“Proposed federal legislation looks to increase the weight of commercial trucks and gives individual states the authority to set that weight. The President of the Arizona State Troopers Association Jeffery Hawkins went to Washington, D.C. this week to lobby with the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT) to oppose the legislation. He met with members of Arizona’s congressional delegation to voice his concerns.
H.R. 3372 would create a pilot program expanding the operation of commercial semitrucks with gross vehicle weight that is 11,000 pounds heavier. The current weight limit is capped at 80,000 pounds. “The pilot project would allow states to initiate an increase in the maximum GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) of a vehicle to 91,000 pounds from its current existing 80,000 pounds,” Hawkins said. Hawkins calls the measure dangerous because of increased brake time, infrastructure issues and a trooper shortage.”