“Profit margins should never obstruct the public’s best interests in highway safety and infrastructure preservation.” — Sheriff Alex Hodge Like many of you, I have spent the majority of my career in law enforcement—nearly a decade as sheriff of Jones County (Mississippi) and 12 years as a state trooper previously. Also like you, protecting and serving the people of my county and state continues to be my top priority—it is what I was called to do—and that is why I…
The Hill: Rebuild infrastructure, but keep longer and heavier trucks off highways, says Sheriff
As a lifelong conservative Republican, I believe that free enterprise and fewer burdensome regulations enable American prosperity and economic growth. As a retired United States Army General Officer, I value efficient logistics and productivity. And in my role as chairman of the board of the American Security Council Foundation, I firmly believe that we must reduce our dependence on foreign oil and secure our future energy needs right here at home. The proposal to adopt longer double-trailer trucks, though, undermines…
Assoc. County Commissioners of GA: Increased Truck Weights May Again be Addressed by Congress This Fall
The U.S. Congress will likely begin addressing America’s infrastructure needs and challenges this fall. Among issues expected to arise are increasing truck length and weight limits on America’s interstates – which necessarily means heavier trucks on county roads leading to and from interstates as well. The Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT) is preparing for this debate by asking local elected officials from across the country to lend their name to a letter opposing these increases. Georgia county commissioners may be…
IL Sheriffs’ Assoc.: Public Safety Issue Involving Bigger Trucks
Special interests in Washington, D.C., have pushed for years for longer and heavier tractor-trailers. While trucks play an important role in our state’s economy, we as law enforcement leaders know that longer and heavier trucks would add new dangers to our highways as well as increase damage to our roads and bridges. The Illinois Sheriffs’ Association has consistently opposed bigger trucks, and we need your help to stop them from operating here in Illinois. Several bills debated in Congress would…
Double-Trailer Trucks Found to Have More Defects; New Study Finds Defective Trucks Three Times More Likely to Be Involved in a Crash
A study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) released in December of 2016 shows that tractor-trailers with any out-of-service violation are 362 percent more likely to be involved in a crash. This is especially important because some trucking companies and shippers continue to push Congress to approve longer and heavier tractor-trailers, which have been found to have more defects than today’s 80,000-pound, single-trailer trucks. The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) delivered its Final Report to Congress in…
CABT Podcast: Police Chief Tim Jayroe
ROCKPORT, TEXAS (September 9, 2016)—Rockport Police Chief Tim Jayroe discusses his career in law enforcement and how that experience informs his decision to oppose heavier tractor-trailers in Rockport and surrounding areas. +Listen here…
Bigger-Truck Proponents Propose Legislation to Increase Truck Size and Weight
Two pieces of bigger-truck legislation were proposed in Congress in 2015: one in the U.S. House of Representatives called for a truck weight increase from 80,000 pounds to 91,000 pounds, and another in the U.S. Senate called for a length increase for double-trailer trucks to 91 feet in length. In September of 2015, Rep. Reid Ribble (R-Wis.) introduced legislation called the “SAFE Trucking Act” (H.R. 3488), that would have allowed states to permit 91,000-pound, six-axle trucks. While this proposal was…
Sheriff & Deputy Magazine: Help Stop Bigger Tractor-Trailers
WASHINGTON (July/Aug. 2016)—Putnam County (N.Y.) Sheriff Don Smith wrote an article published in Sheriff & Deputy magazine, formerly called Sheriff magazine, that highlights his opposition to longer and heavier trucks.“I wrote a piece published in Sheriff magazine early last year about law enforcement’s numerous concerns with longer and heavier tractor-trailers, and how a handful of special interests on Capitol Hill want to unleash them onto our nation’s highways. Here’s the good news: Congress rejected several attempts to push through bigger-truck…
Transport Topics: FedEx Founder Fred Smith Believes Twin 33s Will Win Approval
WASHINGTON (May 19, 2016)—Fred Smith, founder and chairman of FedEx Corp., said he believes nationwide use of 33-foot twin trailers can gain approval during the next presidential administration.“We don’t think there is any chance 33-foot trailers will be approved until there is a new administration, but we think it will eventually because they are safer, more environmentally friendly and they save tremendous amounts of fuel,” Smith said.Smith made the comments during a media roundtable here May 19 just before the…
Rep. Lou Barletta: Barletta Recognized for Long Battle against Heavier Trucks
WASHINGTON (March 10, 2016)—Congressman Lou Barletta, PA-11, today accepted an award from the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT) for his work to defeat an amendment to the Highway Bill that would have dramatically increased the weight limit on trucks. Barletta was instrumental in killing the proposal from Rep. Reid Ribble (WI-8) that would have increased the weight limit by 14 percent, from 80,000 pounds to 91,000 pounds. He received the recognition at a ceremony in Harrisburg hosted by the Pennsylvania…