EBookClubs

Read Books & Download eBooks Full Online

EBookClubs

Read Books & Download eBooks Full Online

Book Research to Support Evaluation of Truck Size and Weight Regulations

Download or read book Research to Support Evaluation of Truck Size and Weight Regulations written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.). Truck Size and Weight Limits Research Plan Committee and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: TRB's Special Report 328: TRB's Truck Size and Weight Limits Research Plan Committee has issued its second and final report, Research to Support Evaluation of Truck Size and Weight Regulations, to the U.S. Department of Transportation. The report presents a research plan to reduce the major sources of uncertainty in projections of the consequences of proposed changes in truck size and weight limits. The report defines a program of 27 coordinated research projects in six areas. The committee acknowledges that improvements in models for projecting impacts of changes in truck size and weight limits, while necessary, will not guarantee the success of future truck size and weight policy studies. Future studies will be useful as guides for decisions only if policy objectives and practical policy options are clearly defined, the analysis is logically structured to reveal the most promising policies, and uncertainties are properly characterized. The committee issued its first report in April 2018, which summarized the research recommendations of past truck size and weight limit studies and identified criteria for deciding the priority of topics for inclusion in the research plan.

Book Regulation of Weights Lengths and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles

Download or read book Regulation of Weights Lengths and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles written by Transportation Research Board and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2005-07-14 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: TRB Special Report 267 - Regulation of Weights, Lengths, and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles recommends the creation of an independent public organization to evaluate the effects of truck traffic, pilot studies of new truck designs, and a change in federal law authorizing states to issue permits for operation of larger trucks on the Interstates. In 1991, Congress placed a freeze on maximum truck weights and dimensions. Some safety groups were protesting against the safety implications of increased truck size and weight, and the railroads were objecting to the introduction of vehicles they deemed to have an unfair advantage. Railroads, unlike trucking firms, must pay for the capital costs of their infrastructure. The railroads contend that large trucks do not pay sufficient taxes to compensate for the highway damage they cause and the environmental costs they generate. Although Congress apparently hoped it had placed a cap on maximum truck dimensions in 1991, such has not proven to be the case. Carriers operating under specific conditions have been able to seek and obtain special exceptions from the federal freeze by appealing directly to Congress (without any formal review of the possible consequences), thereby encouraging additional firms to seek similar exceptions. In the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, Congress requested a TRB study to review federal policies on commercial vehicle dimensions. The committee that undertook the study that resulted in Special Report 267 found that regulatory analyses of the benefits and costs of changes in truck dimensions are hampered by a lack of information. Regulatory decisions on such matters will always entail a degree of risk and uncertainty, but the degree of uncertainty surrounding truck issues is uunusually high and unnecessary. The committee concluded that the uncertainty could be alleviated if procedures were established for carrying out a program oof basic and applied research, and if evaluation and monitoring were permanent components of the administration of trucking regulations. The committee recommended immediate changes in federal regulations that would allow for a federally supervised permit program. The program would permit the operation of vehicles heavier than would normally be allowed, provided that the changes applied only to vehicles with a maximum weight of 90,000 pounds, double trailer configurations with each trailer up to 33 feet, and an overall weight limit governed by the federal bridge formula. Moreover, enforcement of trucks operating under such a program should be strengthened, and the permits should require that users pay the costs they occasion. States should be free to choose whether to participate in the permit program. Those that elected to do so would be required to have in place a program of bridge management, safety monitoring, enforcement, and cost recovery, overseen by the federal government. The fundamental problem involved in evaluating proposals for changes in truck dimensions is that their effects can often only be estimated or modeled. The data available for estimating safety consequences in particular are inadequate and probably always will be. Thus, the committee that conducted this study concluded that the resulting analyses usually involve a high degree of uncertainty. What is needed is some way to evaluate potential changes through limited and carefully controlled trials, much as proposed new drugs are tested before being allowed in widespread use. The committee recommended that a new independent entity be created to work with private industry in evaluating new concepts and recommending changes to regulatory agencies. Limited pilot tests would be required, which would need to be carefully designed to avoid undue risks and ensure proper evaluation. Special vehicles could be allowed to operate under carefully controlled circumstances, just as oversize and overweight vehicles are allowed to operate under special permits in many states. Changes in federal laws and regulations would be required to allow states to issue such permits on an expanded network of highways, under the condition that a rigorous program of monitoring and evaluation be instituted.Special Report 269 Summary

Book Regulation of Weights Lengths and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles

Download or read book Regulation of Weights Lengths and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles written by Transportation Research Board and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2005-07-14 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: TRB Special Report 267 - Regulation of Weights, Lengths, and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles recommends the creation of an independent public organization to evaluate the effects of truck traffic, pilot studies of new truck designs, and a change in federal law authorizing states to issue permits for operation of larger trucks on the Interstates. In 1991, Congress placed a freeze on maximum truck weights and dimensions. Some safety groups were protesting against the safety implications of increased truck size and weight, and the railroads were objecting to the introduction of vehicles they deemed to have an unfair advantage. Railroads, unlike trucking firms, must pay for the capital costs of their infrastructure. The railroads contend that large trucks do not pay sufficient taxes to compensate for the highway damage they cause and the environmental costs they generate. Although Congress apparently hoped it had placed a cap on maximum truck dimensions in 1991, such has not proven to be the case. Carriers operating under specific conditions have been able to seek and obtain special exceptions from the federal freeze by appealing directly to Congress (without any formal review of the possible consequences), thereby encouraging additional firms to seek similar exceptions. In the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, Congress requested a TRB study to review federal policies on commercial vehicle dimensions. The committee that undertook the study that resulted in Special Report 267 found that regulatory analyses of the benefits and costs of changes in truck dimensions are hampered by a lack of information. Regulatory decisions on such matters will always entail a degree of risk and uncertainty, but the degree of uncertainty surrounding truck issues is uunusually high and unnecessary. The committee concluded that the uncertainty could be alleviated if procedures were established for carrying out a program oof basic and applied research, and if evaluation and monitoring were permanent components of the administration of trucking regulations. The committee recommended immediate changes in federal regulations that would allow for a federally supervised permit program. The program would permit the operation of vehicles heavier than would normally be allowed, provided that the changes applied only to vehicles with a maximum weight of 90,000 pounds, double trailer configurations with each trailer up to 33 feet, and an overall weight limit governed by the federal bridge formula. Moreover, enforcement of trucks operating under such a program should be strengthened, and the permits should require that users pay the costs they occasion. States should be free to choose whether to participate in the permit program. Those that elected to do so would be required to have in place a program of bridge management, safety monitoring, enforcement, and cost recovery, overseen by the federal government. The fundamental problem involved in evaluating proposals for changes in truck dimensions is that their effects can often only be estimated or modeled. The data available for estimating safety consequences in particular are inadequate and probably always will be. Thus, the committee that conducted this study concluded that the resulting analyses usually involve a high degree of uncertainty. What is needed is some way to evaluate potential changes through limited and carefully controlled trials, much as proposed new drugs are tested before being allowed in widespread use. The committee recommended that a new independent entity be created to work with private industry in evaluating new concepts and recommending changes to regulatory agencies. Limited pilot tests would be required, which would need to be carefully designed to avoid undue risks and ensure proper evaluation. Special vehicles could be allowed to operate under carefully controlled circumstances, just as oversize and overweight vehicles are allowed to operate under special permits in many states. Changes in federal laws and regulations would be required to allow states to issue such permits on an expanded network of highways, under the condition that a rigorous program of monitoring and evaluation be instituted.Special Report 269 Summary

Book New Trucks for Greater Productivity and Less Road Wear

Download or read book New Trucks for Greater Productivity and Less Road Wear written by and published by Transportation Research Board. This book was released on 1990 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: TRB Special Report 227 - New Trucks for Greater Productivity and Less Road Wear: An Evaluation of the Turner Proposal evaluates the approach to regulation of the size and weight of trucks using U.S. roads known as the Turner Proposal. This approach had its origin in a proposal put forth in a 1984 address to AASHTO by former Federal Highway Administrator Francis C. Turner. The approach evaluated by the committee differs in an important respect from Turner's original concept: in the committee's approach, use of the new trucks would be voluntary; that is, truck operators would be offered the choice of continuing with existing equipment and weight rules or adopting the new trucks with the new weight regulations. The committee designed a package of changes in size and weight limits, safety restrictions, and procedures regarding bridge deficiencies, routing, and enforcement that would be a practical regulatory scheme for implementing the Turner concept. The committee recommends that every state, with careful assessment of the risks and uncertainties, consider this proposal as a supplement to current size and weight regulations. If Turner trucks were adopted in all states according to the recommended rules, they would reduce the cost of shipping freight and would not degrade safety. The total cost of maintaining the road system would be reduced, although pavement wear savings would be partially offset by higher bridge costs. The committee that carried out this study identified two truck configurations outside the weight and length limits established by federal law that would offer greater productivity without increasing infrastructure or safety costs. These vehicles formed the basis for the configurations recommended in a later (2002) TRB report, Special Report 267: Regulation of Weights, lengths, and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles.

Book Truck Weight Limits

    Truck Weight Limits

    Book Details:
  • Author : National Research Council (U.S.). Committee for the Truck Weight Study
  • Publisher : Transportation Research Board
  • Release : 1990
  • ISBN : 9780309049559
  • Pages : 322 pages

Download or read book Truck Weight Limits written by National Research Council (U.S.). Committee for the Truck Weight Study and published by Transportation Research Board. This book was released on 1990 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To help assess proposals for further changes in federal truck weight limits, Congress requested this study through Section 158 of the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987. To conduct the study, the National Research Council convened a special Transportation Research Board committee with experts in pavements, bridges, highway safety, freight transportation economics, motor vehicle design, highway administration, motor carrier operations, and enforcement of motor vehicle regulations. The study focused on four issues identified in the study request that involve potential changes to federal weight limits for Interstate highways: (1) Elimination of existing grandfather provisions; (2) Alternative methods for determining gross vehicle weight and axle loadings; (3) Adequacy of the current federal bridge formula; and (4) Treatment of specialized hauling vehicles--garbage trucks, dump trucks, and other trucks with short wheel bases that have difficulty complying with the current federal bridge formula. For each of these issues, the study committee estimated the nationwide effects of changes in federal limits proposed by the trucking industry, highway agencies, and other groups. Projections of heavy-truck miles by type of truck, region of the country, highway functional class, and operating weight were developed for a base case and alternative truck weight regulatory scenarios. These projections were then used to estimate impacts on truck costs, pavements, bridges, and safety.

Book Review of Canadian Experience with the Regulation of Large Commercial Motor Vehicles

Download or read book Review of Canadian Experience with the Regulation of Large Commercial Motor Vehicles written by John H. F. Woodrooffe and published by Transportation Research Board. This book was released on 2010 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 671: Review of Canadian Experience with the Regulation of Large Commercial Motor Vehicles examines the process used in Canada to harmonize heavy truck size and weight regulations across the country. The report provides insights on how lessons learned from the Canadian experience might be applied in the United States.

Book Truck Size and Weight Harmonization Study

Download or read book Truck Size and Weight Harmonization Study written by and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 11 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Section 10 of House Bill No. 1012 directs the Legislative Management to study the truck size and weight provisions under Chapter 39-12 relating to size, width, and height restrictions, in order to ensure the state of North Dakota may harmonize its truck size and weight regulations with the regulations of the states in the Western States Transportation Alliance. The Legislative Management is to use the findings of the study in collaboration with an Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute and Department of Transportation study of the impacts to the state of harmonizing truck size and weight regulations with states in the Western States Transportation Alliance regarding standard commercial truck envelope limits of 129,000 pounds gross vehicle combination weight or 100 foot cargo carrying length and potential implications, for the 2015-17 biennium. Section 9 of House Bill No. 1012 appropriates $60,000 from the general fund to the Department of Transportation for a collaborative study with the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute of the impacts of harmonizing truck size and weight regulations with states in the Western States Transportation Alliance regarding standard commercial truck envelope limits of 129,000 pounds gross vehicle combination weight or 100 foot cargo carrying length.

Book Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight TS W Study Phase 1 Synthesis Traffic Operations and Truck Size and Weight Regulations Working Paper 6

Download or read book Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight TS W Study Phase 1 Synthesis Traffic Operations and Truck Size and Weight Regulations Working Paper 6 written by and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 18 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: