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Trucking companies and shippers are lobbying Congress for longer and heavier vehicles, Smith said.
These massive double tractor trailers, known as Twin 33’s, could weigh as much as 91,000 pounds, more than five tons above the current weight limits, the sheriff said. The standard single-trailer truck is 53 feet long; the proposals would allow trucks that are up to 91 feet long, Smith said.
“Driving on our highways is dangerous enough. We don’t need to make it riskier by introducing bigger trucks to the road,” Smith said, noting that his message is especially timely as millions of Americans take to the road on this long Labor Day weekend.
Congress is set to reconvene Tuesday, Smith said, and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will then begin the process of passing a long-term transportation re-authorization bill.
Smith said he wants lawmakers to understand the consequences of allowing bigger trucks on the roads.
“There are decades of crash studies that say bigger trucks are downright dangerous,” the sheriff said. “Some large trucking companies want to save on shipping costs, but the price is public safety. That is something we can never negotiate. The safety of the public is our top priority.”
Citing data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Smith said there were 4,596 large truck collisions in New York in 2014. That figure was nearly 12 percent higher than data gathered in 2013.
Smith also said that New York had 118 fatalities in 2013 involving large trucks.
Heavier and longer trucks can also cause more damage to infrastructure like bridges and pavement, Smith said.
According to the sheriff, thousands of the state’s highway bridges are “structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.” This means, Smith said, that they already need substantial upgrades, repairs or replacement.
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