Senators protest move to allow longer trucks

A bipartisan group of senators are protesting a move to increase the length of twin-trailer trucks that are allowed on U.S. roads. 

Trucking groups are pushing Congress to increase a current limit of 28-foot trailers on trucks that carry two loads to rigs that are 33 feet long apiece in an upcoming highway funding bill.

Sens.Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) are planning to hold a press conference at the Capitol on Wednesday to the proposal to increase the length of trucks

“A tractor trailer with two 33-foot trailers measures approximately 91 feet in total length,” the senators said in a statement announcing their news conference. 

The proposal to increase the length of twin-trailer trucks was included in a highway funding bill that was passed by the Senate in July, over the objection of safety advocates. The fight is revving up again now that the House is scheduled to markup a highway bill of its own on Oct. 22. 

Truck groups have said the so-called “twin 33” proposal would increase the amount of cargo that can be shipped in the U.S. on a single trip without requiring drivers to work extra hours.  

“Special interests opposed to making freight trucking more efficient, frequently argue that one of the most compelling reasons to oppose a modest five-foot extension in the length of twin trailers is that truck drivers themselves oppose longer trucks,” Coalition for Efficient & Responsible Trucking spokesman Ed Patru said in an email.

“The claim is often couched in misleading language that suggests increases in length go hand-in-hand with increases in weight, even though the twin 33 proposal being considered by Congress would leave the federal cap on truck weight unchanged,” Patru continued. “Nineteen states currently allow double trailers longer than 28 feet in length. The professional drivers who have driven them report that twin 33s are more stable to pull; they report twin 33s follow one another better.” 

Critics have said the longer trucks would be unsafe, pointing to crashes such as the 2014 accident involving comedian Tracy Morgan. 

“Longer trucks on our nation’s roads will endanger motorists, increase costs to taxpayers, & further damage our infrastructure. #trucksafety,” the Arlington, Va.-based Truck Safety Coalition tweeted recently. 

Longer trucks on our nation’s roads will endanger motorists, increase costs to taxpayers, & further damage our infrastructure. #trucksafety.

— TruckSafetyCoalition (@TruckSafetyOrg) October 8, 2015

The group has linked the proposal to allow longer trucks to a separate proposal that is being considered in Congress to increase a limit on truck weights by 11,000 pounds. 

“Double 33 trailer trucks + 91,000-lb trucks = more damage, more destruction, & more $ from taxpayers to fix roads & bridges,” the safety coalition said in a separate Twitter message.  

“Large truck crash fatalities have increased 17% between 2009-2013 while the # of total traffic fatalities has decreased by 3%,” the group added. 

The senators who will protest the proposal to increase truck lengths on Wednesday said federal highway regulators have been opposed to the proposal. 

“When the committee considered the measure, the Department of Transportation (DOT) advised that there is currently not enough data to draw firm conclusions on the safety implications of double 33-foot trailers,” the senators’ offices said. “DOT recommended that no changes to truck size be considered at this time.”