“Congressional proposals to increase truck size and weight limits are out of touch with the reality of the 2022 NHTSA data and the findings of the 2016 Department of Transportation’s Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight Limits Study, which called for no increases in relevant truck size and weight laws due to a lack of data.
This study found that heavier trucks had anywhere from 47 percent to 400 percent higher crash rates in limited state testing. That finding should be enough to preclude any increase in semi-truck weight.
Law enforcement officials nationwide recently went to Washington to make their case to Congress that increasing truck weight would be a dangerous mistake. They stressed the challenges they face to ensure road safety amid rising fatalities.
The officers spoke to nearly 60 members and congressional staff, voicing their opposition to truck size and weight exemptions and combating any attempt to attach the proposals to other must-pass legislation pending before Congress in the next several weeks.”