Analysis of U.S. Truck Size and Weight Policy in Relation to Vehicle Mass

Truck transportation efficiency including fuel consumption and greenhouse gas production per unit of freight transported is directly influenced by truck size and weight policy. This paper compares the cargo mass productivity of U.S. workhorse articulated vehicles with those from other developed nations in relation to allowable axle loads and GVW. The U.S. Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991 limited the gross vehicle weight to 80,000 lbs which has constrained vehicle mass to the point that within the NAFTA region, the U.S. vehicle mass productivity deficit for tractor semitrailers is 43% compared with Canada and 52% compared with Mexico. The paper provides a summary of the history of U.S. truck size and weight policy and concludes with the following questions. 1) Is the U.S. infrastructure strength significantly weaker than that of other developed countries? 2) What is the cost to the nation, to the environment and energy supply for the apparent lack of transportation efficiency? 3) Why does the U.S. not have an integrated national transportation policy to optimize transportation efficiency? 4) Have lower axle and gross vehicle weights resulted in fewer fatalities or has the greater vehicle exposure attributed to transportation inefficiency resulted in more fatalities?

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AT055 Truck Size and Weight
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Woodrooffe, John
  • Middleton, Dan
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 91st Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2012-1-22 to 2012-1-26
• Date: 2012

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: 15p
• Monograph Title: TRB 91st Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Axle loads; Economic efficiency; Productivity; Size and weight regulations; Transportation policy; Trucks
• Subject Areas: Freight Transportation; Policy; I70: Traffic and Transport;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01373777
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 12-3564
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jun 25 2012 2:54PM