State leaders don't want bigger double-trailer trucks - Hattiesburg American
Thad Cochran to help squash a proposal that would force the state to allow larger double-trailer trucks on its roads. "I don't like Congress mandating that states do this," said Central Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall, who signed a letter to Cochran along with the state's other two elected commissioners. National highway safety advocates also are fighting the measure, along with another passed by the House that would extend a freeze on stricter regulations on when and how long truckers must rest between long hauls. The state allows double 28-foot trailers, but Hall said, "I'm not a fan of double trailers, period. "Essentially there would be trains on our highways," said Joan Claybrook, co-chair of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and past administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. With the Internet-driven boom in shipping lightweight packages, shippers such as FedEx are filling trailers that don't come near the federal 80,000-pound weight limit and say the larger, double trailers would increase efficiency. FedEx CEO Fred Smith has said allowing two larger trailers behind a truck would add 18 percent capacity without increasing the number of trucks on the road or miles traveled. Source: www.hattiesburgamerican.com
