Trade groups are sparring over whether lawmakers should permit larger trucks on the roads, a dispute that comes as Congress weighs asking the Department of Transportation to release all findings evaluating the impact of longer trucks.
Proponents of increasing the national twin-trailer length from 28 feet to 33 feet say that the larger trailers would be more efficient and could help address a truck driver shortage by holding 18 percent more freight. Opponents warn of possible safety hazards and say the larger trucks would damage infrastructure.
Twin trailers refer to trucks with one trailer connected to a second one behind it. When a truck is hauling a single trailer, it’s allowed to be 48 feet in length.
“In 2016 nearly 4,000 Americans died in accidents involving large trucks,” Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., wrote in a letter to the editor in response to a Wall Street Journal editorial last month in favor of the larger trucks. “Does anyone believe even larger trucks on the roads would decrease this tragic figure?”
Ed Hamberger, president and CEO of Association of American Railroads, also responded to the editorial and claimed that taxes and fees imposed on trucks already on the road following federal limits cover only 80 percent “of the damage they cause to our highways.” He said this means that taxpayers are forced to cover the remainder of the costs, as $143 billion from the General Fund has been transferred to the Highway Trust Fund since 2008, according to the DOT.
“Why would Congress willingly exacerbate this?” Hamberger wrote at the end of August.
Additionally, AAR has noted that the twin 33-foot containers rather than the 28-foot containers are unsuitable for the freight rail network already in place, meaning that railroads would be forced to spend billions to accommodate them.
But groups including the Americans for Modern Transportation coalition, which represents companies including Amazon, FedEx and UPS, quickly condemned the railroads and said it was “disappointed” in AAR. The group argued in a statement that “Congress must move forward on common-sense policies” such as the permitting the twin 33 trailers.
AMT argues the longer trailers would reduce congestion and fuel consumption, and alleviate damage to roads by placing fewer trucks on the road. The trailers would also diminish costs for consumers who have been hit with soaring shipping fees in 2018 due to a nationwide shortage of truck drivers. Overall, the group anticipates that the longer trailers would cut approximately 6 million truck trips per year.
“Even though it’s a hard political decision to make, it’s a really important and common-sense decision to make for the country and for the economy,” said Randy Mullett, executive director of Americans for Modern Transportation.
The dispute among the groups comes as lawmakers try to pass funding bills before the end of September in order to avoid a government shutdown.
The House Appropriations Committee’s Transportation and Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill, which passed through the committee in May and is awaiting approval from the full House, contains language proposed by Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., that would direct the DOT to report on any updated findings evaluating the impact of increasing the length of twin-trailer trucks to 33 feet. The longer trucks are already permitted on some roads in states such as Florida.
“Our current interstate highway regulations are being constrained by a 1982 policy that is not congruent with our 21st century marketplace,” Fleischmann said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
“Our nation’s highways are integral to our economy, and it makes sense to examine all pertinent information to allow for increased efficiency in the transportation of goods while prioritizing safety and the longevity of our transportation infrastructure,” Fleischmann added. “Should I offer a related twin 33 amendment in the future, I hope that my colleagues will join me in my efforts to modernize this outdated policy.”
But language related to twin 33 trailers is not included in the Senate’s version of the THUD appropriations bill that passed the full Senate in August. The Senate has historically opposed efforts to include language authorizing the use of twin 33s, including in 2015 when Wicker and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., successfully removed a provision from the Senate THUD appropriations bill allowing the trailers.
Wicker’s office did not respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
Although the DOT conducted a report on twin 33 trailers in 2015, releasing new findings is important because it could include “actual data from several million miles and several years of utilizing this equipment in all seasons in several different states,” rather than models that are “theoretical,” Mullett said.
Although he remains unsure whether the House’s provision will be stripped from the final appropriations measure, Mullett said he was confident that the new data would show the longer vehicles are safe and lawmakers would say “ ‘Gee, this makes perfect sense,’ ” if it remains.
Even so, groups say they are poised to continue advocating their positions.
Jessica Kahanek, a spokesperson for AAR, said that the group will continue to oppose legislative efforts related to the twin 33s, although she did not have any specific actions to share.
“AAR maintains that users of infrastructure should pay to maintain it and will continue to oppose legislative efforts to increase truck size limits — including twin 33s — absent structural changes to the Highway Trust Fund,” Kahanek said.
Mullett said AMT would continue its education and advocacy efforts and noted that the group has met with many lawmakers and their staff members over the years.
“I imagine that as opportunities develop that we will be writing letters and asking interested parties to get involved just as we’ve done all along,” Mullett said.
Mullett noted that the DOT predicts there will be 45 percent more freight in the U.S. by 2045, so sooner or later lawmakers will be forced to seriously consider twin 33 trailers or a similar solution. Requesting the DOT to release new data on the impact of the twin 33 trailers is just the first step, Mullett said.
“My hope, and our coalition’s hope is that they will include that language because it certainly helps keep an issue alive that is not going away,” Mullett said.
