Regulation of Weights, Lengths, and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles Special Report 267 (2002) / Chapter Skim
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5. Conclusions and Recommendations
5. Conclusions and Recommendations
Pages 189-212
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From page 189... ...
CONCLUSIONS 1. O importunities exist for improving the efficiency of the highway system through reform of federal truck size and weight regulations.
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From page 190... ...
The federal responsibility for interstate commerce eventually led, in 1983, to federal legislation establishing minimum vehicle dimensions that all states were required to allow on principal highways, preempting state regulations judged by Congress to be more restrictive than necessary for economy or safety and thus to constitute obstacles to interstate transportation. These objectives are worthwhile, and truck size and weight regulation by the federal government contributes to their attainment, although the regulations ought to be complemented by other policies aimed at achieving the same goals.
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From page 191... ...
Imposition of cost-based user fees is a regulatory approach that could usefully supplement or partially replace size and weight regulation to produce more efficient control of the public and private costs of truck transportation. The federal and state governments should recognize the range of measures at their disposal, including size and weight limits, for meeting highway program goals of cost control and service quality.
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From page 192... ...
Research and monitoring needed to understand the relationship of truck characteristics and truck regulations to safety and other highway costs are not being conducted today. Understanding of these relationships is needed to design improved highways, vehicles, and safety management and pollution control programs, and to provide a solid basis for truck size and weight regulation.
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From page 193... ...
Some of these approaches may greatly improve truck safety in the future. Past studies have recommended packages comprising changes in size and weight regulations coupled with vehicle design and operating requirements intended to offset any adverse 193
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From page 194... ...
7. Although violations of size and weight regulations may be an expensive problem, monitoring of compliance with the regulations is too unsystematic to allow the costs involved to be estimated.
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From page 195... ...
RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Commercial Traffic Effects Institute Congress should create an independent public organization with a charter to observe and evaluate commercial motor vehicle performance and the effects of size and weight regulation.
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From page 196... ...
The inadequacies of federal truck size and weight regulation are attributable in part to procedural shortcomings. Whereas other spheres of federal regulation are overseen by executive branch agencies with established, ongoing responsibility for regulatory development, federal size and weight regulations have been promulgated almost exclusively by direct legislation.
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From page 197... ...
Observing the consequences of any changes in federal regulations would be an important monitoring and evaluation task. · Support for state implementation of federal size and weight regulations.
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From page 198... ...
It would not be inconsistent with the functioning of other areas of federal regulation to empower an executive agency to change federal size and weight limits, within boundaries specified by Congress, in response to such events. The Institute should be authorized to make recommendations for harmonizing areas of federal highway policy related to size and weight regulation and to truck costs, including practices and requirements regarding safety regulation, enforcement, infrastructure design and management, and user fees.
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From page 199... ...
The proposal for the Institute does not entail transfer of regulatory authority from existing agencies. The Institute should be a resource that allows existing federal agencies to execute their regulatory and administrative responsibilities related to truck size and weight more successfully.
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From page 200... ...
2. Evaluation of the Consequences of Changes in Truck Size and Weight Regulations Through Pilot Studies Congress should authorize the Secretary of Transportation to approve pilot studies involving temporary exemptions from federal motor vehi200
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From page 201... ...
The most successful past studies of the relative accident rates of trucks of differing dimensions have used data obtained from truck operators that include records of large numbers of trips made by different kinds of trucks operating between the same origins and destinations. Pilot studies should encompass this general methodological approach whenever it is feasible and appropriate.
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From page 202... ...
Challenges include the uncertain transferability of the results of pilot studies to the whole population of truck operators, the inherent difficulty of designing and applying truck accident rate measures, the potential competitive inequity of allowing only certain carriers to operate more productive trucks, and concerns about liability. It may be argued that a temporary exemption would be used as a foot in the door and would inevitably become permanent; however, the committee believes that with information available about the actual consequences of the exemptions, making necessary adjustments to the regulations over time would be feasible.
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From page 203... ...
3. Immediate Changes in Federal Regulations Federal law should allow any state to participate in a federally supervised permit program for the operation of vehicles heavier than the present federal gross weight limit, provided the state satisfies the requirements outlined below.
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From page 204... ...
Improved information, together with greater facility to adjust regulations when necessary, ultimately would lead to regulations that more effectively promoted safety and controlled highway transport costs, including costs to shippers, other highway users, and the public. The permit program, implemented with effective federal oversight of safety, fees, and enforcement, would constitute a redefinition of the federal role in truck size and weight regulation.
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From page 205... ...
Size and Weight Provisions Recommended size and weight provisions of the permit program are as follows: · The states should be allowed to issue permits for operation, on any road where the use of such vehicles is now prevented by federal law, of Six-axIe tractor-semitrailers with maximum weight of 90,000 Ib; and - Double-trailer configurations with each trailer up to 33 It long; seven, eight, or nine axles; and a weight limit governed by the present federal bridge formula. · After a specified transition period, all trucks operating under grandfather exemptions or state-specific exemptions from federal regulations (when operating on roads where they could not be legally operated without such exemptions)
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From page 206... ...
Information technology applications available today could, with the proper institutional support, dramatically improve the effectiveness of enforcement. User Fees The federal legislation creating the permit program should specify a quantitative test for the revenue adequacy of the permit fees imposed by states that wish to participate.
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From page 207... ...
The DOT responsibility for certifying that permit fees cover program costs implies the need to evaluate each participating state's management of the bridge costs of the larger trucks. A state that wishes to participate in the permit program should be expected to submit its plan for managing bridge impacts as part of its application.
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From page 208... ...
Specifically, federal vehicle weight limitations should not prevent the double-trailer configuration described in Recommendation 3 above from operating in any state under the rules of the proposed federally supervised permit program and should not prevent the conduct of pilot studies involving operation of any longer combination vehicle according to the procedures described in Recommendation 2. "Longer combination vehicle" is defined here as in federal law: "any combination of a truck tractor and 2 or more trailers or semitrailers which operates on the Interstate System at a gross vehicle weight creaser than 80.000 Ib" t23 USC Section 127~4~.
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From page 209... ...
However, the designated network concept, as it has been applied in past federal size and weight laws, is a reasonable regulatory approach in principle. If restrictions are effective and enforceable and if user fees are in line with costs, it makes good economic and safety sense to have more liberal standards that apply to the best roads.
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From page 210... ...
Since only a well-funded effort with access to industry data would have a good chance of succeeding, a government-industry consortium should undertake the initiative and underwrite its cost. Risk-Based Bridge Costs Correct methods should be developed for estimating the highway agency and user costs of impacts on bridges and structures caused by changes in the size and weight composition of the truck traffic stream.
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From page 211... ...
Therefore, research should be conducted to determine whether changes in the volume and characteristics of truck traffic on particular roads affect highway users' route selection, time of travel, and frequency of trips, and to quantify the costs to travelers of any such impacts on behavior. If it is documented that such costs are significant, the research should investigate how their magnitude is affected by changes in truck size and weight regulations.
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From page 212... ...
2000. Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight Study.
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