TRUCK WEIGHTS AND LENGTHS: ASSESSING THE IMPACT,... HRG... 110-151... COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE, U.S. HOUSE OF REPS... 110TH CONG., 2ND SESSION. PDF Download

Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

View

Book Description

Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 312

View

Book Description

Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bridges
Languages : en
Pages : 289

View

Book Description

Author: United States House of Representatives
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781703637823
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 307

View

Book Description
Truck weights and lengths : assessing the impact of existing laws and regulations

Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Environment and Public Works. Subcommittee on Transportation
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Government publications
Languages : en
Pages : 332

View

Book Description

Author: Transportation Research Board
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 030907701X
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 283

View

Book Description
TRB Special Report 267 - Regulation of Weights, Lengths, and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles recommends the creation of an independent public organization to evaluate the effects of truck traffic, pilot studies of new truck designs, and a change in federal law authorizing states to issue permits for operation of larger trucks on the Interstates. In 1991, Congress placed a freeze on maximum truck weights and dimensions. Some safety groups were protesting against the safety implications of increased truck size and weight, and the railroads were objecting to the introduction of vehicles they deemed to have an unfair advantage. Railroads, unlike trucking firms, must pay for the capital costs of their infrastructure. The railroads contend that large trucks do not pay sufficient taxes to compensate for the highway damage they cause and the environmental costs they generate. Although Congress apparently hoped it had placed a cap on maximum truck dimensions in 1991, such has not proven to be the case. Carriers operating under specific conditions have been able to seek and obtain special exceptions from the federal freeze by appealing directly to Congress (without any formal review of the possible consequences), thereby encouraging additional firms to seek similar exceptions. In the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, Congress requested a TRB study to review federal policies on commercial vehicle dimensions. The committee that undertook the study that resulted in Special Report 267 found that regulatory analyses of the benefits and costs of changes in truck dimensions are hampered by a lack of information. Regulatory decisions on such matters will always entail a degree of risk and uncertainty, but the degree of uncertainty surrounding truck issues is uunusually high and unnecessary. The committee concluded that the uncertainty could be alleviated if procedures were established for carrying out a program oof basic and applied research, and if evaluation and monitoring were permanent components of the administration of trucking regulations. The committee recommended immediate changes in federal regulations that would allow for a federally supervised permit program. The program would permit the operation of vehicles heavier than would normally be allowed, provided that the changes applied only to vehicles with a maximum weight of 90,000 pounds, double trailer configurations with each trailer up to 33 feet, and an overall weight limit governed by the federal bridge formula. Moreover, enforcement of trucks operating under such a program should be strengthened, and the permits should require that users pay the costs they occasion. States should be free to choose whether to participate in the permit program. Those that elected to do so would be required to have in place a program of bridge management, safety monitoring, enforcement, and cost recovery, overseen by the federal government. The fundamental problem involved in evaluating proposals for changes in truck dimensions is that their effects can often only be estimated or modeled. The data available for estimating safety consequences in particular are inadequate and probably always will be. Thus, the committee that conducted this study concluded that the resulting analyses usually involve a high degree of uncertainty. What is needed is some way to evaluate potential changes through limited and carefully controlled trials, much as proposed new drugs are tested before being allowed in widespread use. The committee recommended that a new independent entity be created to work with private industry in evaluating new concepts and recommending changes to regulatory agencies. Limited pilot tests would be required, which would need to be carefully designed to avoid undue risks and ensure proper evaluation. Special vehicles could be allowed to operate under carefully controlled circumstances, just as oversize and overweight vehicles are allowed to operate under special permits in many states. Changes in federal laws and regulations would be required to allow states to issue such permits on an expanded network of highways, under the condition that a rigorous program of monitoring and evaluation be instituted.Special Report 269 Summary

Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Public Works and Transportation. Subcommittee on Surface Transportation
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Express highways
Languages : en
Pages : 456

View

Book Description

Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Subcommittee on Surface Transportation
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : House & Home
Languages : en
Pages : 120

View

Book Description
Distributed to some depository libraries in microfiche.

Author: National Research Council (U.S.). Committee for the Truck Weight Study
Publisher: Transportation Research Board
ISBN: 9780309049559
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 322

View

Book Description
To help assess proposals for further changes in federal truck weight limits, Congress requested this study through Section 158 of the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987. To conduct the study, the National Research Council convened a special Transportation Research Board committee with experts in pavements, bridges, highway safety, freight transportation economics, motor vehicle design, highway administration, motor carrier operations, and enforcement of motor vehicle regulations. The study focused on four issues identified in the study request that involve potential changes to federal weight limits for Interstate highways: (1) Elimination of existing grandfather provisions; (2) Alternative methods for determining gross vehicle weight and axle loadings; (3) Adequacy of the current federal bridge formula; and (4) Treatment of specialized hauling vehicles--garbage trucks, dump trucks, and other trucks with short wheel bases that have difficulty complying with the current federal bridge formula. For each of these issues, the study committee estimated the nationwide effects of changes in federal limits proposed by the trucking industry, highway agencies, and other groups. Projections of heavy-truck miles by type of truck, region of the country, highway functional class, and operating weight were developed for a base case and alternative truck weight regulatory scenarios. These projections were then used to estimate impacts on truck costs, pavements, bridges, and safety.

Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Public Works. Subcommittee on Roads
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Highway law
Languages : en
Pages : 870

View

Book Description