May 2, 2016
Special interests in Washington, D.C., have pushed for years for longer and heavier tractor-trailers. While trucks play a vital role for our state’s economy, we as first responders know that bigger and heavier trucks would add new dangers to our highways as well as more damage to our roads and bridges. The South Carolina State Fire Fighters Association has consistently opposed these increases, and we need to continue our opposition to keep them from operating here in South Carolina. Several bills debated last year in Congress would have increased the size and weight of trucks. One bill would have increased the national truck weight limit from 80,000 pounds to 91,000 pounds, and other legislation called for longer double-trailer trucks 91 feet in length. Deputy Chief Kyle Minick of the North Charleston Fire Department was invited by the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT) to represent us on Capitol Hill in opposition to these increases. Many of you signed letters and shared your concerns about these increases. Both of these provisions were rejected with bipartisan support. Proponents of bigger trucks, however, show no signs of backing down in 2016. A Colorado congressman introduced a bill earlier this year that calls for the same longer double-trailer trucks that were just defeated in 2015, and heavier-truck proponents are likely to make another push this year as well, increasing truck weight to 91,000 pounds. A U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) study released in April of this year incorporates the study results and findings from the Technical Reports released in June of 2015. These findings underline its recommendation that Congress not approve heavier or longer trucks. According to USDOT, heavier trucks with six axles—both 91,000-pound and 97,000-pound configurations—were found to have alarmingly higher crash rates in limited state testing. In South Carolina alone, there were 2,443 large-truck crashes in 2014—a 12 percent increase from the previous year. Tragically, 65 people lost their lives in these crashes in 2014, and 1,521 people sustained injuries. I will continue to help halt the tide of longer and heavier trucks on our roadways. If you have questions, need assistance, or would like to get involved, you can contact Cindy Mills, South Carolina State Director for Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT) at [email protected] or 803-422-1517. We have supported CABT for many years, and they have let me know that they are very appreciative of the support from our Association and our individual members in opposing increases in truck size and weight.
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