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Page 267
Suggested Citation:"Study Committee Biographical Information." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Regulation of Weights, Lengths, and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles: Special Report 267. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10382.
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Study Committee Biographical Information

James W. Poirot, Chair, is Chairman Emeritus at CH2M Hill, Inc. He has been with CH2M Hill since 1953. He is a Fellow and past President of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a Fellow and past President of the American Consulting Engineers Council, and a board member of the Civil Engineering Research Foundation. Mr. Poirot is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a member of the National Research Council’s Committee on International Organizations and Programs. Mr. Poirot’s areas of expertise and interest include environmental engineering, international issues, and engineering management. He received a B.S. in civil engineering from Oregon State University.

Kenneth D. Boyer is Professor of Economics at Michigan State University. His research deals with transportation demand and the economics of regulation. His text, Principles of Transportation Economics, was published in 1998. He received a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College and a master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. Professor Boyer was a member of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee for the Study of Public Policy for Surface Freight Transportation.

Robert G. Dulla is a Senior Partner at Sierra Research, Inc., an air pollution consulting firm, which he joined in 1986. Previously he was with Energy and Environmental Analysis, Inc., and TRB. He is the author of numerous papers and technical reports on motor vehicle emissions and fuel economy. Mr. Dulla was a member of TRB’s Committee for a Study of Impacts of Highway Capacity Improvements on Air Quality and Energy Consumption.

Nicholas J. Garber is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Virginia. His research is in traffic operations and highway safety, including the effects of truck dimensions on safety. He has taught at the State University of New York at

Page 268
Suggested Citation:"Study Committee Biographical Information." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Regulation of Weights, Lengths, and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles: Special Report 267. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10382.
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Buffalo and at the University of Sierra Leone. He is a member of TRB’s Committee for Guidance on Setting and Enforcing Speed Limits. Dr. Garber is a registered professional engineer in Virginia and a Chartered Engineer of Great Britain. He received a B.Sc. from the University of London and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Carnegie-Mellon University.

Thomas D. Gillespie is Senior Research Scientist and Adjunct Professor and former Director of the Great Lakes Center for Truck and Transit Research at the University of Michigan. His research is in vehicle dynamics and vehicle-roadway interaction. He has been at Michigan since 1976, except for service in 1987–1988 as a Senior Policy Analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. From 1973 to 1976 he was with Ford Motor Company. Dr. Gillespie is the author of Fundamentals of Vehicle Dynamics (Warrendale, Society of Automotive Engineers, 1992). He was a member of TRB’s Committee for a Study of Consumer Automotive Safety Information. He holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Pennsylvania State University, an M.S. from Penn State, and a B.S. from Carnegie Institute of Technology.

Ezra Hauer is Emeritus Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto. His research is in methodology for evaluation of safety countermeasures, design of experiments in traffic safety research, and transportation safety management. He holds B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. from the University of California.

James H. Kopf is the Chief Engineer/Deputy Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) in Jackson. He is responsible for development and execution of all technical policies and procedures for MDOT. He also exercises general or technical supervision of all functions of MDOT. Mr. Kopf has served with MDOT for 35 years. He is a graduate of Mississippi State University and holds a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering. He is a licensed Professional Engineer and a licensed Professional Land Surveyor in Mississippi. He serves on the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ Standing Committee on Highways, Study Committee on Quality, Special Committee on the Transportation-Related Activities Center, Standing Committee on Highway Traffic Safety, and Subcommittee on Transportation Systems Management.

Page 269
Suggested Citation:"Study Committee Biographical Information." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Regulation of Weights, Lengths, and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles: Special Report 267. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10382.
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Sue McNeil is Director of the Urban Transportation Center of the University of Illinois, Chicago. Until 2000, she was Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie-Mellon University. Her research is in analytical methods for management of transportation infrastructure. She received B.Sc. and B.E. degrees from the University of Newcastle (Australia) and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Carnegie-Mellon.

Eugene E. Ofstead was with the Minnesota Department of Transportation for 38 years before his retirement in 1999. His latest position was Assistant Commissioner for Transportation Research and Investment Management. His past assignments included Assistant Commissioner for Engineering Services and Assistant Commissioner for Research and Strategic Initiatives. He received a bachelor of civil engineering degree from the University of Minnesota in 1959.

John R. Pearson is Program Director for the Council of Deputy Ministers responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety, Ottawa, Ontario. The Council is composed of senior officials from the federal, provincial, and territorial governments. He also serves as secretary and technical consultant to the Task Force on Vehicle Weights and Dimensions Policy, composed of representatives of the federal, provincial, and territorial governments. Mr. Pearson was formerly with the Canadian Trucking Research Institute, Transportation Association of Canada, and Western Highway Institute. He was the director of the Vehicle Weights and Dimensions Study, a nationwide government-industry joint research program. Mr. Pearson is a registered professional engineer in Ontario and received a bachelor of engineering degree from Carleton University.

F. Gerald Rawling is the Director of Operations Analysis of the Chicago Area Transportation Study, a metropolitan planning organization. He has conducted and published many studies of freight planning issues. He has an M.A. from Trinity College, Cambridge, and an M.S. from Northwestern University.

James E. Roberts retired in 2001 from the California Department of Transportation, where his positions included Chief Deputy Director, Chief of the Engineering Services Center, and Chief of the Division of Structures. He is an expert in bridge design, maintenance, and seismic

Page 270
Suggested Citation:"Study Committee Biographical Information." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Regulation of Weights, Lengths, and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles: Special Report 267. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10382.
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retrofit. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. Mr. Roberts received a B.S. in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.S. in structural engineering from the University of Southern California.

John S. Strong is Professor of Finance and Economics at the College of William and Mary. His research interests include transportation management and airline safety. He has a B.A. from Washington and Lee University and an M.P.P. and Ph.D. from Harvard University.

C. Michael Walton is the E. H. Cockrell Centennial Chairman of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. He was formerly chair of the TRB Executive Committee, chair of the TRB Committee for the Study of Relationships Between Vehicle Configurations and Highway Design, and member of the TRB Committee for the Study of Public Policy for Surface Freight Transportation. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He received a B.S. degree from Virginia Military Institute and a master’s and Ph.D from North Carolina State University.

Page 267
Suggested Citation:"Study Committee Biographical Information." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Regulation of Weights, Lengths, and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles: Special Report 267. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10382.
×
Page 267
Page 268
Suggested Citation:"Study Committee Biographical Information." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Regulation of Weights, Lengths, and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles: Special Report 267. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10382.
×
Page 268
Page 269
Suggested Citation:"Study Committee Biographical Information." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Regulation of Weights, Lengths, and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles: Special Report 267. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10382.
×
Page 269
Page 270
Suggested Citation:"Study Committee Biographical Information." Transportation Research Board. 2002. Regulation of Weights, Lengths, and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles: Special Report 267. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10382.
×
Page 270
Regulation of Weights, Lengths, and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles: Special Report 267 Get This Book
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TRB Special Report 267 - Regulation of Weights, Lengths, and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles recommends the creation of an independent public organization to evaluate the effects of truck traffic, pilot studies of new truck designs, and a change in federal law authorizing states to issue permits for operation of larger trucks on the Interstates.

In 1991, Congress placed a freeze on maximum truck weights and dimensions. Some safety groups were protesting against the safety implications of increased truck size and weight, and the railroads were objecting to the introduction of vehicles they deemed to have an unfair advantage. Railroads, unlike trucking firms, must pay for the capital costs of their infrastructure. The railroads contend that large trucks do not pay sufficient taxes to compensate for the highway damage they cause and the environmental costs they generate. Although Congress apparently hoped it had placed a cap on maximum truck dimensions in 1991, such has not proven to be the case.

Carriers operating under specific conditions have been able to seek and obtain special exceptions from the federal freeze by appealing directly to Congress (without any formal review of the possible consequences), thereby encouraging additional firms to seek similar exceptions. In the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, Congress requested a TRB study to review federal policies on commercial vehicle dimensions.

The committee that undertook the study that resulted in Special Report 267 found that regulatory analyses of the benefits and costs of changes in truck dimensions are hampered by a lack of information. Regulatory decisions on such matters will always entail a degree of risk and uncertainty, but the degree of uncertainty surrounding truck issues is uunusually high and unnecessary. The committee concluded that the uncertainty could be alleviated if procedures were established for carrying out a program oof basic and applied research, and if evaluation and monitoring were permanent components of the administration of trucking regulations.

The committee recommended immediate changes in federal regulations that would allow for a federally supervised permit program. The program would permit the operation of vehicles heavier than would normally be allowed, provided that the changes applied only to vehicles with a maximum weight of 90,000 pounds, double trailer configurations with each trailer up to 33 feet, and an overall weight limit governed by the federal bridge formula. Moreover, enforcement of trucks operating under such a program should be strengthened, and the permits should require that users pay the costs they occasion. States should be free to choose whether to participate in the permit program. Those that elected to do so would be required to have in place a program of bridge management, safety monitoring, enforcement, and cost recovery, overseen by the federal government.

The fundamental problem involved in evaluating proposals for changes in truck dimensions is that their effects can often only be estimated or modeled. The data available for estimating safety consequences in particular are inadequate and probably always will be. Thus, the committee that conducted this study concluded that the resulting analyses usually involve a high degree of uncertainty. What is needed is some way to evaluate potential changes through limited and carefully controlled trials, much as proposed new drugs are tested before being allowed in widespread use.

The committee recommended that a new independent entity be created to work with private industry in evaluating new concepts and recommending changes to regulatory agencies. Limited pilot tests would be required, which would need to be carefully designed to avoid undue risks and ensure proper evaluation. Special vehicles could be allowed to operate under carefully controlled circumstances, just as oversize and overweight vehicles are allowed to operate under special permits in many states. Changes in federal laws and regulations would be required to allow states to issue such permits on an expanded network of highways, under the condition that a rigorous program of monitoring and evaluation be instituted.Special Report 269 Summary

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