[From our partners at GoRail]
Some of the nation’s largest companies and lobbying groups are pushing Congress to allow heavier and longer trucks on our highways. Bills in the House and Senate would allow single-trailer trucks to carry an additional 8.5 tons and groups are also pushing Congress to let the states allow long double- and triple-trailer trucks.
These companies say that if they can use bigger trucks, there will be fewer trucks on the road. They say this will make highways safer and that they’ll burn less fuel, emit fewer pollutants, and even do less damage to roads and bridges. This is false.
The truth is that bigger trucks will cause more infrastructure damage, receive an even-bigger government subsidy, and divert massive amounts of freight from railroads. The USDOT estimates that the most common truck on the road today (an 80,000-pound single-trailer truck) only pays for about 80 percent of the damage it does to roads and bridges. When trucks get bigger, they do significantly more damage but do not pay nearly enough to cover their costs. This amounts to a large subsidy for motor carriers. For example, the typical triple-trailer truck only pays for 70 percent of its cost to taxpayers and 97,000-pound singles barely pay for half of their damage to roads and bridges.
As rail supporters, you know better than most that railroads pay for their own infrastructure. Recent studies show that allowing bigger trucks without charging them for their damage could divert up to 19 percent of rail traffic back onto highways. This would not only dramatically affect railroads and the rail industry, but it would also mean more trucks on already overcrowded highways and on bridges that are already in dire need of repair. Votes on this issue could come in the first part of this year. GoRail continues to monitor this legislation and will keep you up-to-date.
Some of the nation’s largest companies and lobbying groups are pushing Congress to allow heavier and longer trucks on our highways. Bills in the House and Senate would allow single-trailer trucks to carry an additional 8.5 tons and groups are also pushing Congress to let the states allow long double- and triple-trailer trucks.
These companies say that if they can use bigger trucks, there will be fewer trucks on the road. They say this will make highways safer and that they’ll burn less fuel, emit fewer pollutants, and even do less damage to roads and bridges. This is false.
The truth is that bigger trucks will cause more infrastructure damage, receive an even-bigger government subsidy, and divert massive amounts of freight from railroads. The USDOT estimates that the most common truck on the road today (an 80,000-pound single-trailer truck) only pays for about 80 percent of the damage it does to roads and bridges. When trucks get bigger, they do significantly more damage but do not pay nearly enough to cover their costs. This amounts to a large subsidy for motor carriers. For example, the typical triple-trailer truck only pays for 70 percent of its cost to taxpayers and 97,000-pound singles barely pay for half of their damage to roads and bridges.
As rail supporters, you know better than most that railroads pay for their own infrastructure. Recent studies show that allowing bigger trucks without charging them for their damage could divert up to 19 percent of rail traffic back onto highways. This would not only dramatically affect railroads and the rail industry, but it would also mean more trucks on already overcrowded highways and on bridges that are already in dire need of repair. Votes on this issue could come in the first part of this year. GoRail continues to monitor this legislation and will keep you up-to-date.
