Large tractor trailer trucks are already major contributors to highway gridlock, especially in congested urban areas where they are a significant percentage of overall traffic. They take up more space on the road than passenger cars and have poorer acceleration, deceleration, and other handling characteristics. Big rigs intimidate other drivers, causing them to alter their driving patterns.

Bigger trucks will take up even more room on the highway. Their operating characteristics and size make them poorer performers in terms of “passenger car equivalents” than today’s trucks. They will also cause more congestion when motorists try to accommodate them – and avoid them.

Bigger trucks will require massive bridge reconstruction on the Interstate Highway System, further tying up traffic around work zones. According to the U.S. DOT study, the costs to motorists from such traffic delays would be hundreds of billions of dollars.

Bigger trucks will not mean trucks will be traveling fewer miles on our highways, as proponents of bigger trucks claim. Reductions in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) will not occur in the long run because bigger rigs will divert freight from other modes. They will lead to increased reliance on highways and, as a result, greater traffic congestion.

Bigger Trucks Will Mean More Traffic Congestion PDF

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