[Stay on top of transportation news: .]
Shippers Back Increasing Weight Limit for Trucks
WASHINGTON — Shippers would like to see a switch to larger trucks, and U.S. safety inspectors monitoring size-and-weight rules could have more technology at their disposal in the coming years, according to a Transportation Research Board panel discussion here.
Two shipper representatives at the Jan. 22 session said allowing tractor-trailer combinations with six axles to haul 97,000-pound loads would help reduce highway congestion and emissions, while enabling carriers strapped for drivers to handle more tonnage. The current standard configuration is 80,000 pounds spread over five axles.On the enforcement side, two transportation officials said European governments make extensive use of weigh-in-motion, or WIM, technology and portable laptops for monitoring trucks.For the full story, see the Jan. 29 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.