Heavy truck loads a problem?

Truckers bypass weigh stations as firms look for solutions to a lack of manpower and high fuel costs.

from the November 15, 2007 edition

Page 2 of 2

Page 1 | 2

Critics say heavy trucks are harder to stop and cause more damage when they do wreck.

Some 8 million tractor-trailers – each having the impact of about 5,000 cars – roll down American roads today, compared with about 2 million in the 1950s. Their impact on asphalt is exponential: One recent study of Maine's roadways showed that a 100,000 pound truck on six axles does twice the amount of road damage as an 80,000 pound truck on five axles. In addition, 30 percent of US trucks are overloaded, according to a study presented last year at a Federal Transportation Research Board conference.

"You've got honest truck drivers and companies that are hurt by it. Taxpayers are hurt by it. People are put at risk by it," says Mr. Lannen.

A variety of factors make it impossible to pinpoint whether truckers are paying their fair share for road and bridge improvements, says Dr. Rice. A US Department of Transportation study in 2000 showed that trucks carrying the legal limit of 80,000 pounds contribute 91 percent of their share of highway costs, while trucks weighing more than 100,000 pounds contribute 50 percent of their fair share.

Truckers say that's hooey. A trucker driving 100,000 miles a year will pay about $4,000 in fuel taxes on top of other fees and licenses compared with about $100 for an average commuter, says Larry Daniel, president of the American Independent Truckers' Association in Clinton, Miss. Still, he says, when truckers stray outside the law, it's a sign of marginal operators' poor management.

The most common tactic, he says, is to run when weigh stations are closed, which is one reason three times as many overweight trucks travel at night. Sometimes truckers will risk heavier fines by dodging an open weigh station.

"Weigh stations are static, so [lawbreakers] have to find the routes that will take them around that location," says Mr. Daniel. "When you do that, that's going to put your truck on a road that your truck typically doesn't drive on ... and it's risky."

There is constant pressure from shippers to overload, says Kevin, an Illinois truck driver at a truck stop on the I-285 in Atlanta. On this trip a California produce company overloaded his truck by 2,000 pounds. He had to ask for a crate to be unloaded to put him back at 80,000 pounds. Since truckers are ultimately responsible, most will say no to requests to carry heavier loads. But "like any industry, we've got our share of outlaws," he says.

Minnesota trucker Rick Mork says most firms, including the glass company he works for, have more to lose from running heavy loads. "You used to see a lot more heavy trucks 10 years ago than you do now," he says. "You don't gain much, and you incur that much more wear and tear on your truck."

1 | Page 2