“At the most basic level, heavier and longer trucks will tend to make accidents more severe. Longer double trucks are more difficult to pass in many situations, such as while merging into moving traffic or during a rainstorm as they splash water onto cars’ windshields, and they have a longer stopping distance than the double trailers they would replace. Heavier trucks tend to wear out their safety equipment sooner — vital safety equipment such as brakes and tires.
Over the past few years, lobbyists for some of the largest shipping companies have spent a great deal of time and money trying to persuade members of Congress to either allow or mandate heavier or longer trucks. I have written letters to our federal delegation in opposition to any such legislation in the past, and I remain firmly convinced that from a safety standpoint, this is a bad idea — and bad public policy.”