionally, the legislation is supported by a number of public safety and law enforcement organizations such as AAA, the National Public Health Organization, the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, the National Association of Police Organizations, and the National Troopers Coalition.
Mr. Speaker, probably the best argument against lifting the Federal 80,000-pound weight limitation or freezing the current geographic limit taking on LCVs is force equals mass times acceleration. It is simple high school physics. The bigger the truck, the harder it is to stop; the harder it is on the highway itself; and in the event of an accident the harder it hits anything in its path.
Additionally, a number of truck drivers that I have talked to have told me that bigger trucks are more difficult to handle and more stressful to drive. There is no doubt that heavy trucks have inherent dangers. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, in 1998 more than 5,000 Americans died and an additional 128,000 were injured in heavy truck accidents. Allowing trucks to get heavier only increases the danger. Heavier trucks are more likely to roll over, suffer from braking problems, and deviate from the flow of traffic, increasing the danger of a collision.
Moreover, the heavier the truck, the more likely a collision with an automobile will be fatal for the occupants of the car.
As many of my colleagues on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure know, the United States Department of Transportation recently released the Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight Study. This study took 4 years to complete and is the most definitive study of its kind on the topic of truck size and weight. The study projected that LCVs would have fatal accident rates 11 percent higher than single trailers if they operated nationwide. Additionally, heavier trucks will have a heavier impact on America's highway infrastructure. Again, according to the Department of Transportation study, nationwide operation of LCVs would add $53 billion in new bridge reconstruction costs. This is a particularly important concern to my constituents in Massachusetts, as well as to many of my colleagues in the Northeast, where bridges are significantly older than in most other parts of the country.
In addition, there would be $266 billion in lost time and extra fuel burnt by auto drivers stuck in traffic because of bridge work. But traffic safety is not about statistics or abstractions. The damage done by motor vehicle accidents has a very human face. For me, that face most recently in the face of Linda Russell. Linda is a nursing supervisor at the University of Massachusetts Hospital in Worcester. She was badly injured when her car collided with a tractor trailer. As a result of the collision, Ms. Russell's right foot was almost completely severed, and she will be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
She wrote me in June of 1998 urging me to ask the Department of Transportation to accelerate the issuance of a final rule requiring tractor trailer trucks to be equipped with reflective tape.
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A number of my colleagues have asked me why I introduced House concurrent resolution 306 when there are already Federal restrictions in place. The answer is that I have worked in Washington long enough to know that the status quo is only the status quo. If one feels passionately about an issue, one needs to be proactive. The smallest changes add up incrementally.
For example, in 1974, States were given the option to increase maximum truck weights on interstate highways from 72,000 to 80,000 pounds and to permit operations of a twin 28-foot double trailer truck. Less than 10 years later in 1982, Congress forced every State to permit these bigger rigs.
Mr. Speaker, I will just end by simply saying that I want to thank my colleagues for standing with me in supporting this legislation, and I urge the next Congress to take this issue up early on next year when we reconvene.
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