Statement by Coalition for Transportation Productivity in Response to Efforts to Thwart Truck Weight Efficiency Provisions in Highway Bill

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Coalition for Transportation Productivity (CTP), a group of 200 shippers and allied associations dedicated to safely and responsibly increasing the federal vehicle weight limit on interstate highways, supports the carefully crafted truck weight reform proposal in the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act.  

John Runyan, Executive Director of CTP, issued the following statement on the safety of the truck weight provision:

"The American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act recognizes that states need the ability to create safer, greener, more efficient shipping on their interstate highways. The truck weight provision in the bill simply gives states the ability to open all, or portions of, their interstate networks to more productive, single-trailer trucks equipped with six axles rather than the typical five. Without changing truck size, the required sixth axle maintains all braking and handling characteristics at the new limit of 97,000 pounds. The provision enables shippers to safely utilize wasted truck space that remains empty at the current 80,000-pound federal weight limit.

"There is substantial evidence this truck weight proposal will save lives by enabling companies to reduce the vehicle miles traveled to deliver their goods and products. The American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act will also contribute to greater economic growth while reducing fuel usage and lowering carbon emissions.

"More than 40 states already employ higher weight limits on state roads. The American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act would give states the authority to put more productive, properly equipped trucks on Interstates, which are safer and more efficient. Congress recently granted Maine and Vermont the ability to implement this proposal because a 2010 truck weight pilot program created safer, more efficient highways.

"American truck weight limits trail all other developed countries, which widely use six-axle trucks to carry heavier loads. An OECD study on international truck weights suggests that the use of more productive trucks has reduced the amount of truck traffic on the road, and has produced benefits for safety and the environment. Since the United Kingdom raised its gross vehicle weight limit to 97,000 pounds for six-axle vehicles in 2001, fatal truck-related accident rates have declined by 35 percent. More freight has been shipped, while the vehicle miles traveled to deliver each ton of freight has declined. That's just what we need here in the U.S."

About the Coalition for Transportation Productivity and Truck Weight Reform

The Coalition for Transportation Productivity (CTP) is a coalition of about 200 shippers and allied associations dedicated to addressing the safety, economic and environmental challenges facing our nation's freight transportation network through carefully crafted truck weight reform. The truck weight proposal contained in the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act is based on federal legislation known as the Safe and Efficient Transportation Act (SETA), H.R. 763, S. 747. For more information, and to read supportive studies and data, visit www.transportationproductivity.org.

SOURCE Coalition for Transportation Productivity