News
Truck traffic expected to grow
The executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition says he wants to know how Congress plans to accommodate increasing semi-truck traffic.
The Safe Trucking Act allowing for 91,000 pound semis on U.S. interstate systems instead of the current 80,000 pound limit recently failed as an amendment to the House transportation bill.
Mike Steenhoek tells Brownfield in the next few decades the amount of semis on highways is expected to increase by 50 percent.
“So the question before policy makers is how do you accommodate that growth? Do you keep weight limits the same? That’s an option available to them, but what that will result in is greater density (and) greater congestion of semis on our roads and bridges.”
He says that could lead to a higher probability of accidents for motorists.
Groups like the National Corn Growers and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association are asking Congress to allow for heavier trucks, saying current law is outdated and farmers would be more efficient hauling bigger loads.
The Safe Trucking Act called for a sixth-axel to assist in breaking and weight distribution and while Steenhoek says it’s not the only solution to the nation’s transportation problems, it is better than more trucks on the road.
“It certainly will help increase efficiency in moving freight, but it also will reduce that congestion.”
While there’s a possibility legislation allowing heavier truck weight limits may still be introduced, Steenhoek says the highway bill was the most viable way to get it through.
The only way I would be in favor of heavier trucks is to have 6 axles with brakes on all six axles and haul 90,000 lbs. Another thing that has to addressed is to have farm plated trucks pay more to register their trucks and trailers to help pay for the use of the roadways. As a prorated truck owner we pay $550.00 dollars a year for heavy use tax.
To help the counties and states to help maintain the roads is for farm plated trucks to pay a $ 550.00 county use tax per tractor a year. They should have to have a CDL drivers license, and a yearly medical physical, and a yearly drug and alcohol test.
If a person is going to drive a tractor trailer all the rules should be the same