From SCDigest's On-Target E-Magazine
July 19, 2011
Logistics News: Coalition for Transportation Productivity Says Opponents of Bill to Increase Truck Weight Limits Spreading False Information to Congress
Group's Executive Director says Change Dependent on New Highway Bill Being Passed, Expects Positive Action Soon
SCDigest Editorial Staff
The Coalition for Transportation Productivity, a group of shippers and industry associations that is working to see federal and state laws changed to increase the weight limit on trucks travelling on US interstate highways and other roads, lashed out this week at what is says were false and misleading claims by groups opposing the change.
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| The idea that increasing the weight each truck can carry will result in more trucks on the road "simply defies logic," Runyan says. |
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What Do You Say?
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"These groups are mangling the facts and we're setting the record straight," executive director John Runyan told SCDigest this week, explaining that the Coalition itself just sent a letter to Congress that lays out its case in very direct language.
The Coalition for Transportation Productivity was formed in 2008 with some 30 shipper members, whose numbers have grown now to some 185 participants, including both dozens of shippers and a variety of other organizations, such as the American Trucking Associations, the National Association of Manufacturers, and many others. The goal is to pass the Safe and Efficient Transportation Act (SETA) act, which would extend the current federal gross vehicle weight limit on interstate highways from 80,000 pounds to 97,000 pounds, in conjunction with adding a sixth axle to the rear of 53-foot trailers.
While some of the increased weight would be taken up by the additional axle, the change should give shippers a substantial increase in cargo capacity by weight per load, primarily for those loads that currently weigh out before they cube out.. (See Transportation Productivity Coalition Hopes to Increase Weight Limits for US Trucks, but Law Likely Depends on Passage of Full Highway Bill.)
The bill is being fought by two main opposition blocks. First is the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks, a group which receives much of its funding from rail industry sources opposed to seeing the competitiveness of truck transportation improved versus rail. The second block are a number of public safety groups, such as the Public Citizen organization as well as others, that oppose changes to the law for safety or other reasons.
Of late, Runyan says, these groups have been sending information to Congress that contain serious errors.
The letter to Congress from Runyan said that he wanted to "respond to the extremely misleading and factually inaccurate letter you received recently from a coalition opposed to the Safe and Efficient Transportation Act."
For example, Runyan says that communication claimed that in 2009, 4000 individuals died in the US as a result of accidents involving heavy trucks, when in fact the total was about 15% less, at 3380.
More importantly, the letter says, "While still far too high, that figure represents a record low since federal record-keeping began. More important, however, the number of trucks involved in fatal crashes has declined by 24% in the past 20 years, while the number of trucks on the road has grown nearly 47% during this same time period."
In another example, Runyan says the opposition groups have been saying the heavier trucks would have a 25% increase in the length it takes to stop the vehicle, which is only true if the trucks are not equipped with a new sixth axlel. With that sixth axle, which is required under the plan the Coalition proposes, the stopping distances are actual about equivalent, Runyan says, citing a study by the Transportation Research Board.
"All of our information is heavily footnoted, with the actual citations to back our claims," Runyan told SCDigest. "The opposition provides no footnotes and rarely cites the sources of their numbers."
Other errors or distortions the Coalition alleges in the letter include claims the SETA change would result in more trucks on the road, would lead to greater total fuel consumption by trucks, would increase the level of wear and tear on roads and bridges, and claims that public opinion is strongly against the change.
(Transportation Management Article Continued Below)
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The idea that increasing the weight each truck can carry will result in more trucks on the road
