As you know, in trucking, we measure everything. Miles per gallon, accidents per million miles traveled and operating ratios to name a few. On Capitol Hill, discussions have come back around to improving productivity through truck size and weight increases. Now this is nothing new since these discussions have been around for decades, but longer and heavier trailers are short-sighted solutions to problems that just don’t go away if these equipment measures go into place.
Regardless of the divisiveness of the trucking industry on this issue (Truckload Carriers Association remains opposed to any increase), increasing truck weight limits from 80,000 to 91,000 pounds is not as simple as many seem to think it is. A 53-foot trailer is not built with Legos, and adding a sixth axle is not as simple as just snapping it on. The extra axle comes with a cost that the trucking industry would bear the brunt of, and that same math holds true for twin 33-foot trailers. Carriers are unlikely to see rate increases that fully offset the cost of moving the additional weight or size, let alone recoup the costs of retrofitting all of their equipment or purchasing new 33-foot trailers. Much like the industry’s transition from 48- to 53-foot trailers, carriers could be forced into these changes since their customers would likely insist on a 6th axle or twin trailers, making the current 53-foot trailer an antique overnight.
There is also an impact on infrastructure. The added axle would increase emissions and strain our already overloaded infrastructure. It is no secret that our roads and bridges need fixing, and adding weight to roads that are already in poor condition is not a recipe for success. A recent report found that over 72,000 local bridges across the country are not rated to handle 91,000-pound trucks safely. Replacing these bridges would cost a staggering $60.8 billion, and taxpayers would be left with the bill.
Safety is another significant concern when it comes to increasing truck weight limits or additional sizes. A 2016 USDOT study showed that heavier six-axle trucks, specifically those weighing 91,000 and 97,000 pounds, are involved in more crashes than their lighter counterparts. In Washington state, six-axle trucks weighing up to 91,000 pounds had a 47% higher crash rate than other trucks. The situation was even worse in Idaho, with crash rates for six-axle trucks weighing up to 97,000 pounds nearly doubling, an alarming 99% increase. Unfortunately, twin 33-foot trailers possess a safety record that is not very flattering either. Double-trailer configurations have a 58% higher out-of-service rate compared to single-trailer trucks. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), trucks with any out-of-service violations are 362% more likely to be involved in a crash. That raises serious concerns about the safety and reliability of twin 33s on the road.
With so many concerns in play, it is easy to see why these issues remain controversial. Productivity cannot be fixed by simply adding weight or trailer size but rather improving our nation’s infrastructure and reducing driver detention times. While these fixes are not simple either, they certainly represent measures in which the entire industry can uniformly stand behind and advocate for solutions that make sense for all.
