COALITION AGAINST BIGGER

TRUCKS

June 8, 2010

AASHTO SCOHT Annual Meeting

What I’m NotWhat I’m Not

The “I hate big trucks guy”Not anti-truck or even anti-big truck

Engineer – pavement, bridge, or other Railroad spokesperson Wildcat or Tiger Indifferent

To industry – shippers or truckingTo your challenge

Coalition Against Bigger TrucksCoalition Against Bigger Trucks

National grassroots non-profit 100+ campaigns, nearly 20 years Expected & unexpected allies

Law enforcement & safety groupsTruck drivers & independent owner-operatorsAAA clubsState & local elected officialsEnvironmental, public interest, & taxpayer

groups

More Than MaineMore Than Maine

97,000 pounds, 6 axles nationwide at state option (HR 1799)

Pilot programs in Maine and Vermont 129,000 pound LCVs in Idaho (S. 1059

& S. 398) 96,000 pound, 6- or 7-axle in Iowa 88,000 pounds, 5-axle in Florida LCV resolutions in Colorado, Idaho

Issues with TSW IncreasesIssues with TSW Increases

Safety Infrastructure damage

PavementBridges

Underpayment Energy & environment

Issue: SafetyIssue: Safety

Longstanding, significant concernsRolloverOff-trackingBrakingCrash severitySystems effects

Enforcement challengesTSW increase would raise the bar

Ongoing need for more complete data

Issue: Infrastructure DamageIssue: Infrastructure Damage

Increased pavement damage Bridges

Half of NHS bridges >40 years old25% of US bridges are deficient “According to FHWA, it would cost $140 billion in

2006 dollars to immediately repair every bridge that is deficient in the country” (AASHTO, 2008)

Ongoing need for more complete data○ LTBP funded by SAFETEA:LU at 1/4 requested

amount (and is “long-term”)

Bridges & SETABridges & SETA 2000 DOT Study estimated $50-$63 billion

bridge costs for NAFTA scenario H.R. 1799 includes HVUT increase, but it’s

inadequateAt most, HVUT would generate ≈$500 million

per year Posting violation rate as low as 2.5%

results in significant loss in reliability (ASCE, 2005)If posting not strictly enforced, reliability benefits

of posting can almost vanish (ASCE, 2001)

Issue: UnderpaymentIssue: Underpayment

Premise: vehicles should pay for the damage attributable to their operations

Federal cost allocation study showed significant heavy truck underpayment

Full Cost Recovery ($/mile)Full Cost Recovery ($/mile)

Full Cost Recovery ($/gallon)Full Cost Recovery ($/gallon)

80K, 5-axle v. 97K, 6-axle ($/mile)80K, 5-axle v. 97K, 6-axle ($/mile)

80K, 5-axle v. 97K, 6-axle ($/gallon)80K, 5-axle v. 97K, 6-axle ($/gallon)

Issue: EnvironmentIssue: Environment

Bigger trucks use more fuel, emit more pollutants

Bigger trucks don’t mean fewer trucksATRI only refers to fully-loaded trucksATRI looks mainly at highway operations ATRI doesn’t contemplate rail diversion

Bigger Trucks ≠ Fewer TrucksBigger Trucks ≠ Fewer Trucks

Rail DiversionRail Diversion

US DOT7% loss of car miles50% loss in contribution

TTX25% of intermodal and carload traffic

Martland44% short line merchandise traffic17% overall short line traffic

Rail DiversionRail Diversion Montreal, Maine, & Atlantic Railway

Predominantly served forest products industry

Not profitable, filed for abandonment San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad

CO now allows110K, 7-axle on state roads20% of bulk cargo diverted to highways

Brownsville & Rio Grande Int’l RailroadTX allows heavier trucks between Mexican

border and Port of BrownsvilleLost nearly all of southbound traffic

SHIPA (H.R. 1618 / S. 779)SHIPA (H.R. 1618 / S. 779)

Close permitting loopholes Extend weight freeze to NHS Extend LCV freeze to NHS Freeze trailer length at 53 feet NO ROLLBACKS Develop a model fine system

Federal Legislative SituationFederal Legislative Situation

Conflicting stand-alone bills Unlikely to be addressed outside of

reauthorization Requests to extend pilot projects have

been submitted to Appropriations Committees

Thank you