CABT Presses Congress to Reject Bigger Trucks
June 17, 2011
In the week before and the week after Memorial Day - our nation’s traditional start to the busiest driving season - CABT brought 21 state troopers, police chiefs, sheriffs and AAA representatives to Washington, DC, to lobby members of Congress regarding the bills to increase truck size and weight.
As most of you know, bills - H.R. 763/S. 747 - were introduced this year to raise the weight of tractor-trailer trucks another 17,000 pounds, from 80,000 to 97,000 pounds. In addition, groups are lobbying Congress to repeal the “freeze” on Longer Combination Vehicles (LCVs) and allow triple-trailer trucks and long doubles nationwide.
The dangers of longer and heavier trucks are numerous if these bills either pass as is, or their language is included in the new Surface Transportation bill now being written in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committees of the House and Senate. House Committee chair John Mica (R- Fl) has stated a vote on the transportation bill -- and therefore on bigger trucks -- would take place on July 12.
The importance of the issue also drew 14 short line representatives and seven railroad suppliers to Washington to meet with members of Congress. In all, meetings were held with 144 Congressional offices including those of 32 T&I members. While the meetings were productive and Members of Congress were clearly impressed, based on feedback we received, we believe the majority of the committee remains undecided on bigger trucks.
We also spoke to members about the Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act (SHIPA) that is pending in Congress. This measure - H.R. 1574/S. 876 - would maintain current truck weight limits, keep the freeze on triples, and authorize a multi-year study on the impact of changes to truck size and weight. We strongly SUPPORT SHIPA and we were able to get a total of 15 non T&I Committee members to agree to cosponsor the bill.
Beginning in April, CABT also rolled out a big media push in order to alert and inform the general public of the safety and infrastructure issues involved. Dozens of stories have been generated in states across the country, with more appearing each day. We have included a few for you to look at below.
As always, the work we do would bear no fruit without your participation. Please assist us by calling your Member of Congress and letting them know you do not want to see bigger, heavier and longer trucks on our roads. Please do so now!
For information/assistance please contact: CABT National Field Director Brad Roseberry at: broseberry@cabt.org or
571-480-5483 or 708-227-6878 cell.
More Info
Press Release | Research Summary | National Fact Sheet | CABT Website
Around the Country:
• California: San Diego County Board Votes to Oppose Bigger Trucks
• Arkansas: Could Bigger Trucks Mean Bigger Help or Bigger Pain
• Illinois: Algonquin’s Top Cop Asks Congress to Keep Bigger Trucks Off the Roads
• Maryland: Maryland AAA Says No To Bigger Trucks
